Look like the part

I’ll bet it was our old friend anonymous who first said, “If you want to be successful you’ve got to look successful” and I reckon that it’s still a pretty good piece of advice. I was reminded of its aptness when I walked through our nearby shopping centre a couple of times over the last week or so.

On the first occasion there was an oldish bloke collecting money for a cause but, although I’m not miserly by nature, I steered a clear passage coz the guy himself looked like a train wreck. Shabby and down at heel, I’m sure that, if I had gotten within range of his breath, it would have bowled me over. Now I may have been doing him an injustice because he could have been an exhibit for a charity that looks after broken down old accountants but, in any event, I wasn’t about to find out. I’m sorry, but he just didn’t look good so nether did his business (and adding another truism, “You never get a second chance at a first impression!”).

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A couple of days later I walked past the same spot and the old guy had been replaced by a different charity, something like The Little Sisters of Thieving Newsboys.

Collecting at the stall were two of the sisters themselves looking radiant, almost glowing in their brilliant white habits topped by smiling, crinkly, cosmetic-free faces. They really looked the part, so legitimate, so kind, so absolutely the epitome of great charity workers that the money was flooding in. They were successful at their chosen vocation because they looked successful.

Remember, if you want to be successful you’ve got to look successful.