What energy are you wearing?

Last week I received a call from the President of an independent record label in Boston. He has a great band with strong songs that’s getting massive radioplay and accolades from MTV and other media outlets. However, he was really concerned, the energy of the band just isn’t living up to the music.

Think about this: What do we mean when we say the word “energy”?

For me, energy is the way that we feel. Sometimes, you have low energy. Sometimes, high energy. Either way, it’s always moving and in flux; and people can tell. We wear our energy on our faces and in our posture. We wear it in our energy field which is always around us. It’s been proven by science that in addition to our physical body, we also have an energy body. This isn’t much of a secret. For years, people have been talking about the auras or energy fields around us and other living things.

So, what is the energy that you’re wearing?

Can you imagine on the red carpet, if instead of Joan or Melissa Rivers asking “Who are you wearing?”, they asked, “What energy are you’re wearing tonight?” “Drew Barrymore is wearing Joy. Tom Cruise is wearing Intensity. Angelina is wearing Rugged Elegance. What beautiful and distinct energies they are wearing, ladies and gentlemen.”

So energy is not a thinking thing. It is a feeling thing.

If the band on the Boston Indie label isn’t able to get their energy to measure up to their songs, then it must have something to do with the way that they are feeling about what they are doing. In some way, their head is getting in the way of their heart. This often happens with successful musicians and people in general. If YOU were asked what makes you successful, you might be tempted to reply with a “mind” answer like the ability to focus, strategize, follow through, etc. However, I’ll assert that if you really spend time with it, what has you be most successful is probably your heart. It’s very easy to let our heads take our hearts out of the game.

So what can we do about this?

We can tell our minds to give it a rest for a minute.

We can feel, for a moment, the reason why we’re doing what we’re doing.

We can expand our capacity to be open-hearted.

What people connect to is the energy that you project. If you want a bigger community or to build a more successful business, then learn how to increase your energy flow by being more open-hearted in your approach to all things: your live performance, your social media activities, and your interactions with friends and fans.

“Sounds good, John. But I’m afraid to let my real self out in that way.”

Then it’s about approaching the energy conversation in a different way.

What would it take to release the energy that’s holding you back? What kind of inner world shift would have to take place? When you’re really honest with yourself, what is the fear that is preventing you from letting yourself out, from truly allowing yourself to shine?

Only YOU can answer this question. Only you can decide to get some guidance or coaching to help you overcome it, or some energy work to release it.

I would encourage you to do this deeper, inner world work so that you’re able to manifest what you really want. I now incorporate this kind of work in my one-on-one sessions with clients.

However, no matter how much inner world work that you do, if what you present on the outside doesn’t line up, then you’ll be in disharmony.

Aligning Your Outer World With Your Inner World

 You put all of your energy into the business that you’re creating, right?

It’s crucial that your visuals honor that by having the same kind of intensity. Think of it as having your outer world clearly reflect your inner world. No matter how grounded you may be personally(your relationship with your inner world) or how beautiful your thoughts might be(again, inner world), if you don’t have visuals and a live performance(outer world) that clearly represent that, then you’ll be in chaos. There’s always stress when the outer world doesn’t match up, regardless of how much inner world work that you do.

I have a process that I lead people through to have their outer world match their inner world. I feel that it’s about lining up your outer world: your style, wardrobe, photos, logo, design aesthetic, website, etc. with your inner world. If you don’t, then most likely, it’s not going to work. You might have great business ideas, but if can’t communicate them properly in all of the ways that you come across, there’s going to be a disconnect with potential clients and partners. You won’t be giving yourself the best chance of being successful and reaching others.

It’s no secret that nowadays, people are often seeing you BEFORE they hear you. It’s more important than ever to have a visual presentation that includes the energy of your very best self.

“Alright, John. Now, give me something I can apply.”

As a solopreneur, you’re always sending out a message about who you are, about the energy that you’re projecting. It comes through in the business you create, the newsletters you write, in your daily live performances, and also in all of the other ways that you come across: your photos, wardrobe, accessories, logo, even your bio and business card; they have an energy to them. In my view, in order to be successful, there are two key questions: Is that energy true? And is it consistent?

HOW to have you outer world match your inner world

In my coaching work, the first step in building a public image is that you have to know what you’re going for; you have to know what your direction is. In other words, you have to get clear on what kind of energy you’d LIKE to project. I have my clients understand this by pulling from two places – their favorite stars and their own uniqueness. See, the traits that you admire about your favorite stars are probably the traits that you most aspire to have in your own life. It’s about taking elements of those traits, combining them with what makes you special(your greatest gifts, talents, strengths, and quirks) to form your own image direction.

Then you have to define what this direction looks like by going through magazines and online photos and choosing the items that you not only like, but that represent your themes in some way. The key to this in-depth process is that when you present yourself in a way that’s in line with your imaging themes, you FEEL that way. And when you feel that way, you will then COME ACROSS that way, making the impression that you’d like to make on people, hence increasing your chances of success with what you’re up to.

Then, it’s important to always portray this one, consistent energy if you want to get known as that. It’s about BEING that way in all of the ways that you come across. 

Make your strongest impression and succeed.