I was doing an interview with Cathy Gettings the other day.  It was part of her upcoming Magnetic Mindshift telesummit.  I’ll let you know when she has it ready to go.  If my interview with Cathy is any indication, it should be dynamite and a great career success event.

As we were discussing the importance of dressing for success Cathy said, “Your appearance should show that you have some respect for yourself.”

I had to chuckle, because I always tell my success coach clients, “Look in the mirror on your way out the door in the morning.  Ask yourself, ‘does my appearance demonstrate that I respect myself and the people I’ll meet today’.”

It’s true.  Your appearance says a lot about you – how much you respect yourself, and how much you respect others.  My best advice on to how your attire can help you create positive personal impact is simple and common sense.  Dress one level up.  In other words, dress a little nicer than you have to.  For example, if your office is casual, wear a dress or a suit every once in a while.

Make sure your clothes and shoes are clean and in good repair.  Keep your hair clean and well styled.  Make sure your shoes are shined.  Look in the mirror on your way out the door.  Ask yourself, “Will I impress other people with the way I look today?”  If the answer is “no”, take a few minutes and change before you go to work.

I always get dressed up when I am meeting clients.  Many of my clients dress casually.  When they tell me, “You didn’t need to wear a suit today,” I say, “Yes I did.  I’m meeting with an important person — you.”  Show respect for yourself and the people around you by dressing well and looking good.

Accessories are another part of your appearance.  In general, you want your accessories to compliment, not over power your clothing.  Keep them understated and elegant.  Large rings and earring, bracelets that jangle every time you move can distract from your look and your professionalism.  Save the bling for evenings out, tone it down at work

Pay attention to your electronic accessories.  About a year ago, I saw a Wall Street Journal article about electronic accessories.  It made some interesting points about cell phones, PDAs and other electronic helpers – all small enough to tote around with us all the time – and how they can hurt your image as a professional.  Look around, you’ll see that most senior executives aren’t overburdened by electronic accessories.

In Wildly Sophisticated, my friend Nicole Williams lays out ten fashion commandments.  I think they are invaluable advice for creating a professional look

1. Sweat the small stuff. People don’t necessarily notice if you’re groomed, but they definitely notice when you’re not.
2. Restrain yourself. Never let your accessories wear you.
3. Know your body. Recognize that every style trend is not designed for you. This isn’t a limitation – its just reality.
4. Black is your friend. Black staples – pants, skirts and jackets are clean, classic and they always look good. They’re flattering, will work with everything else in your closet and will stretch your clothing budget.
5. Focus on your feet. A great pair of shoes can make all the difference in your look.  Make sure your footwear is polished and clean. This is another one of those details that people really do notice.
6. Welcome the three-way mirror.  Clothes that fit well make you look better and help your confidence.
7. Work it. Style is really a synonym for self-expression. You’ll feel and look better when your clothes reflect your personality.
8. Buy quality. In the long run, quality clothes will actually save you money.
9. Invest in accessories.  Your bag or briefcase is a constant companion. Clients, employers and colleagues will all notice what’s draped on your arm. Invest in a quality piece that reflects your style. And in this age of laptops, cell phones and PDAs, a bag that will carry your hardware is a lifesaver.
10. Relax. Bottom line? Its just fashion. Give it your best shot; know that style matters and that looking groomed and professional are important for your career.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  Your appearance says a lot about you.  Dress in a manner that shows you respect yourself – and the people you will meet during your day.  Take the time to show that you care – and people will respond positively to you.  Dress one level up from what is expected and you will stand out from the crowd.

That’s my career advice on the importance of your appearance.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less.  The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site last September.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  You can find out about the membership site by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

Today is my wife Cathy’s birthday.  I wanted to give her a little shout out here – and to tell her that I love her dearly.  But that’s not the only reason for dedicating a post in this career advice blog to her.  Cathy embodies many of the career success ideas I share here, in my talks, my career success advice books and my membership site.

Tweet 62 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Your personal brand should be uniquely you, but built on integrity.  Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.”  When you act with integrity, you are consistent in your actions.

Here’s a story to illustrate this point about Cathy.  She was a flight attendant for 36 years.  Seniority is a very important thing in the airline industry.  It governs how you bid for trips, positions on the airplane and vacations – almost anything important to a flight attendant’s quality of work life.

Cathy was very active in her union.  And seniority was one of the union’s most sacred principles.  A few years before she retired, Cathy’s airline made a big push into the international market.  International flights were plum assignments; they went to people with high seniority.

