I just made my friend cry...

....all I did was ask her to put on a dress and then look at herself in the mirror – it’s part of my job!
 

Trying something that was at least 1 size smaller than she was expecting, containing colours she would never have considered previously and in a style far more revealing than she would usually dare wear (because it showed her figure rather than hiding it) enabled her to see the potential of how good she could look - for the first time since having her children.  I say she saw a glimpse of her true self coming back at her from the mirror, someone she had forgotten.

‘Telling the Truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile’.  

Paolo Coelho

Let your appearance tell the truth about who you are. I don’t always move people to tears but it has been known!  Susan Boyle has also displayed this skill of causing people to be moved! If you haven't yet seen her original appearance, it's a real treat.

Transformation: 
a complete change, usually into something with an improved appearance or usefulness (Bing Dictionary). 

Susan Boyle is also one of the most significant and public transformations that we've seen in recent years and what a difference it’s made to the way people relate to her?   Coming on stage everyone clearly assumed that she couldn't sing - and the main basis for that was her appearance.  Understandably she then went through a make-over and typically followed the public criticism.  It's not an easy journey to make at any time, never mind in the public eye.

Simon Cowell captured it well when he later said:

 “Focus yourself.  …come back as the person you want to be, not the person you think you should be"

True transformation; noone can deny how gorgeous she can look.  

Internal conversations and scripts prevent you looking our best often accompanied by not knowing what suits you, your body shape, proportions and your personality, our consultants at House of Colour are trained to help you with that change to transformation.

I once met a lovely woman wearing scruffy trousers, a grungy (sorry, but it was!) vest top, no make-up and her hair scraped off her face in a messy knot.  It was highly likely the colours weren’t her best either becaue there was nothing stunning about her.  Yet she was an amazing woman with a lot to offer and we had a fascinating conversation.  She was someone who looked for the beauty in everything and everyone.  For her, true beauty was about the personality on the inside, not the outward appearance.  Ironically, in my opinion (and having consulted over 500 people, I consider myself a fairly objective judge) she was beautiful - stunning eyes, facial bone structure that many women would pay for, a fabulous figure and had what I can only describe as a peaceful, serene energy around her.  At the time there was something amiss but it wasn’t until later that it registered - the misalignment between the inside and the outside meant that she was making people work really hard to see her beauty.  Why would you do that?

When you present yourself to the world as a true reflection of who you are, you make it easier for people to see you, get you, understand, relate to you and therefore make it easier for people to work with you. 

While the most obvious application for this is some kind of interview, be it sales or a new job, they are one-off events.  It’s the consistency over time which embeds the transformation. I clearly remember a client who discovered that business networking suddenly became easier, more effective and far more enjoyable when she was dressed in colours and styles that flattered her -  that is, showed off her best self to the world week in, week out. 

By coincidence HOC HQ posted this on our Facebook page this week: ‘You’ve been criticising yourself for years and it hasn’t worked.  Try approving of yourself and see what happens.’  Louise Hay

I believe the world would be a better place if we did!  What do you see is possible?