“They say you can tell a lot about a person from their shoes.” I believe that this expression has less to do with how much you spend on your shoes, but more to do with your attention to detail and the care and pride that you take in your personal appearance.

Back to the chair. Rarely have I see women in the “big chair,” having their shoes shined. Instead I see women at the shoe store, buying more shoes. Why is this?

Glut of casual footwear

In speaking with Johnnie, the shoe shine professional at the Atlanta airport, the reason we see so few shoe shine stations or shoe repair shops any more is because of “tennies.”  That is, the trend toward casual footwear (I’ve been seeing a lot of UGG boots in public. What’s up with that?) and athletic shoes (i.e., tennies). Johnnie and I brainstormed along with another waiting customer, a male pilot about 60 years old, who by the way shines his shoes every Sunday. We discussed ideas on how to make shoe shine relevant and desirable to women and today’s modern traveler.

Johnnie said that about 25% of his clientele are women, who come mostly in winter to have their boots polished (yes, I was wearing boots). He talked about the idea of combining the manicure and massage with shoe shine services. He longed to have his own shop. I suggested that he offer to clear/polish women’s handbags and briefcases as well. Theses accessories get filthy and scuffed too.

Whether or not these “marketing ideas” have legs or will ever see the light of day is not the point. The conversation with Johnnie was energizing and his service to me was invaluable. I walked out of his shoe shine station taller and more self-assured, feeling like I had the world at my feet.

Time check

Until I got to my departure gate and learned that I had missed my flight by 3 minutes. They had been paging me for some time, while I was engrossed in the discussion with Johnnie and the pilot next door. When the Delta agent asked me for my last name so she could re-book my flight, I told her my last name was “Idiot. I-D-I-O-T.” She laughed and told me not to beat myself up. She kindly waived the $50 re-booking fee and got me on the next flight leaving in two hours. Her forgiving, personable and helpful demeanor and actions were refreshing in the new era of air travel hell. (you know what I’m talking about:  “3 ounces or less, take off your belt, shoes and jacket, would you like to buy a meal, oh that bag is going to cost you“)

My plight continues…

I was feeling lucky and thought that I could get away without having to tell anyone (including my husband) about my bumbling time mistake. But then the next plane had mechanical problems and was delayed. I missed my connecting flight home and had to sit in the Raleigh Durham airport for 4 hours.

Still I was fortunate that there was a later flight that I could get on to take me home rather than having to spend the night in a strange city. But it meant that rather than being home at 4pm on Sunday as planned, I would land at 9pm. So much for family time.

The gift of time

I now had four hours extra time with not much else to do but to think about myself, my brand, my business and my future. I engrossed myself in a hot new business book given to me by my client Todd called “Why Now is the Time to CRUSH IT: cash in on your passion” by Gary Vaynerchuk. This powerful, sassy short book is a like a much-needed kick upside the head on the power of personal branding and using social media to grow your business. I highly recommend it.

I spent some time editing my blog, updating my videos on YouTube, sending out motivating greeting cards in the mail to family and friends (and a risk taking card sent to a top prospect – nothing ventured, nothing gained!). I read an inspiring blog post from marketing guru Seth Godin on Dale Carnegie which I re-posted on my www.MotivatedLeader.com web site. I overhead some conversations, watched people interact with each other and talked to strangers to practice my networking skills.

But most of all, I reflected on how very lucky I am. Despite being stuck in an airport all day, I have shiny boots and an even shinier outlook on my future.

Watching this video is an excellent opportunity to not only laugh (good for your health), but to take a look in the mirror and see your own potential blind spots.

• How often do you feel “stuck” or trapped in a situation?
• Why wait to be rescued when you can easily change your own situation with simple action?

While there are many external forces that we all have to contend with, it has been my experience as an certified Blind Spots executive coach and a motivated human being that WE are the barriers, WE are what gets in our way, WE are the problem. When you acknowledge and accept your role in your current situation and begin to live in “cause” rather than “effect” (i.e., victim status), then you regain the kind of personal power that can move you forward in your business, career and life.

In my study of Neuro Linguistic Programming, I embraced the following attitude and belief:

There are no unresourceful people; only unresourceful states.

People have all the resources that they need.

Sometimes we all need a good swift figurative kick in the pants to help us make the necessary changes that we already know we need to make. If you’ve been complaining, hesitating, holding back, or have been indecisive for longer than you care to admit, watch this video a few times. Ask yourself, “Now, how can I get off this broken down escalator?”

I also don’t want to fall victim to the scary business statistic that I recently heard about:  With every month that you are not in communication, you lose 10% of your influence. Staying in touch is clearly a business and career priority, in the good times and the lean times.

Here’s how I define visible and valuable in the context of networking and relationship building:

• Visible: be “front of mind” with the people that you care about. Communicate regularly, through both active and passive communication channels. Show up. Show your face. Don’t just communicate by email or texting. Let them see the whole human being that you are.
• Valuable:  be a resource, be helpful, know what they need and care about. Help them solve their problems.  Be collaborative, not competitive. Share your ideas, experiences, thoughts, ideas, content and resources that you have discovered and find worthwhile. Introduce people to other people that potentially can help them.

How often should you stay in touch?

The question of frequency of communication comes up when I speak to groups about professional networking and relationship building. The goal is to stay in touch frequently enough to have influence and visibility, without being overbearing.

Think of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears:

• “This one is too soft” – i.e., you are out of touch, you don’t reach out, you are neglecting your the people in your network. They start wondering if you are alive or if you simply don’t care enough about them to stay in touch;
• “This was is too hard” – i.e, your actions are too pushy, too much, you appear aggressive or worse yet, desperate or needy because you are constantly calling/emailing;
• “This one is just right” – i.e., you use the appropriate amount of follow-up, demonstrating that you care about the relationship, you are organized and professional and that you have self-confidence in who you are.
• Photo credit: Tito Verano, http://www.flickr.com/photos/88251752@N00/4085056238/

Click here to review guidelines for how often you should stay in touch in the people in your professional circles….

In my experience as a résumé writer, 99% of the clients who reach out to me are in a huge rush to update their résumé due to an unexpected layoff, a sudden dismissal or seeing an ad for their dream job to which they must respond within 24 hours. Wouldn’t it be far easier and more sensible to proactively keep one’s self in a state of readiness for whatever turn life might take by keeping one’s credentials current and available? After all, we take preventive health measures such as annual physicals and yearly dental checkups. We take our vehicles in for routine maintenance.  Why not take the same approach to our careers and valued source of requisite income?

What would my advice be as an experienced recruiter and résumé writer? Update your résumé no less than once a year so that you’ll be “résumé ready” if disaster strikes or, more happily, opportunity knocks.

Download more articles from Bree Gurin. “Resumes and the Job Search: The Truth Revealed”

About the writer: Bree Gurin has been in the staffing industry for more than 28 years and is currently recruiting and placing candidates in the New York City area. She has also successfully been writing concise and informational résumés for candidates all across the country for the past 8 years. Bree can be reached at 860 485-1154,  abgurin@snet.net or by visiting her website, www.gurinonline.com