Books and Their Covers

Lawyer A: Sharp dresser, short styled hair, charismatic good looks, lots of smiles. Business ads are everywhere, including on the TV.

Lawyer B: Jeans & button down shirt, long tri-colored hair, pleasant but business like. Has a quarter page ad in the phone book and a sparse, yet nicely designed website.

Doctor A: Member of the Country Club, mature, office in high end part of town. Reeks of wealth.

Doctor B: Drives a ten year old compact car, young, visible tattoos, shares a tiny office with 3 others. The only ornaments in his office are his degrees and affiliations.

Banker A: Attractive, smooth talking, French styled nails and newest salon hair style. Affiliated with a national chain of banks.

Banker B: Facial piercings, spiked hair, out of style clothes. President of local bank.

If you were in a strange town and needed to find a Lawyer, Doctor or Banker to take care of those respective aspects in your life, which of these would you chose? They say first impressions mean everything. While they may, there is always so much more to those we meet than what can be seen on the surface.

Would you change your mind if you found out that the "A" professionals all finished last in their class after repeating a number of courses? That they got their positions because they "know" someone who helped them get where they are? All the "B" professionals however, graduated valedictorian and/or magna cum laude. They each belong to a number of organizations that help expand the knowledge in their particular field. Each also volunteers pro bono work in their community.

Would you have known any of this by the first impression alone?

Appearance plays such a big part in how we relate to others. Clothing, hair styles, make-up, attractiveness and charisma are the first impressions we remember the most when describing someone we just met. It's terrific if you are looking for a potential mate or significant other. But should it be a prerequisite when looking for help?

If we can stop looking at "book covers" in people and instead read the "contents," we might begin to see there is more inside than we ever knew. As the saying goes, "never judge a book by its cover."