Here's the Story of How I became Pretty and it Changed My Life

Traditionally, the last two weeks of the year has always held a special place in my heart.  I normally work year round then request that time off.  It was special because, during those two weeks, I'd conduct various experiments.

One year, I decided to live the life of a "polished woman."  Basically, this is a girl who takes great pride in her appearance and self-care routine.  Little did I know how life-transforming that experience would be.

Super Model Jas Tookes

I consider myself average in the looks department, but during my experiment, I managed to upgrade to "pretty girl" status. My facial features didn't change or anything like that, but I did present myself very differently than my usual self.

There are essentially two types of attractive people:
1. Someone who is born a natural beauty
2. Someone who places care and attention into highlighting their best features. 

I fell into the (2nd) category of the person who chooses to intentionally become pretty.  Like Helena Rubenstein once said, "there are no ugly women, just lazy ones."

THE PROCESS
From what I recall, my transformation process first began in the mind.  I understood that in order to become the polished woman, I must first think like one.  I definitely didn't think like one at the time so I had to take drastic measures to elevate my mindset.

What I did was save a series of pictures, on my iPad, of women who embodied the image of what I wanted to be.  I had countless pics in my collection.  Each morning, I would play a slideshow of the images to my favorite songs.  Every time I watched the slideshow, I tried to absorb these women into my psyche.  It served as a  morning visualization tool to get me in the right state of mind.

 Immediately afterward, I began the transformation process.  I studied those women very closely and paid careful attention to the little details. For instance, I noticed the type of earrings they wore, their nail polish color of choice, how flawless their skin appeared, etc.  It wasn't long before I picked up on commonalities between them and applied their techniques into my own routine.

Throughout the experiment, I set up some ground rules that I COULD NOT BREAK

THE RULES
1. Nails had to be painted and chip free at all times (no exceptions).
2. Makeup every day (even if it's natural, minimal makeup).
3. I had to improve my makeup technique & final result with each application.
4. Always apply the finishing touches (jewelry, fragrance, etc) even if I never left the house.
5. Ensure my environment was well maintained (clean car, home, organized bag. I wanted everything I looked at to be pretty).
6. Worked out regularly to maintain my physique.

This is just a short list but, in reality, I followed each one of the 10 UNBREAKABLE LAWS of Always Looking Polished.  Keep in mind that I wasn't working during this time.  I challenged myself to get fully ready even when I had nothing planned for the day.  Whether anyone saw me or not, I had to follow the rules.  It was my way of ensuring that I experienced NO ZERO DAYS.

To save time, I wore a top-knot as my signature hair style.  It framed my face well and allowed me the time I needed to focus on other details.

THE OUTCOME
After diligently presenting the best version of myself to the world, I was rewarded greatly.  First off, I learned that the attractive version of me lives a totally different life than normal me.  The attractive me gets lots of attention. And I don't just mean attention from the gentlemen. It goes way beyond that.  When I took care of myself, it seemed like people were drawn to me.  Strangers struck up conversations and everyone went out of their way to be nice. It was really bizarre.  I guess that's the reason why "attract" is in the word attractive.  I felt like I was attracting all day long.

Another new phenomenon was that other attractive people seemed to take notice as well. Pretty girls would come up to me and ask where I got my bag or some other random question. I received compliments on the regular and more stares than I felt comfortable with.  It was weird, but I suddenly noticed other polished women staring (which never happened before). It was like I had been finally accepted into their exclusive, elite club.  I'm not bragging to say that I was breathtaking or anything like that.  I was walking around with a new type of energy and people really responded.

 Looking back, I realize that this type of investment can have a big payoff.  Firstly, if I wanted to make new friends, this would be an effective way to do it. Because people tend to open up more when I'm a "polished woman" it's easy to have conversations that can lead to friendships.  Fun fact, I met one of my best friends during that time of consistent self-care.  She's the epitome of a polished woman and takes great pride in herself.  The lifestyle she enjoys is a direct reflection of that.

Another huge benefit from this experience was that my confidence was through the roof. If you look good, you feel good. There's no doubt about it.  During my experiment, I remember feeling like I had no fear. That feeling of fearlessness is absolutely INVALUABLE.  Fearlessness is worth more than anything because you can leverage that feeling to take you to the promised land just outside of your comfort zone.  This can and will change your life.

( Please go back and reread the previous paragraph).

What I'm about to say may not sound politically correct but you might be experiencing a life that's below its fullest potential.  Present your best self to the world and the world will reciprocate.  When you set up high expectations for yourself, it's like the universe rises to meet those expectations.  I could be absolutely wrong about this but you'll never know unless you try this experience for yourself.