However, the airline realized that it would be to their advantage to have some flight attendants who spoke the language of the country to which they were flying on these international flights.  Most of the senior flight attendants in her airline, including Cathy, spoke English only.  The airline proposed putting two “language speakers” on each international flight.  These were people with less seniority, but who were bilingual.  Many people, including Cathy, were upset with this arrangement as they felt it violated the seniority concept.

Cathy used to fly from the US to London.  One day I said to her, “This whole language speaker issue doesn’t really affect you.  You fly to London; there are no language speakers on those flights.  Why do you care so much?”  She said, “I believe in the concept of seniority.  It doesn’t matter if I’m affected by language speakers.  It’s the principle of the thing.”  That’s consistency – and integrity — in action; something you should incorporate into your behavioral repetoire  if you want to create the life and career success you want and deserve.

Here’s another example.  Tweet 124 in Success Tweets says, “Everyone has something to offer.  Never dismiss anyone out of hand.  Take the initiative.  Actively build relationships.”

Cathy is the best example of someone who values every person she meets.  She is friends with everyone – the pharmacy techs where we get our prescriptions, the couple who own the dry cleaners where we do business, the supermarket checkout people and baggers, the people who work in the salon where both of us get our hair cut, the servers at the restaurants we frequent, and on and on and on.

Cathy is genuinely interested in these people.  She knows their names, their spouses’ names and their kids’ names.  She inquires about their lives.  She knows about their vacations, what grades their kids are in school and lots of other things about them – all because she values them as individuals and takes the time to get to know them.  She is one of the least judgmental people I know.

If you want to create the life and career success you deserve, take a lesson from Cathy.  Pay attention to the people around you.  You will learn a lot and your life will be richer for it.  Don’t judge people by what they do.  Get to know then as individuals.  You’ll be surprised at what you learn.

There is a side benefit to this too.  Cathy will be having shulder replacement surgery on November 1 — a by product of all those years lifitn bags into overhead bins and pushing heavy carts while gravity.  Because she takes the time to get to know people personally, they also know about her.  Come November 1, she’ll have a lot of prayers and good thoughts coming her way.

One more example – from Tweet 69 in Success Tweets.  It says, “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.”  How you dress says a lot about how much you respect yourself, and how much you respect other people.  You read that right.  Your attire is about respect.  If you respect yourself, you will dress well and look good.  If you respect other people, you will dress well and look good.  It’s as simple as that.

Clothes that are wrinkled, have spots from previous wearings, are too tight – or too big – and have missing buttons or undone hems characterize you as someone who doesn’t care.  Someone with little self respect.  Someone with little respect for other people.

People notice how you look.  It’s as simple as that.  So put a little thought into getting dressed each day.  Make sure that what you wear reflects the professional you are.  You don’t have to spend tons of money on your wardrobe.  But you do need to maintain it.

Cathy personifies this.  She always pays attention to what she’s wearing.  When she leaves the house she looks good.  Her clothes fit, are neat and pressed and are coordinated.  She demonstrates respect for herself and for the people she will meet that day in her attire.  I am always proud to be seen with her because she always takes pride in her appearance.

This career success coach post has been a shout out to Cathy my wife on her birthday.  She embodies much of the life and career success advice I present on this blog, in my books and talks and in my membership site.

That’s the career advice that comes from the example set by Cathy, my wife.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  I’m sure that Cathy would appreciate any birthday wishes you send her way.  I’ll pass them on to her.  And I ask that you send some good thoughts her way on November 1 the day of her shoulder replacement surgery.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  One is 140 bits of career advice, all in 140 characters or less.  The other is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership on   September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb. To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

Today is my wife Cathy’s birthday.  I wanted to give her a little shout out here – and to tell her that I love her dearly.  But that’s not the only reason for dedicating a post in this career advice blog to her.  Cathy embodies many of the career success ideas I share here, in my talks, my career success advice books and my membership site.

Tweet 62 in my career advice book Success Tweets says, “Your personal brand should be uniquely you, but built on integrity.  Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking.”  When you act with integrity, you are consistent in your actions.

Here’s a story to illustrate this point about Cathy.  She was a flight attendant for 36 years.  Seniority is a very important thing in the airline industry.  It governs how you bid for trips, positions on the airplane and vacations – almost anything important to a flight attendant’s quality of work life.

Cathy was very active in her union.  And seniority was one of the union’s most sacred principles.  A few years before she retired, Cathy’s airline made a big push into the international market.  International flights were plum assignments; they went to people with high seniority.

