The "Ideal Job" Hat

This week the members of my networking group decided to shake things up a bit by wearing a hat which represented our business. There were some wonderful headwear ranging from Julie's which sported lovely yellow rosebuds fashioned from dusters and leaves made from scourers (she has a cleaning company) to Yvonne who wore a hard hat with a phone on the front and a lightbulb on the back, which actually lit up when you pulled a cord! (She is with Utility Warehouse).

 Mine was covered in maps to represent my Unique 3 Step MAP System - well, you wouldn't set out to travel from where you are to somewhere new and different without some means of identifying potential routes, would you?

I then addes a "Sindy" doll wrapped in my book "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder"(www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk )
 - well, what else does a girl need? The book is packed full of tips and ideas to help you move your career forward!

She is climbing a ladder - the "corporate ladder" of the book title - looking radiantly happy and proudly holding her achievements - happiness, money, success & fulfillment!

This visually represents what I do. I work with ambitious women like yourself to achieve the career success and life that you want by working with my MAP system

• M - you develop a Masterful Mindset to ensure your success
• A - you decide which Amazing Actions will lead to your career success. You then plan them in detail and implement them.
• P - you then develop your Powerful Presence through learning what to wear to flatter your shape and present a professional and stylish image to the world both at work and out.

If you had a hat to represent your ideal job, what would be on it?
Why have you chosen thos items?

What is the essence of the career you want and the lifestyle you seek?

If you would like to learn more about my Unique 3 Step MAP System then please watch this short, five minute video where I explain it in more detail.

http://youtu.be/_lHatfqjN4I

In the meantime, I will leave you with a couple more photos of my "business" hat. I think my grandson looks rather wonderful in it - he certainly thought it was hilarious. I wonder what he will tell his teachers about his nana's hat?!

Ascot here I come!

I would really like to hear from you and see photos of your "ideal job" hat - what you have on it and why you have chosen those items. So please email me at

sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk

Copyright - 2012, Sue Courtney - Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.

7 Top Tips For What To Wear

7 Top Tips For What To Wear–

For interviews, dating – anything!

Recently I was asked to be the guest expert speaker on a teleseminar run by the relationship expert George Pirinizi (www.AttractYourIdealPartner.com). I was to talk about what to wear on a first date and to attract a partner, generally. Now, this is not something I often have to consider, but I agreed to speak on the teleseminar and thought about what my top 7 tips would be.

It occurred to me that my 7 top tips would be relevant for dressing for any occasion. The principles remain the same, whatever the circumstances – the only difference is in the items of clothing you would select to wear for the different occasions.

However, it is no good dressing to impress someone and not being yourself. The idea is to enhance ‘you’ by dressing to look the best version of you – the one who knows how to look effortlessly stylish.

So, in reverse order, here are my 7 Top Tips for what to wear – at any time!

7. The “Best-Front-Room” Syndrome

Do you remember the days when most families had a “best room” that was reserved for special guests and Christmas? Or the “best” tea set that was rarely used – every day the family had to make do with mismatched crockery?

Well, too many women adopt this principle with their clothes – keeping a few choice items for “best” and wearing cheaper, less flattering clothes for every day. Don’t.

I don’t see the point in dressing down for work, when that is where you will be seen by most people, and dressing up and looking your best only occasionally. The result of this is that, often, the best clothes go out of fashion and have to the ditched before they have been worn more than once or twice. What a waste.

No, don’t save your fab look for social events, dates and interviews. You are special – treat yourself as such and wear your “best” often – to work, to the pub, shopping, to put the bin out....! You deserve to look your best at all times. You don’t need loads of clothes to look good, just a core of well fitting, flattering items that you can mix and match.

Far better to have to ditch gorgeous clothes because you wore them out than because they went out of fashion before you had the chance to wear them.

