Attitude, Dude! by Charli Williams Personal Success Coach I live in Southern California, sometimes referred to as the home of fruits and nuts. Maybe. It is surely the home of creative thinkers, risk-takers and adventurers. This attitude shows up most obviously in our teenage population, particularly the boys. Any hair color you can imagine - and some you never thought of! - can be seen coming out of the high school at the end of classes. One of my personal favorites is blueberry. (They do it with jello, in case you were wondering.) While hair 'color' makes its own statement, there is more to one's presentation. Hair style says something about the wearer, whether spiked, buzzed or multi-layered. Add baggy pants worn low on the hips, an earring or twelve and a ìcoolî gait, and you have attitude, dude! When these kids show up somewhere, they are making a statement about who they are, how they want to be seen by others. I am going to make a wild guess that you, the reader of this distinguished publication, are not wearing a parrot-parroting hairstyle. So I would ask you this: What statement are you making in your presentation? Peter J. Daniels said, "Clothes do not make the man, but they certainly introduce him." The way you dress, walk and carry yourself sends a message to people who see you. That message tells them who you are, and it tells them something about what they can expect from you if they engage you in conversation. I am sure you have been in a busy location sometime - an airport or hotel lobby, for example - and seen people you did not know. Think about this: You can look at a person, without speaking with them, and know if they are happy and peaceful, or angry and short tempered, can't you? One's physical presentation comes from how one thinks about oneself. THINKING FIRST. Most people, I have been told, do not think about the message they are telegraphing with their attitude about themselves. So, think. Look in a full-length mirror, right now. What is your presentation saying about you? Is that the message you want to be sending? Is there anything you would like to change about the message? The expression on your face is a reflection of your thoughts. What do you want your face to express to others? You can change your facial expression by changing your thoughts. Years ago, I noticed 'older people' in general often looked angry. It seemed to me that their faces went into a ìdefaultî expression when the person did not have a reason to be smiling about something, and that default expression was not pleasant. I decided to be conscious of smiling through the day in the hopes that when I got old, my default expression would be a smile! By accident, I have found more things to smile about. Hmm. WATER SEEKS ITS OWN LEVEL, and so do you. Humans tend to hang out with others like themselves. You spend your time, your lifetime, with people who tend to agree with your thinking, and not so much time with people who don't EVERYTHING YOU HAVE AND DON'T HAVE IN YOUR LIFE COMES OUT OF WHO YOU ARE, and you are who you think you are. If you are peaceful, personally powerful and successful, you will make that presentation. If you are moving towards that goal, you can support yourself by making the presentation that states your ideal personality. When you change the outer, you are supporting change in the inner - which is your thinking. In the coaching work I do, I call this practice the 'Ideal Me.' It is the person you intend to become. Think about the person you would like to become, the changes in character and personality traits. How do you want to be seen? What would you like people to think and say about you when you are not in the room? What kind of role model are you, and how would you like to be? When you make some new decisions in this area, write them down. Use this new 'attitude' as a guide, like an actor uses a character description so he knows his role in the movie. If I were confident in this situation, how would I think? How would I stand? What would I say and do? If I were peaceful, or if I were successful, or if I were a goal achiever, or if I were welcome, how would I approach this person, situation, class, presentation, interview? Use props to support your presentation, as an actor would - clothes, mannerisms, manner of speaking. Practice acting as if you are this person you have defined, like an actor in a movie practices his role. Your expression - your attitude - comes from your thinking. Notice how your favorite actor can express different attitudes, non-verbally. Use this as an example of how it can be done. Practice, and notice how people treat you in response. What is your attitude, dude? Visit my website to start creating your own success!! Charli Williams, founder of Lamont Williams in Orange County California, has been a Personal Success Coach for more than a decade. She is an author, lecturer, columnist and radio talk show personality. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Orange County Association of Health Underwriters. She develops custom tailored programs for entrepreneurs, designed to move each person along their path to success. Lamont Williams operates under the philosophy that just as Olympic athletes have private coaches to help them fine-tune their abilities, so too should business people have a coach to help them reach their goals more easily. Lamont Williams clients are varied. Current participates include engineers, financial and estate planners, physicians, top insurance producers, educators, loan consultants, real estate agents and sales representatives. The Coaching Program enables individuals to develop clear, detailed plans resulting in success on a consistent basis, and more time in their lives for relationships, fun and relaxation. Charli helps her clients formulate and achieve their Ideal Lifestyle. This Ideal Lifestyle is not only limited to business; it carries over into personal life as well. Charli, through her unique visualization techniques, has achieved her own Ideal Lifestyle. The tools and techniques used produce success more easily, eliminating the old fashion concept of the need for "hard work." The Coaching Programs are very "person specific."That is, they are tailored to fulfill the needs of each individual, rather than the individual needing to fit the program. The programs enable people to develop clear, detailed plans resulting in more income on a consistent basis. Living a balanced, successful life is the ultimate goal. The Coaching Programs from Lamont Williams include: Private Coaching, on an individual basis; Coaching for Team Synergy, for groups; and other custom designed training's. Her workbook, Creating Your Own Success,is a step-by-step guide to achievement. For more information, please call our offices at 800-353-1170 E-mail Lamontwm@pacbell.net or Fax (713) 389-3038.