However, the airline realized that it would be to their advantage to have some flight attendants who spoke the language of the country to which they were flying on these international flights.  Most of the senior flight attendants in her airline, including Cathy, spoke English only.  The airline proposed putting two “language speakers” on each international flight.  These were people with less seniority, but who were bilingual.  Many people, including Cathy, were upset with this arrangement as they felt it violated the seniority concept.

Cathy used to fly from the US to London.  One day I said to her, “This whole language speaker issue doesn’t really affect you.  You fly to London; there are no language speakers on those flights.  Why do you care so much?”  She said, “I believe in the concept of seniority.  It doesn’t matter if I’m affected by language speakers.  It’s the principle of the thing.”  That’s consistency – and integrity — in action; something you should incorporate into your behavioral repetoire  if you want to create the life and career success you want and deserve.

Here’s another example.  Tweet 124 in Success Tweets says, “Everyone has something to offer.  Never dismiss anyone out of hand.  Take the initiative.  Actively build relationships.”

Cathy is the best example of someone who values every person she meets.  She is friends with everyone – the pharmacy techs where we get our prescriptions, the couple who own the dry cleaners where we do business, the supermarket checkout people and baggers, the people who work in the salon where both of us get our hair cut, the servers at the restaurants we frequent, and on and on and on.

Cathy is genuinely interested in these people.  She knows their names, their spouses’ names and their kids’ names.  She inquires about their lives.  She knows about their vacations, what grades their kids are in school and lots of other things about them – all because she values them as individuals and takes the time to get to know them.  She is one of the least judgmental people I know.

If you want to create the life and career success you deserve, take a lesson from Cathy.  Pay attention to the people around you.  You will learn a lot and your life will be richer for it.  Don’t judge people by what they do.  Get to know then as individuals.  You’ll be surprised at what you learn.

There is a side benefit to this too.  Cathy will be having shulder replacement surgery on November 1 — a by product of all those years lifitn bags into overhead bins and pushing heavy carts while gravity.  Because she takes the time to get to know people personally, they also know about her.  Come November 1, she’ll have a lot of prayers and good thoughts coming her way.

One more example – from Tweet 69 in Success Tweets.  It says, “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.”  How you dress says a lot about how much you respect yourself, and how much you respect other people.  You read that right.  Your attire is about respect.  If you respect yourself, you will dress well and look good.  If you respect other people, you will dress well and look good.  It’s as simple as that.

Clothes that are wrinkled, have spots from previous wearings, are too tight – or too big – and have missing buttons or undone hems characterize you as someone who doesn’t care.  Someone with little self respect.  Someone with little respect for other people.

People notice how you look.  It’s as simple as that.  So put a little thought into getting dressed each day.  Make sure that what you wear reflects the professional you are.  You don’t have to spend tons of money on your wardrobe.  But you do need to maintain it.

Cathy personifies this.  She always pays attention to what she’s wearing.  When she leaves the house she looks good.  Her clothes fit, are neat and pressed and are coordinated.  She demonstrates respect for herself and for the people she will meet that day in her attire.  I am always proud to be seen with her because she always takes pride in her appearance.

This career success coach post has been a shout out to Cathy my wife on her birthday.  She embodies much of the life and career success advice I present on this blog, in my books and talks and in my membership site.

That’s the career advice that comes from the example set by Cathy, my wife.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  I’m sure that Cathy would appreciate any birthday wishes you send her way.  I’ll pass them on to her.  And I ask that you send some good thoughts her way on November 1 the day of her shoulder replacement surgery.  As always, thanks for reading my daily thoughts on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  One is 140 bits of career advice, all in 140 characters or less.  The other is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership on   September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb. To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

Lydia Ramsey and I have just released a new career advice book called Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  You can get a copy at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_12?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=success+tweets+for+creating+positive+personal+impact&sprefix=success+twee/

First impressions are a big part of creating positive personal impact.  Here are my 20 best tips on how to create a favorable first impression.