6. Less is More

The “decked out like a Christmas tree” look is not elegant or stylish. The general rule is don’t wear more than 3 accessories at any one time. Also, don’t wear earrings and necklaces at the same time. I know they can be bought as sets, but that doesn’t mean you have to wear them together. If you wear earrings, leave your neck unadorned. If you wear a necklace, leave your ears bare.

Take the advice of Coco Chanel – before leaving the house, look in the mirror and remove one item.

Dress simply to look stunning.

5.Mix and Match

Never buy a whole outfit from one collection, it isn’t stylish. Mix and match to let the authentic you shine through. You don’t want people to admire that outfit from XXX. You want them to admire your wonderful sense of style. So mix it up.

I love to wear a gorgeous, expensive, tailored shift dress (which is really quite smart) with a lovely leather biker jacket. It gives a quite unexpected edge to the look.

Also, don’t go for high fashion looks – they rarely suit and rarely look good. They certainly aren’t a good investment of your money.

As Yves Saint Laurent said “Fashion Fades, Style is Eternal”.

Oh yes, and another tip – the neckline/hemline rule.

If your hemline rises, the neckline should rise too.

If your neckline drops so should your hemline.

This avoids the ‘belt’ look when the two meet in the middle! Not stylish.

4. PPPPPP or Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance

I imagine you have never heard this uses in relation to dressing. But it is as relevant to what you wear as any other aspect of your life.

·       If you are going out shopping for clothes then take the shoes you will wear with the outfit with you – or borrow from the shop. This is especially important when buying trousers and jeans.

·       If you are buying for a special occasion – date, interview, wedding etc. then buy in advance and wear the outfit around the house to get used to how it feels and works. On a special occasion you want to feel confident and be able to give your attention to the matter in hand, being yourself, not worried about whether the skirt rides up, the zip will split, the front of the blouse is gaping or whatever else proper planning can alleviate.

3. Build on a Strong Foundation

A properly fitting bra is essential. It can alter the way clothes fit and look on you and can change your shape by a size. So get properly fitted as a priority. It isn’t an exact science and you may need to take as many as ten bras of the same size into the fitting room to find one that fits properly. It is worth the effort.

Get re-fitted regularly, at least every twelve to eighteen months.

Now we have all been guilty of buying gorgeous sets of undies for that ‘special occasion’ and wearing really quite ‘manky’ undies every day – it’s that “best-front-room” syndrome again. Don’t do it. You know how wonderful you feel in the good stuff – so wear it every day – for YOU.

2. Extreme care

Take care of your clothes – they are an investment.

I once did a Wardrobe De-Tox session for a woman who had a great many expensive designer dresses and outfits in her wardrobe – well some of them were, others were in a heap in the corner of the room, dirty, in need of mending and unwearable.  Don’t be like that.

Before I put anything into my wardrobe I ensure it is ready to wear again – so I check to see whether items need cleaning, ironing or mending. I have a shoe cleaning basket in the wardrobe and always check my shoes and clean them before replacing them in their box.

If clothes need dry cleaning don’t have them cleaned too often as this will weaken the fabric. But do take care of your clothes and they will take care of you.

When you open your wardrobe door you want to feel inspired not terrified.

1.Dress for your Shape.

There is no perfect shape. Those who appear to have a ‘perfect’ shape will be a fortunate combination of several. Most of us would rather have a different shape and most of us are a combination of two or more shapes, but acceptance is crucial. If you know and accept the shape you are you can begin to use this information to your advantage to dress to flatter your shape and look fab all the time.

You may be an apple, pear, rhubarb, strawberry or hourglass shape (see blog “Dress for your Shape” for details) but as long as you dress to enhance the shape you actually are and follow my other top tips you will always look stylish and draw attention in a positive and authentic way.

If you haven’t already done so, might I suggest that you go to my website, www.successandimagecoach.co.uk  and get yourself a copy of my FREE book “The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder”. All the information about the different shapes is in there as well as many more expert tips and hints.

So go there NOW and claim your FREE BOOK at www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk

Copyright © 2012, Sue Courtney – Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.

