The old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” may be true, but marketing and branding experts work with graphic designers and advertising executives to design product packaging and word content that appeals to your emotions. They are expecting you to judge the product by its packaging and purchase it based on how it looks from the outside.
Leave a lasting impression
Career coaches instruct their clients to dress to impress for a job interview. They know that people are evaluated by their appearance in the first few seconds of an interview and they want their clients to gain a nonverbal advantage by dressing to impress. The career coaches understand you only get one chance to make a first impression.
You make true lasting impressions by who you are. If you try to be someone other than yourself, you will eventually be discovered as a fraud. When I talk about dressing for success, I am not talking about the attire you wear for a job interview, networking event, banquet or business meeting.
Wear your purpose
God designed you to wear your purpose. Your purpose will not work for someone else or someone else’s purpose will not work for you. I do not care how successful they are living their purpose, you are not guaranteed success if you follow it. You can follow their purpose letter by letter and word by word. You can dot all the ‘I’s” and cross all the ‘T’s’ and still fail miserably.
You can try to make their purpose fit you the best way you can. You can tuck it in, take it up and pull it down, but it still won’t work. Their purpose was designed to fit them and not you.
Trust me; I have tried the imitating routine myself. I have attended seminars and conferences led by individuals who ‘made it’ with hopes of discovering their formula and duplicating their success.
I have read blogs and books by people who gave great insight and instruction that, if followed, will produce phenomenal results and unparalleled success. I have listened to the podcasts and watched the webinars of the gurus and experts five strategies to this and seven keys to that and still not come close to the promised results.
God designed me the way He wanted. I am not here to be a carbon copy of anyone. I can spend the next ten years reading and studying someone else’s recipe for success, but I’ll never reach my full potential copying their journey.
When I set aside my uniqueness to copy someone else’s recipe, I relinquish the essence of who God designed me to become. Rather than moving toward the best expression of who I am, I turn away from it.
You are custom designed
If you want a custom suit, you have to go to a tailor to get it made. The tailor will take measurements for your body size and dimension. He takes the necessary time to make sure everything is cut and sewn to your distinct body proportions. If he has any problems he will call you back to re-measure to make sure everything is properly sized.
When the suit is finished, you will have a product customized to fit only you. If another person tries to wear your suit it will not fit them properly because it was not designed to fit their body dimensions. It may look from a distance that the suit fits, but upon closer investigation, you will discover it does not fit properly.
The suit was custom made for you and not bought from a department store rack where there could be six suits of the same style, color and size. You are not from the suit rack of a department store, God tailored made you to fit your custom designed purpose. Once you are outfitted with your custom suit, you are dressed for success.
Your purpose may not be the most expensive or flashiest. It may not produce you great fame and fortune. Your purpose may just be plain and simple. I declare if you wear your purpose the way God designed, you can walk with your head up and live out your purpose.
Live your purpose
The enemy of your purpose wants you to be an imitator. He knows if you waste time trying to be someone that you are not, you forfeit your purpose. When you do not live your purpose; you become a hindrance in your marriage, with your children, on your job, in your family, with your finances and living your vision.
You are an original. There are over seven billion people in the world and each person is uniquely designed. Your fingerprints distinguish you from anyone else on the planet. You were created with a specific purpose. You are not a carbon copy. You were creatively designed to live out your purpose.
If anyone tells you that you need to be the next so and so. You tell them I appreciate the complement, but I am going to be the next and only me. I am going to live my best and make my contributions to the world that only I can make.
Today is your day to wear your purpose with confidence and courage. And when you do, you will accomplish things you only dreamed of accomplishing. Your innovative ideas, creative concepts and tremendous thoughts will rise to the forefront and you will see your life grow beyond yours and others expectations.
“Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of somebody else.” Judy Garland
Question: What do you need to do to wear your purpose with confidence? Leave a comment below.
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floyd says
I climbed off that rat wheel a long time ago. In a world where people are looking for results, the best thing to show them is the results of what you do… our actions truly do speak for themselves. I’ve also found that if you dress a certain to attract a certain type of people… all you catch are the ones that aren’t who they really are either and the cost to do business with them is more than a soul can afford… Great post, brother.
Bernard Haynes says
Love the response. It takes to much work to be someone else and try to maintain the facade.
Loren Pinilis says
I love this metaphor, Bernard!
I believe when you wear your purpose, when others can see the confidence and the spark in your eyes – they are very open to following you and very open to talking with you. It can open many doors of conversation.
Bernard Haynes says
Thanks Loren. You are correct. When we wear our purpose others can see the confidence and assurance in who we are.
Ngina Otiende says
wow I love this Bernard, (i hope it’s in one of your books/speeches/training 🙂 ..it’s powerful)
“you are not from the suit rack of a department store..” I wonder the many lives that would be transformed if we stopped living like we were..?
Power post, thanks for sharing
Bernard Haynes says
Thanks for commenting Ngina. This is one of the messages in, It’s in you to win’.
Lawrence Namale says
I am greatly amazed everyday by what goes on in the ‘airwaves’. It seems to me like God is giving to us messages to put out. Just reading your point about leaving a last impression, I remember giving a talk last weekend on ‘7 Damaging Philosophies in the Modern Job Market’. You capture that talk in its entirety by this point alone! Wow!
One would ask: What’s the point of a great book cover and shallow content? Great post my friend…what to say?
Bernard Haynes says
Lawrence, thanks for your input. I know that was a powerful talk that you gave. Keep wearing your purpose and making a difference with your powerful message. Be blessed.
Barb Raveling says
I need to break the habit of always waiting for someone else to tell me what to do instead of saying, “What do I think is best?” or “What does God want me to do?” It’s crazy. I do this even with writing. Have to remember that they’re different than me and God wants me to be me! Thanks for the encouragement, Bernard.
Bernard Haynes says
I also have the habit of waiting for someone to tell me what I need to be doing. For some reason I wait around for some expert or guru to tell me what I need to do. Instead of following God’s direction on what to do, I miss opportunity waiting for someone else. Thanks for your encouragement.
Barb Raveling says
And yours, Bernard!
TCAvey says
AMEN! I am Me and that’s wonderful.
When we truly begin to realize that no two people have the same potential, gifts, or design, we are liberated to allow others to be who God created them to be and for us to be okay with who we are.
Bernard Haynes says
Your response is spot on.
Bernard Haynes says
Thanks Dave.