1. Remember that “business” is the first and most important word in the phrase “business casual”.  Dress like you’re going to work, not to a sporting event.
2. Dress appropriately for your work situation.  It is usually hard to be overdressed.  Error on the side of caution if you don’t know what is appropriate.  Observe successful people in your organization.  What do they wear?  Dress like them.
3. Dedicate time and money to your business wardrobe.  Purchase your clothing according to a well thought out plan.  You can stretch your clothing budget by getting things on sale, but only if you have a plan.
4. Learn your company’s unwritten dress code.  Make sure you conform.  Show the world how creative you are in your off work hours.
5. Buy the highest quality clothes that you can afford.  This will pay off in the long run.  High quality clothes look better and wear longer.  Buy blazers first.  Blazers are an important staple of a business casual wardrobe –for both men and women.  Every business person should have one black and one navy blue blazer.
6. Keep your clothes looking good.  Find and use a good dry cleaner.  Make sure your blazer buttons are all there, and that the lining of your skirt doesn’t hang down below the hem.
7. Leave your jeans for the weekends.  They may be acceptable at your place of work, but well pressed khakis look a lot better.
8. Make sure your shoes are shined and in good repair.  Run down heels, and holes in your soles give a poor impression.  A good shoe shine puts a bounce in your step.  It helps your confidence.
9. Wear jewelry that is understated, not gaudy.  Save the bling for parties and clubs.
10. Freshen your breath with the strips that have become common in the past few years.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.
11. Keep your hands looking good – if you bite your nails, stop.  Men don’t need to get manicures, but your nails should be neatly trimmed.  Women should avoid manicures that draw a lot of attention to their nails.
12. Wear minimal amounts of after shave, cologne or perfume.  You want people to remember you for what you have to say, not how you smell.
13. Wash your hair daily.  Dirty hair can have a bad odor.  Clean hair prevents dandruff.  It helps you look well groomed.
14. Comb your hair several times a day – especially after coming in from outdoors.  A quick look in the mirror will show you just how windblown your hair can get, even on a day that is not particularly windy.
15. Have your hair cut and styled regularly.  Your hair stylist is your friend.  Visit him or her as often as necessary to keep you looking sharp.
16. Stand or sit up straight.  Don’t slouch.  Your mother was right.  Good posture is important.  It makes you look more self confident.
17. When traveling, pack so you will look good on arrival.  Don’t over pack your suitcase.  You might get a few more things in, but you’ll end up with a lot of wrinkled clothes.
18. Cover your clothes in plastic cleaner bags when you pack..  Friction causes wrinkling, plastic reduces friction. Pack your hanger items in individual bags (one outfit per dry-cleaner bag). Use zip-top baggies dirty shoes, shampoo bottles, or anything else you want to isolate from your good clothes.
19. Fold sweaters and shirts before you put them in your suitcase.  Button all buttons and lay the shirt or sweater face down on a bed or flat surface. Smooth away wrinkles. Fold it at the shoulders and lay arms flat along the body so that you create a roughly two-inch overlap of material on both sides.  Then fold up a third of the material from the bottom and overlap a third from the top.
20. Use inexpensive mesh laundry bags to stow your underwear when traveling.  If your bag is inspected, no one will touch your underwear since an inspector will be able to see into the bag. Roll your socks and place them inside your shoes; or use them to fill gaps in your bag.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  First impressions go a long way in helping you create positive personal impact – an important career success move.  Follow the 20 tips above and you will create a lasting, positive first impression.

That’s my career advice on creating a positive first impression.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.  I  value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, please download a free copy of my popular career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained.  The first is 140 bits of career advice, all in 140 characters or less.  The other is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened a membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.

On Friday, I provided some career advice on the importance of nurturing your personal brand.  In a blog post, I used Serena Williams’ meltdown at the US Open to point out how a moment’s indiscretion can do serious damage to a brand you have worked diligently to build – as well as your life and career success.

A strong, unique personal brand is one way to create positive personal impact and career success.  But there is more to creating positive personal impact than branding.  Lydia Ramsey and I have just released a new career advice book, Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  You can pick up a copy here.

But if you don’t want to purchase the book, or are looking for some quick career success advice on creating positive personal impact, look no further.  Here are 15 common sense bits of career advice for creating powerful personal impact.  Check them out.  Let me know what you think.

1. Become known as a person of character and high integrity.  Be true yourself.  Your reputation is all you’ve got.  A reputation as a person of high integrity will help you create the career success you want and deserve.

2. Know your values and stick to them.  If you haven’t already articulated your values (what’s important to you in life), take a few minutes, think about them and write them down.  Review them often.  Make sure you’re staying true to yourself.  If you want to create positive personal impact and become a career success, you have to be values driven.

3. Take responsibility for your life and career success.  You are the one who is responsible for making your dreams come true.  Embrace this responsibility.  Do whatever it takes to create you career success.  Making sure that you exude positive personal impact is a great place to start.

4. Build your legacy.  Your legacy is how people will remember you when you’re gone.  Think about the memories you are leaving behind every day.  How will people remember you?  Focus on ensuring that people will remember you as someone who did his or her best, helped others and created his or her own life and career success.

