"D" – Dress for Success

Before people see your potential, your heart, or your value they see you. That was the lesson my father taught me when I was about ten or eleven. I had thrown on something scruffy to visit a neighbour, and he stopped me in my tracks.

“Even if you’ve only got two shirts and one pair of trousers,” he said, “make sure they’re pressed, and your shoes are buffed.”

At the time, I didn’t get it. I thought I was just popping next door. But now, I realise that was the moment I first learned a truth I’ve seen echoed in boardrooms, on stages, in sports arenas, and across history: before the world gives you a chance, it will judge how you show up.

There’s a reason we dress well for first dates. There’s a reason candidates obsess

over what to wear to interviews. There’s a reason elite athletes begin each match in

pristine gear, and why military personnel are required to maintain immaculate

appearance. It’s not vanity, it’s psychology.

In social psychology, there’s something called the “halo effect” the tendency for an

impression in one area (like appearance) to influence opinions in another (like

competence). Studies have shown that people perceived as more put-together are

more likely to be seen as intelligent, trustworthy, and capable. Even when nothing

else changes.

Which brings me to the mental side of all this. Because dressing for success isn’t just

about the clothes on your back, it’s about the attitude you wear under them.

By now you should have noticed that I love a visual reference. So, take The Pursuit

of Happiness, the film based on Chris Gardner’s real-life story. At one point, Gardner

is homeless, sleeping in shelters with his young son while interning at an investment

firm. Every night, he washed his shirt. Every morning, he ironed it. He showed up to

work looking like he came from a comfortable home, even though he didn’t.

Why? Because he wasn’t going to let his temporary circumstances define his long-

term trajectory. He was dressing not just for the job but for the man he was

becoming.

That’s what it means to dress for success. You don’t try to change the world’s vanity

or its fragility. You meet it where it is, while staying rooted in who you’re becoming.

Think about it: how many times have you walked into a room and felt out of place

mentally underdressed, physically overdressed, or both? And how did that affect

your confidence?

In most cases, when we’re underdressed, we shrink. We second-guess. But when

we’re overdressed even if it’s slightly off we’re remembered. We carry ourselves

differently. And people respond differently in return. It’s the same internally.

Mental preparation for an interview, a pitch, a conversation

that matters is its own form of dressing. You can’t fake readiness. But you can build

it.Because here’s the truth: if something matters to you, you don’t want to show up at

60%. You’d rather be 10% too much than 1% too little. You can live with yourself if

you over-prepare and fail. But it’s much harder when you know you fell short

because you didn’t bother to step into your fullest self. So don’t shortcut it.

Do the work. Press the shirt/top. Buff the shoes. Think about your audience. Think

about how you want to be remembered. And most importantly, think about the

person you’re becoming and dress like them. Step into that version of yourself. Fully.

Mentally. Physically. Emotionally.

Dressed not just for the moment but for the inevitable success ahead.