Love the Life You've Got Now (While You Work To Improve It)

Love the Life you’ve got now

(while you work to improve it)

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your life at the moment? I imagine not many of you can honestly say ten to all areas of your life – it just doesn’t work like that, does it? There are usually one or two areas that are working better than others and a few that need a complete overhaul. But what can you do about it? In her book “Simple Abundance. A Daybook of Comfort and Joy” by Sarah Ban Breathnach suggests that you bloom where you are planted. Right at this moment you may not have the perfect career, home or relationship but you do have the opportunity to make it as good as you possibly can today, and plan how you are going to improve it further tomorrow.

 Recently I introduced my local Chamber of Commerce to the Wheel of Life, a coaching tool to structure an assessment of how each area of your life or business is doing. It then leads on to developing an action plan to improve the situation and move closer to the life you truly want. Blooming where you are, or making the most of your current life is a good place to start, but there is absolutely no reason to accept it as your lot in life. Using the Wheel of Life you can begin to plan small adjustments that will lead you to achieve the life you would like.

The wheel of life is a circle, divided into six segments, each of which is further divided into 5 sections. The first step is to decide which area of your life or business you will assign to each segment. You could choose career, finance, family, relationships, leisure, home – whatever seems appropriate to you.

For each area of life you then decide what perfection would look like and feel like to you. You can’t make your life perfect for someone else, only you. Let them sort out their own life, this is for you and you alone. So if one area is home, what would your ideal home look like? Where would it be? How many rooms would it have? How would the house be furnished? What would the garden look like? Make it as real and inspiring as possible. Then ask yourself why you want it to be like this? What is the essence of the vision? Is it ‘old world charm’ when you currently live on the fourth floor of a modern apartment block or ‘modern minimalist’ when you are juggling the demands of full time work and four children? If you know the essence of what you are trying to achieve then you may be able to introduce little aspects of it into your current life to make things a little more bearable.

If leisure is an area you have chosen to focus on, ask what you would love to do with your leisure if time and money were no object? Would you eat out more, go to shows or concerts, have several holidays a year, join a golf club or go windsurfing or horse riding or dancing?  Then ask yourself what is the core reason? What is the feeling you will have when you are able to spend your leisure doing what you love? Once you know the essence of the activity ask how you can inject a little of that into your leisure now. What could you do now to give a bit of that feeling?

OK, you get the idea. The next section asks you to rate your current life against the goal of perfection which you identified in the previous section. One indicates that nothing works and the area needs a complete overhaul. Ten indicates that perfection has already been attained. If you join all the numbers up around the wheel you may end up with a fairly even circle at about 5 or 6. You may, though, have a rather jagged circle with some peaks and troughs. This will indicate the areas of your life which need most urgent action and those which are not too bad at present.

Outside the wheel are a series of boxes labelled ‘Strengths’. There is one box for each segment of the wheel. In each box you can list everything that is working in each area. What is quite good? What could you build on? In home you could list that you actually have a home or a room that you can work on. In leisure it may be that you actually have an hour or so to call your own each week. Dig deep and be as positive as possible. They say you get more of what you focus on so maximise the good.

So now you know what perfection would look and feel like, you know how life currently rates and you have identified what is currently good in your life. Next you go round the wheel and ask the question

“If there was just one thing I could do that would move me a small step closer to my goal of perfection in this area what would it be?”

If more than one idea comes to mind then list them and decide which you feel most compelled to do. At the moment they are just ideas that you could do if you chose to. What would have to do to cause some positive change?

What one thing could you do to get the process started?

What are the barriers that may stop you from taking this action or achieving your goal in this area of life? This is a really important aspect of the process so please don’t skimp on it. The barriers may be physical such as not living in the right sort of house or not having any spare time. They may also be self imposed limiting beliefs that you need to identify and deal with before you can successfully achieve your goals. Whatever they turn out to be, take them seriously and give them the attention they require. If you know what you are dealing with you are better able to take the appropriate action. If you don’t have any spare time then you might consider reorganising your time, re-prioritising tasks and delegating. If you don’t live in the right sort of house could you do a bit of clever decorating and accessorising?