5. Make yourself stand out.  Identify the qualities or characteristics that make you a unique human being.  Develop your unique feature/benefit statement.  Identify what sets you apart (the feature) and how this benefits the people around you.  This will help you create your career success.

6. Become widely trusted. Deliver on what you say you’ll do.  If you can’t meet a commitment, let the other person know as soon as you can.  Keep confidences.  Avoid gossip.  It is never good to embarrass others by repeating what they have shared with you – even if it isn’t in confidence.

7. Use the two most important words in the world – “thank you” – often.  People who use these two simple words do well when it comes to creating their life and career success.  And, as a bonus, others come to see them as truly nice people.

8. Treat every social interaction as an opportunity to build and strengthen relationships.  Strong relationships are and important key to your life and career success.  When meeting people, make a personal connection.  Think about how you can help every person you meet.  You’ll generate opportunities for yourself.

9. Stand up straight, smile, look people in the eye.  Shake hands as if you mean it.  Use other people’s names frequently during conversations.  Be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

10. Business meals are about business, not the food.  Learn and use simple table manners.  Good table manners make you look polished and poised and help you in your career success journey.

11. Dedicate time and money to your wardrobe.  Purchase your clothing according to a well thought out plan.  Buy the highest quality clothes that you can afford.  This will pay off in the long run.  High quality clothes look better and wear longer.  This is important career advice that you should not ignore.

12. Make sure your clothes fit well are well tailored.  Use the three way mirror when trying on clothes.  Make sure you look good from the front, back and side.  Keep your clothes looking good and you’ll be moving toward your career success.

13. Have your hair cut and styled regularly.  Your hair stylist is your friend.  Visit him or her as often as necessary to keep you looking sharp.

14. Become a great communicator.  If you want to create the career success you deserve, you need to get good at writing clearly and well, handle yourself in conversations and presenting to groups.

15. Finally, maybe the most important piece of career advice of all — seek out and welcome feedback.  Listen to what people, especially your boss, and customers, tell you.  Absorb it, even though it may hurt.  Develop a plan for modifying your behavior.  Work your plan.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  You have to create positive personal impact if you want to become the life and career success you deserve to be.  If you really want to learn all about creating positive personal impact, pick up a copy of Lydia Ramsey and my new career advice book Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  If you’re pretty squared away on this subject, run through 15 tips in this post again.  Use them, and you’ll be on your way to the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my career advice on creating positive personal impact.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, you can download a free copy of my latest career success book Success Tweets Explained.  It’s a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened my membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.com.

On Friday, I provided some career advice on the importance of nurturing your personal brand.  In a blog post, I used Serena Williams’ meltdown at the US Open to point out how a moment’s indiscretion can do serious damage to a brand you have worked diligently to build – as well as your life and career success.

A strong, unique personal brand is one way to create positive personal impact and career success.  But there is more to creating positive personal impact than branding.  Lydia Ramsey and I have just released a new career advice book, Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  You can pick up a copy here.

But if you don’t want to purchase the book, or are looking for some quick career success advice on creating positive personal impact, look no further.  Here are 15 common sense bits of career advice for creating powerful personal impact.  Check them out.  Let me know what you think.

1. Become known as a person of character and high integrity.  Be true yourself.  Your reputation is all you’ve got.  A reputation as a person of high integrity will help you create the career success you want and deserve.

2. Know your values and stick to them.  If you haven’t already articulated your values (what’s important to you in life), take a few minutes, think about them and write them down.  Review them often.  Make sure you’re staying true to yourself.  If you want to create positive personal impact and become a career success, you have to be values driven.

3. Take responsibility for your life and career success.  You are the one who is responsible for making your dreams come true.  Embrace this responsibility.  Do whatever it takes to create you career success.  Making sure that you exude positive personal impact is a great place to start.

4. Build your legacy.  Your legacy is how people will remember you when you’re gone.  Think about the memories you are leaving behind every day.  How will people remember you?  Focus on ensuring that people will remember you as someone who did his or her best, helped others and created his or her own life and career success.

5. Make yourself stand out.  Identify the qualities or characteristics that make you a unique human being.  Develop your unique feature/benefit statement.  Identify what sets you apart (the feature) and how this benefits the people around you.  This will help you create your career success.

6. Become widely trusted. Deliver on what you say you’ll do.  If you can’t meet a commitment, let the other person know as soon as you can.  Keep confidences.  Avoid gossip.  It is never good to embarrass others by repeating what they have shared with you – even if it isn’t in confidence.

