I had a meeting recently with a new small business consulting client. Based on our phone call to set up the meeting, I knew she was younger than me, sounded full of energy, and seemed ready to do the hard work of building an entrepreneurial venture.
When I arrived at her condo for the meeting, I was dumbstruck. She was absolutely beautiful. I mean supermodel beautiful. She was also very muscular. I’m not talking female bodybuilder muscle, but more like a female cage fighter or superhero. I think it’s quite possible she could’ve actually been Supergirl.
A lesser man would have stood there in the doorway and just stared at her slobbering for ten minutes unable to speak.
I’m no lesser man. I cut my stare short in only five.
But onto the point of my story. Meeting her got me to thinking and wondering, how does the world see me? How does the world see you?
All her life, this young lady has likely been judged because of her looks. I know many of you might think, “Oh what a curse being beautiful is,” but it really is in a way. Maybe not so much a curse, but something she has to anticipate and work around. People tend to stereotype beauty and good looks and equate it with a lack of intelligence, sleeping around to get what they want, or getting by on nothing but looks.
And there’s also putting up with lesser men who stare and drool.
I’ve never been a handsome guy. I’ve never been dapper or gentlemanly. I have a certain look that sometimes sparks fear, apprehension, and nervousness. People see me on the street at night, and they walk to the other side as they pre-dial 911 on their phones.
I’m fine with that. There isn’t much I can change about my appearance, especially now that I have a big ugly scar on the top of my head to go along with all the other war wounds and the fierce red beard.
But I can change what I do with or even in spite of those looks, just like the young lady I met with. She’s creating something awesome that has nothing to do with her appearance. I’ve been in movies playing rough characters that act just like I look and appeared as a comic book character. I’ve also written nearly twenty books that have nothing to do with my rugged features.
Stop a minute and ask yourself how people see you. Take into account how you look, how you walk and talk, what you do for fun or for money, and how you relax. Then ask other people for their honest feedback.
You might want to change some things so that you can project the person you want to be and not how the world sees you. Or you may be just fine, but you need to figure that out to level up.
Thanks for reading, Dr. Dave
This message was written by a team of geeks, nerds, gamers, and Dr. David Powers. You can always find us at www.callsignredbeard.com. Thanks for reading!
In the words of Starship Troopers, “Would you like to know more?”