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By Root 352 0

part. Your clothing, jewelry, hair, accessories, makeup, and so on form the billboard that presents your physical message to the world. What message does your billboard sell? Do you wear low-cut shirts that make people notice your body instead of your brains? Do you wear pants so low that your boxers are on display? Is your hair purple and your nose pierced? None of these is wrong. In fact, I like purple hair. Still, all these choices are part of your physical billboard, which sends a signal that can make certain Future Pictures more difficult to achieve. Unless a potential boyfriend or employer takes the time to get to know what a great person you are on the inside—and that you just happen to really like the color purple—he may never see beyond what’s on your outside. Instead, he may look at you from a distance, assume he know’s your “type,” and dismiss you based on your physical appearance alone. I know you may be saying to yourself, “Who cares if he doesn’t like me because of the way I choose to look? I don’t want a person who stereotypes in my life anyway.” I understand; I had hair down to my shoulders during college. All I am saying is to be aware of the signal your physical appearance sends to the world and consider adjusting it, when necessary, to align with your Future Picture. In other words: If you’re going on a job interview, wear clothes that show you mean business. If you’re going to the beach with friends, wear the tiniest bikini you want. Just know that the part you dress for is often the part you get.

TO PLUG IN: If you can’t afford professional clothes for an important job interview, borrow them from a friend or buy them secondhand. No one will know but you. When you get the job you’ll be the one laughing all the way to the clothing store of your choice!

3. Leave a paper trail. Your physical appearance leaves the room when you do. What connects the people you have just plugged in with back to you? What are the breadcrumbs you leave behind for your new, important contacts to reach you later? Your paper trail is your networking bread crumbs. This is the printed material that you leave behind, or send out, that displays your name, image, and contact information. This includes your business cards, letterhead, envelopes, and Web site (if you have one), and even the address of your myspace.com page.

Everyone, whether she lives with her parents, has her dream job, is attending college, is currently unemployed, or just has big dreams that she needs help to reach should have:

• Professional-looking business cards

• Matching letterhead and envelopes (stationery)

• Politically neutral e-mail address

This may seem like overkill if you are a freshman in your first semester of college, but trust me, looking good on paper says lots about you and how you see yourself in the future.

I’m making a point of this, because I meet so many twentysomething professionals and aspiring professionals whose paper trail is simply not up to par with their ambitions. I’ve met third-year teachers who won’t get business cards because they think, “I’m just a teacher.” I’ve even met doctors who write notes to patients only on the letterhead they get for free from pharmaceutical companies.

How would you feel knowing that your teacher, or your kid’s teacher, doesn’t take himself seriously enough to get his own business card? Or that your highly paid and highly skilled doctor won’t spend two cents to write you a holiday note on her own stationery? You have to wonder if these people are just lazy or if they don’t realize how important they are to the people they serve. If you’re a professional, or simply on a path that becomes easier with the more quality people you have in your network, put your professionalism in writing! Every piece of paper that you leave behind that connects people back to you represents you. For a small amount of effort and very little money you can create a paper trail that your new contacts will want to follow.

TO PLUG IN: Invest $50 in your future. Buy some decent letterhead and envelopes. Print five hundred