7. Use the two most important words in the world – “thank you” – often.  People who use these two simple words do well when it comes to creating their life and career success.  And, as a bonus, others come to see them as truly nice people.

8. Treat every social interaction as an opportunity to build and strengthen relationships.  Strong relationships are and important key to your life and career success.  When meeting people, make a personal connection.  Think about how you can help every person you meet.  You’ll generate opportunities for yourself.

9. Stand up straight, smile, look people in the eye.  Shake hands as if you mean it.  Use other people’s names frequently during conversations.  Be genuinely interested in what they have to say.

10. Business meals are about business, not the food.  Learn and use simple table manners.  Good table manners make you look polished and poised and help you in your career success journey.

11. Dedicate time and money to your wardrobe.  Purchase your clothing according to a well thought out plan.  Buy the highest quality clothes that you can afford.  This will pay off in the long run.  High quality clothes look better and wear longer.  This is important career advice that you should not ignore.

12. Make sure your clothes fit well are well tailored.  Use the three way mirror when trying on clothes.  Make sure you look good from the front, back and side.  Keep your clothes looking good and you’ll be moving toward your career success.

13. Have your hair cut and styled regularly.  Your hair stylist is your friend.  Visit him or her as often as necessary to keep you looking sharp.

14. Become a great communicator.  If you want to create the career success you deserve, you need to get good at writing clearly and well, handle yourself in conversations and presenting to groups.

15. Finally, maybe the most important piece of career advice of all — seek out and welcome feedback.  Listen to what people, especially your boss, and customers, tell you.  Absorb it, even though it may hurt.  Develop a plan for modifying your behavior.  Work your plan.

The career success coach point here is simple common sense.  You have to create positive personal impact if you want to become the life and career success you deserve to be.  If you really want to learn all about creating positive personal impact, pick up a copy of Lydia Ramsey and my new career advice book Success Tweets for Creating Positive Personal Impact.  If you’re pretty squared away on this subject, run through 15 tips in this post again.  Use them, and you’ll be on your way to the life and career success you want and deserve.

That’s my career advice on creating positive personal impact.  What do you think?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my daily musings on life and career success.  I value you and I appreciate you.

Bud

PS: If you haven’t already done so, you can download a free copy of my latest career success book Success Tweets Explained.  It’s a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail.  Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy.  You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.

PPS: I opened my membership site on September 1.  It’s called My Corporate Climb and is devoted to helping people create career success inside large corporations.  To celebrate the grand opening, I’m giving away a new career advice book I’ve written called I Want YOU…To Succeed in Your Corporate Climb.  You can find out about the membership site and get the career advice in I Want YOU… for free by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.com.

The other day I saw a tweet that was a quote attributed to Coco Chanel.  “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.”  This quotes echoes my career advice on creating positive personal impact.  Tweet 69 in my career success book Success Tweets says, “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.” 

Or, as Coco Chaenl advise us, don’t be lazy about your appearance.  Make sure your clothes fit, are in good repair, are cleaned and pressed and are appropriate for the situation.

I’ve heard that the impression you make when first meeting someone is 7% verbal, 28% body language, and 65% visual.  I’m not sure if these nubmers are exactly correct, but I think they are close. 

How you dress says a lot about how much you respect yourself, and how much you respect other people.  You read that career advice right.  Your appearance and attire are about respect.  If you respect yourself, you will dress well and look good.  If you respect other people, you will dress well and look good.  It’s as simple as that.

I once saw something on line from the Napoleon Hill Foundation that applies here.  “If you haven’t the willpower to keep your physical body in repair, you also lack the power of will to maintain a positive mental attitude in other important circumstances that control your life.”

While this career advice is directed at your physical condition, it applies to the condition of your wardrobe as well.  You have to take the time to keep your clothes in good repair.  Clothes that are clean and pressed, fit well and are in good repair show that you care.

Clothes that are wrinkled, have spots from previous wearings, are too tight – or too big – and have missing buttons or undone hems characterize you as someone who doesn’t care.  Someone with little self respect.  Someone with little respect for other people.

People notice how you look.  It’s as simple as that.  So put a little thought into getting dressed each day.  Make sure that what you wear reflects the professional you are.  You don’t have to spend tons of money on your wardrobe.  But you do need to maintain it.  Pay attention here, this is solid career advice.

When I was in high school, I saw a movie called “To Sir, With Love.”  Sidney Poitier played a teacher in a tough neighborhood in London.  He was determined to teach his students life lessons in addition to the regular curriculum. 