If you have limiting beliefs then take advice from Anthony Robbins. He says that beliefs are like a table top, they have to be supported by a certain number of legs or evidence. The trick is to destroy the legs of the beliefs by finding enough evidence to the contrary. Then make a new, empowering belief and actively seek evidence to support the new belief. It may take time but it will be well worth the effort.

The final step is to list all the actions you need to take to reach ten in each area and do something each day to move you towards that goal. Paul McKenna suggests making a time line to show the steps you will have to have taken in order to get from where you are to where you want to be. This is not a quick process but you may find that by focussing on one area for a while – maybe the one that will have the biggest impact on your life, or the one that seems easiest to start with – other areas will be improved as a result. Life is, after all, interconnected and creating the life you truly want should be a lifetimes work. There will always be new goals to achieve to replace the goals achieved. Enjoy the journey it is all part of your life and you deserve to have the life you want.

One action you could take is to go to www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk to claim your copy of my FREE book "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder". Go on - it's really very good!

One final thought, for now – if you find yourself stuck and you are struggling to achieve a goal it could be that your goal and your values are in conflict. Your goal may be to embark on a risky financial venture when your key value around finances is stability. Take some time to discover your core values in relation to each area on the wheel and ask yourself whether your goals are compatible with your values.

If you would like to explore more then go to my website where you can purchase my “Wheel of Life” CD and Workbook set. This will really get you moving in the right direction and taking action.

Have a look at www.successandimagecoach.co.uk

Copyright © - 2011, Sue Courtney – Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.

DO A WARDROBE DE-TOX

And get clarity and flow back into your life

Now you know what to wear to look your best you need to attack the wardrobe – not for nothing does Nicky Hambleton-Jones call it a Wardrobe Warrior session. Be ruthless and really analyse your clothes. If they don’t fit the rules and don’t make you look and feel great they either have to be altered or binned.

Do you love your clothes or just wear them?

William Morris once said that he allowed in his house only items that he either knew to be useful or believed to be beautiful.

This applies to clothes too. If it doesn’t fit, you haven’t worn it for a year or it makes your energy plummet every time you see it in your wardrobe, I’m sorry, but it has to go. The new, stylish you can’t emerge if you are still wearing that old coat or top, just because it cost a lot, your mother-in-law knitted it or it has some other way of making you feel guilty. Guilt is not attractive – give it away to someone who will truly appreciate it and move on. I have regular culls of my clothes, at least three times a year. I rarely regret throwing something out for more than a few hours!

But before you throw out everything, be creative. Would the jacket you wear with the suit look better with different trousers? Could a belt, bag or scarf transform a tired outfit and bring it back to trendy life? As Duke Ellington said,

   “It don’t mean a thing if it aint got that swing…”

So be playful when putting your clothes together in different ways, have fun. A complete wardrobe re-vamp with a professional can take about three to five hours. On your own it won’t be any quicker and is a lot less fun. Try setting aside an hour each evening to make it more manageable. Once you have decided what to throw out, go do it. Get it out of the house and out of your life before you are tempted to sneak something back. A stylist will often take the bag of discarded clothes with her to ensure the can be no backsliding! While you are doing this remember to throw out all the wire hangers – every single one.

Your clothes should reflect you – your authentic style. If you aren’t sure what that is any more then look in magazines and cut out pictures of clothes you like. Analyse what it is that you like about them. Are there any celebrities whose style you admire? Collect pictures of them and see if you can adapt what they wear to your shape. Make a seasonal style board to set your subconscious mind looking for opportunities to find similar items within your budget. As you buy a piece or change your mind, simply stick another picture over it.

Finally, once you have weeded out the unflattering items in your collection take a close look at the remaining items.

