Look closely at my headshots here.
The one on the left was taken in 2015 when I started my commercial finance company. (Learn how I built my own equipment finance brokerage without overhead or employees HERE.)
But here’s the truth: I’ve never worn a suit in my professional career.
From 2003 to 2015, as a “corporate” VP of sales, I wore a dress shirt and tie sometimes, but never a suit.
This “image” is a lie.
This “image” is social conditioning.
This “image” is professional brainwashing.
And I bought it—hook, line, and sinker.
So why did I continue the lie when I started my own company?
I was still a zombie.
I still wanted to “look” the part.
I was still afraid I would lose business.
Sad but true.
The picture on the right shows what I’ve actually worn almost every day since 2015: simple, minimalistic, comfortable black v-neck tee-shirt. Dressing this way allows me to spend more time solving problems instead of trying to appear qualified to solve them.
Corporate America makes you wear a tie to work, which feels like a noose because it is. We spend the best years of our lives working for someone else’s dream, only to retire too old and sick (physically and mentally) to enjoy our final years.
Don’t believe me? Ask me about what I saw at:
- The Great Pyramids in Egypt
- The Grand Canyon
- The Greek Islands
And the many other retiree hot spots I’ve traveled across the globe. The scene is the same: retirees struggle to enjoy retirement because their best years passed them by at the office, keeping up with the Joneses.
It’s all a masquerade and a show.
I don’t play this game anymore.
The game I play is freedom.
What about you?
To your freedom,
Jermane