He had only a couple of shirts and ties.  But he washed and ironed his shirts after every wearing.  He looked good in the classroom.  He did this because he respected himself and his students.  He wanted to be a positive role model.  That movie is over 40 years old, but Sidney Poitier’s dedication to pride in personal appearance has stuck with me all these years – and it’s the main lesson of today’s career success post

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people respect themselves and the people they meet.  They are not lazy about their appearance.  Your appearance is one way to demonstrate self respect.  Follow the career advice in tweet 69 in Success Tweets.  “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.”  Taking a few minutes each day to make sure that your clothes are clean and in good repair shows that you care.  And when you care, other people notice and respond positively to you.  Showing that you care is a great way to create positive personal impact and the career success you want and deserve.

That’s my take on the career advice in Coco Chanel’s quote – “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.”   What’s yours?  What do you do to keep yourself looking good?  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my musings on life and career success.

Bud 

The other day I saw a tweet that was a quote attributed to Coco Chanel.  “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.”  This quotes echoes my career advice on creating positive personal impact.  Tweet 69 in my career success book Success Tweets says, “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.” 

Or, as Coco Chaenl advise us, don’t be lazy about your appearance.  Make sure your clothes fit, are in good repair, are cleaned and pressed and are appropriate for the situation.

I’ve heard that the impression you make when first meeting someone is 7% verbal, 28% body language, and 65% visual.  I’m not sure if these nubmers are exactly correct, but I think they are close. 

How you dress says a lot about how much you respect yourself, and how much you respect other people.  You read that career advice right.  Your appearance and attire are about respect.  If you respect yourself, you will dress well and look good.  If you respect other people, you will dress well and look good.  It’s as simple as that.

I once saw something on line from the Napoleon Hill Foundation that applies here.  “If you haven’t the willpower to keep your physical body in repair, you also lack the power of will to maintain a positive mental attitude in other important circumstances that control your life.”

While this career advice is directed at your physical condition, it applies to the condition of your wardrobe as well.  You have to take the time to keep your clothes in good repair.  Clothes that are clean and pressed, fit well and are in good repair show that you care.

Clothes that are wrinkled, have spots from previous wearings, are too tight – or too big – and have missing buttons or undone hems characterize you as someone who doesn’t care.  Someone with little self respect.  Someone with little respect for other people.

People notice how you look.  It’s as simple as that.  So put a little thought into getting dressed each day.  Make sure that what you wear reflects the professional you are.  You don’t have to spend tons of money on your wardrobe.  But you do need to maintain it.  Pay attention here, this is solid career advice.

When I was in high school, I saw a movie called “To Sir, With Love.”  Sidney Poitier played a teacher in a tough neighborhood in London.  He was determined to teach his students life lessons in addition to the regular curriculum. 

He had only a couple of shirts and ties.  But he washed and ironed his shirts after every wearing.  He looked good in the classroom.  He did this because he respected himself and his students.  He wanted to be a positive role model.  That movie is over 40 years old, but Sidney Poitier’s dedication to pride in personal appearance has stuck with me all these years – and it’s the main lesson of today’s career success post

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  Successful people respect themselves and the people they meet.  They are not lazy about their appearance.  Your appearance is one way to demonstrate self respect.  Follow the career advice in tweet 69 in Success Tweets.  “Demonstrate respect for yourself and others in your dress.  People will notice and respond positively to you.”  Taking a few minutes each day to make sure that your clothes are clean and in good repair shows that you care.  And when you care, other people notice and respond positively to you.  Showing that you care is a great way to create positive personal impact and the career success you want and deserve.

That’s my take on the career advice in Coco Chanel’s quote – “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.”   What’s yours?  What do you do to keep yourself looking good?  Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, thanks for reading my musings on life and career success.

Bud 

Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is my new career success coach book.  I’m proud to say that it has just gone into its second printing.  I also want to thank all of the kind folks who have posted a review of Success Tweets on Amazon.com.  You’re the best.  I really appreciate you. 

You can pick up a copy of Success Tweets at your local bookstore or on line at amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook version for free at www.SuccessTweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Success Tweet 77…

Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.

I am always surprised when I meet an otherwise well groomed person who has bad breath.  Usually these people are unaware of the problem.  I was in the mall the other day getting fitted for a pair of new glasses.  The woman helping me had breath that smelled like stale coffee.  It wasn’t very pleasant.  I’m sure she was unaware of it.  I didn’t know her, so I said nothing.

