Shine your shoes until you are the one glowing

"Shine your shoes until you are the one glowing" is a line that jumped out to me from a new book I’ve just read called?Discipline is Destiny?by?Ryan Holiday, an American author whose writing I’ve always loved and found thought-provoking.

A successful writer and media strategist, Ryan Holiday publishes a blog -?‘The Daily Stoic’?and has written a multitude of best-sellers covering topics from strategy to ancient philosophy and self-awareness.

Needless to say, I immediately want to get my hands on each new book he publishes, and this week his new book, which I'd pre-ordered, landed in my ears (I love audiobooks).

I sometimes struggle to find the words to explain my philosophy of style and what motivates my work as a professional stylist because:

I’m not really?'into'?clothes

I’m not overly interested in fashion and trends

But I love style, and I understand and appreciate the profound effect dressing well has on both the individual and those with whom they come into contact.

I have witnessed time and time again that when a woman?sees?herself positively, it has a direct correlation to her self-confidence and behaviour.

My ears pricked up when I got to a chapter in?Discipline is Destiny?titled?Dress for Success,?and I was not disappointed. Holiday puts into words everything I feel and know about the importance of dressing well.

For many of us, there is a difficult balance between caring or investing too little thought, time, and money in what we wear and caring or investing too much.

Holiday writes:

"How we dress and style ourselves is one of those tricky edge cases ... A person who is sloppy and slovenly can hardly be said to be particularly self-disciplined, but on the other hand those who argue the superficial: sharp creases, brand names, or the fanciest new styles over the substantive, are equally off track"

This is the dilemma many of us experience - getting the balance right. Taking our style seriously, but not being too serious about it.

This line from?Discipline is Destiny?will become my new motto:

"We look sharp, to stay sharp, to be sharp. Because we are sharp."

What do you think?

#disciplineisdestiny

#lookliketheleaderyouare

#stylephilosophy