Positive change can come about in any number of ways; not always ones we would expect.
I’ve recently been reminded of this through an experience with a very driven woman, Shirley Borrelli. Shirley is an image consultant. She helps people with their clothes, hair makeup, etc. Not the kind of work you would immediately associate with social change.
Shirley Borrelli, force for good
And yet…through her work, Shirley has helped countless people achieve their dreams. She’s helped single mothers re-connect with their confidence and get jobs they would never otherwise have pursued. She helped me re-tool my image so that I finally know how to look like the Savvy Do Gooder, rather than like the executive assistant I was 6 years ago.
Shirley believes that when our outer appearance matches our inner aspirations, it gives us the confidence and comfort level to go forth and pursue our dreams. She believes that our look is a vital piece of our communication with the world, and affects the way others receive and interact with us. She sees it as a tool to help each of us achieve more.
For her, it’s not about being ‘pretty’. It’s about looking the part as we pursue the change we want to see in the world.
It’s a bit counterintuitive to think that hair and makeup and outfits are a force for good. But Shirley’s track record speaks for itself – countless people have been empowered to do more in their lives through her work.
I believe that there is an element of good in most work. It often gets obscured by things like profit motive and office politics, but undeneath it all, there’s usually a little kernel of the good intentions that started it all. If we can connect with that positive goal (as Shirley has done) and use it as our guiding light; we, too, can become forces for good in unconventional ways.
Thank you Nadine for understanding my work is meaningful and can produce good for the world and not minimizing it to a superficial opinion of “who’s the fairest of them all”. Thank you for keeping it real.