Career Advice from Coco Chanel

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