A couple of months ago I was getting a haircut.  My stylist had been eating some kind of snack food that had a lot of garlic.  His breath was overpowering.  I know him reasonably well, so I was comfortable telling him that the snack food he had eaten really caused bad breath.  He thanked me, and popped a piece of gum into his mouth to mask the smell.

That helped, but then he bagan smacking his gum – not very attractive to watch in the mirror, nor to listen to. 

I like gum.  But thanks to Cathy, I’ve broken the habit of chewing it.  It’s difficult to chew gum and not smack it or look vapid.  I have limited my gum chewing to when I’m riding my bike or exercising.  Even then, I focus on keeping my mouth closed and avoiding smacking it.

People often chew gum on airplanes to help their ears adjust to the changes in cabin pressure.  While chewing gum can help your ears, it does little for your image as a professional.  My best career advice is to not chew gum ever.  There are better ways to control bad breath.

Many otherwise well groomed people forget about their breath.  Fresh breath is the mark of a well groomed person.  Brushing after lunch is the best way to keep your breath fresh.  However, if you don’t want to bring a tooth brush to work, the breath strips do a pretty good job of keeping your breath fresh.  Use them after coffee, and after eating – especially when you eat food seasoned with garlic, or after sushi.  Cathy always reminds me when I have wasabi breath.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  It’s the little things that mark you as a well groomed person.  Too many people don’t pay enough attention to their breath.  Bad breath is not pleasant.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  “Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.”  Brushing can be inconvenient, so I recommend the breath strips.  I always encourage my career success coach clients to avoid gum.  It can sweeten your breath, but it also makes you look unsophisticated. 

That’s my take on the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, you have my deepest thanks for reading.

Bud

Success Tweets: 140 Bits of Common Sense Career Success Advice, All in 140 Characters or Less is my new career success coach book.  I’m proud to say that it has just gone into its second printing.  I also want to thank all of the kind folks who have posted a review of Success Tweets on Amazon.com.  You’re the best.  I really appreciate you. 

You can pick up a copy of Success Tweets at your local bookstore or on line at amazon.com.  Better yet, you can download the eBook version for free at www.SuccessTweets.com.

Today’s career advice comes from Success Tweet 77…

Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.

I am always surprised when I meet an otherwise well groomed person who has bad breath.  Usually these people are unaware of the problem.  I was in the mall the other day getting fitted for a pair of new glasses.  The woman helping me had breath that smelled like stale coffee.  It wasn’t very pleasant.  I’m sure she was unaware of it.  I didn’t know her, so I said nothing.

A couple of months ago I was getting a haircut.  My stylist had been eating some kind of snack food that had a lot of garlic.  His breath was overpowering.  I know him reasonably well, so I was comfortable telling him that the snack food he had eaten really caused bad breath.  He thanked me, and popped a piece of gum into his mouth to mask the smell.

That helped, but then he bagan smacking his gum – not very attractive to watch in the mirror, nor to listen to. 

I like gum.  But thanks to Cathy, I’ve broken the habit of chewing it.  It’s difficult to chew gum and not smack it or look vapid.  I have limited my gum chewing to when I’m riding my bike or exercising.  Even then, I focus on keeping my mouth closed and avoiding smacking it.

People often chew gum on airplanes to help their ears adjust to the changes in cabin pressure.  While chewing gum can help your ears, it does little for your image as a professional.  My best career advice is to not chew gum ever.  There are better ways to control bad breath.

Many otherwise well groomed people forget about their breath.  Fresh breath is the mark of a well groomed person.  Brushing after lunch is the best way to keep your breath fresh.  However, if you don’t want to bring a tooth brush to work, the breath strips do a pretty good job of keeping your breath fresh.  Use them after coffee, and after eating – especially when you eat food seasoned with garlic, or after sushi.  Cathy always reminds me when I have wasabi breath.

The common sense career success coach point here is simple.  It’s the little things that mark you as a well groomed person.  Too many people don’t pay enough attention to their breath.  Bad breath is not pleasant.  Follow the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  “Keep your breath fresh.  Brush after meals and coffee.  Use the strips.  Don’t chew gum.  Ever.  It makes you look like a cow.”  Brushing can be inconvenient, so I recommend the breath strips.  I always encourage my career success coach clients to avoid gum.  It can sweeten your breath, but it also makes you look unsophisticated. 

That’s my take on the career advice in Tweet 77 in Success Tweets.  What’s yours?  Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment.  As always, you have my deepest thanks for reading.

Bud