Imitate success – and you’ll soon be one!

To imitate success is a prime example of positive affirmation and the expectant power of the brain. By imitating success, you project the image of success to your peers and most importantly, to yourself.

And as we know, the expectant power of the brain is a magical thing – if you expect to succeed, you will! Particularly if you have a well thought out and structured plan for your success, which of course you can get from the goal setting process.

So how do you imitate success?

• Step 1: Know what your success looks like. Close your eyes and visualise yourself in your perfect career and doing what you would be doing if you were successful. What do you look like? What are you wearing? What are you doing? How are you behaving?

  Having a visual image of what success means to you is an effective way of having something to strive towards – and more importantly, this vision is what you need to imitate as much as possible to start the ball rolling.

  If possible, find images from magazines or the internet that best reflect your vision of success and use these as a guide for the next steps of how to imitate success.

• Step 2: Look like your vision of success. Imitate success - physically! What do you look like in your vision of success? How can you look like that NOW?

  It’s easy to change your wardrobe and style to reflect your vision – and use the images from Step 1 to help you fine-tune this style and get the right accessories. You can also observe other people that seem to fit your success vision and get advice from retailers. It’s all about getting ‘the look’.

  Other aspects of your look may be harder to change – perhaps you’re a little slimmer in your vision? But you can work towards achieving these aspects by setting goals. So no excuses – make yourself look like your vision of success!

• Step 3: Behave like your vision of success. What were you doing in your vision of success? How were you behaving/ acting? And what habits do you need to change or develop to be able to behave like that NOW?

  Changing the way you behave takes a little longer than the instant effect you get from changing your image – but it can be done. And this is where positive affirmation helps by saying out aloud [repeatedly and with conviction] the behaviour you want to develop.

• Step 4: Believe in your success. Yes – back to the power of positive thinking again! But if you believe in yourself and believe that you can really be a success – then it can happen! Use goal setting and action plans to guide you there, and start living like you’re already there! Remember the law of attraction?

Dress for success

To imitate success you need to dress the part!

And the easiest way to know how to dress for success is to dress like the guy in the job you want – in other words, dress like your boss (providing that’s the job you want).

Of course, if you have a corporate uniform, dress code or are required to wear particular clothing to suit your job (eg protective clothing) – then you must wear this gear. But make sure you wear it with pride – keep it clean and pressed, make sure it is a good fit [and replace clothing if it ‘shrinks’] and replace any clothing that is worn or looking tatty. And make sure your hair and general appearance is tidy.

If you don’t have a corporate uniform or dress code and it’s all up to you – here are some quick tips on how to dress for success.

• Don’t under-dress or over-dress – both create the wrong impression! Look at other people in your workplace and aim to be the best dressed – but only just.
• Choose clothes that suit your body shape – and a more contoured silhouette creates an executive image.
• Wear a dark suit (navy blue or black) with a high contrast shirt for your most authoritative and powerful look. A suit in neutral colours (browns and beiges) with a blending or low contrast shirt looks friendly and approachable.
• Don’t wear gawdy, bright or highly patterned clothes (like tropical shirts).
• Accessorise tastefully.

And of course, always wear clean and pressed clothes and present a neat tidy image to dress for success.

So go ahead and imitate success today - and see how long it takes to become one. You may be surprised.