How well do you care for your clothes?

Can you go to your wardrobe every morning and pick out anything and guarantee that it is clean, ironed, in good repair and ready to wear?

How do you arrange your clothes in your wardrobe? (I can hear some asking – arrange? No I shove things in anywhere.) It is important that when you open your wardrobe you are inspired, it makes it so much easier to pick an outfit, so arrange them by colour, group them into skirts, tops etc, or any way you choose that works for you.

You may not have as many clothes now, but you know that you look great in every outfit and feel inspired every time you open your wardrobe and see the rail of neatly arranged, clean tidy clothes ready to be worn. Liberating isn’t it?

If you would like to have a proper Wardrobe Detox carried out by an expert then contact Sue Courtney at sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk for details.

Alternatively go to www.successandimagecoach.co.uk
For your FREE copy of my book "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder" go to www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk - it really is FREE and is going out to 16 countries worldwide!

Copyright © 2012, Sue Courtney – Success & Image Ltd. All rights reserved.

What is Your 'Brand'? by Sue Courtney of Success and Image

Your Personal Brand is the way you communicate exactly who you are and what makes you the wonderfully unique person you are. But are you communicating the right 'brand' - the real you?

When at work, how can the organisation define the ideal role for you? What are you doing to enable them to decide that you are the right person to represent the company at a higher level?

Your brand is defined by your attitude, experience, specific skills and image that sets you apart from everyone else in the organisation. It is your job to ensure that they set you apart in a positive way.

So begin by identifying the areas in which you excel - what do you love to do? What are you really good at? What new skills could you acquire that would enable you to perform even better and catch the attention of those in power?

What are your particular personal qualities that fit you to a certain job - what qualities might you need to acquire to best fit the promotion you aspire to?

When writing your CV ensure that your strengths sing out - and are in alignment with those required of the job you are applying for. Anyone reading your CV should be left in no doubt that you are the perfect person for the job, with the right skillset, attitude and image to become their best asset. Prospective employers need to be in no doubt that they would be mad to not hire you! I recently worked with just such a person - the job at Virgin had his name written all over it and he was able to easily convince the interview panels that he was the only person they should consider for the post!

So go the extra mile if you want the extra responsibility. They say that if you do more than you are currently paid to do, you will eventually be paid to do more than you currently do.

Give it your best shot.

Work out which promotion or job you would be ideally suited to and set about convincing those that need to be convinced, of your suitability.
Or
Work out which job you would really, really like and redesign your 'brand' to match. Make yourself absolutely indispensable to them by acquiring all the necessary skills and knowledge to be their ideal person.

Go to www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk to claim your FREE copy of my book "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder" which is full of top tips.

Contact me at sue@successnadimagecoach.co.uk

How to Develop Your Own Authentic Personal 'Brand' by Sue Courtney

How To Develop Your Own Authentic Personal 'Brand'

I recorded this short video in the grounds of 'Meerkat Manor' - AKA Templeton in Roehampton. It was such a gorgeous day that it was too good to be in a studio, so we went outside - hence the background noise, for which I apologise.

In it I talk about my MAP for getting professional women from the job they currently have to the promotion they so richly deserve by means of a 'Personal Rebranding' programme.

The problem is that, if you have been presenting the wrong image for a long time, which is often the case when women are overlooked for promotion, then 'rebranding' becomes a longer, more time consuming and important process.

But it is never too late to make the positive first impression you intended all those years ago!

So please listen to the video to see exactly what the MAP programme entails.

If you are serious about wanting that promotion it may be exactly what you have been looking for.

http://youtu.be/_lHatfqjN4I

I hope you enjoyed the video.
For more information go to www.freepersonalrebrandingbook.co.uk and claim your FREE book "The Ultimate Guide to Personal Rebranding for Professional Females Climbing the Corporate Ladder". It is packed full of useful tips and ideas to get you started.

If you have any questions then please email them to me at
sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk
I will reply as soon as possible.