3 Men in Suits: Life Lessons From the Diner

The three men didn't say a word. And yet their very presence in the diner spoke volumes.

THE STORY

It was the end of a long morning.

Despite my aching jaw, I managed to get the kids up, dressed and fed, as well as help my wheelchair bound mother get ready for the day.

We packed everyone and everything into the car and headed to the last follow up appointment after my wisdom teeth surgery.

The appointment went well, but I was tired and hungry--and slightly irritated that after several weeks I still could not chew food.

"I could probably manage an omelet," I said to myself, so it being nearly lunchtime, we pulled into a diner around the corner from the doctor's office.

The kids were unbuckled from their car seats and kept out of lunch hour traffic, the wheelchair was removed from the back of the car, opened up, and pieced together, and we carefully maneuvered up the ramp and through the doors, all the while gratefully acknowledging the strangers who recognized our need and helped by opening doors and clearing the way.

I stood in the lobby with my two kids, the wheelchair, my mother, and my aching jaw, probably looking as frazzled as I felt.

While we were waiting for our table, three men in suits walked into the restaurant, requested a table, and patiently waited with us in the lobby.

Whether they noticed us, I couldn't say, but I certainly noticed them.

There was nothing outwardly remarkable about them. All three were different ages--two of them perhaps in their 40s or 50s, one of them perhaps in his 60s. They wore different kinds of suits--one of them light blue, one of them black, and one of them a rather ugly brown. They were different heights--one was quite short, one was quite tall, and one was somewhere in the middle. Their hair was different--in length, amount, and color. None of them was particularly handsome. By outward accounts they were quite normal.

And yet, they caught my attention.

In fact, they ended up sitting a few tables away from us, and all through lunch I glanced over at their table, watched them secretly, and strained to hear what they were talking about. Often I thought that if I had not had my family with me, I would have gone up to them and introduced myself.

So what was it about these men that drew me to them--that made me so intrigued with who they were, what they were doing, and what they were talking about?

It was because they had an aura of success.

You do not have to be psychic or particularly intuitive--nor even do you need to believe in such things--to recognize when someone has that special quality, that "it" factor, that "je ne sais quoi."

You do not have to know someone intimately, or even spend any length of time with them at all, to know whether someone is successful.

No, anyone from anywhere can look at a total stranger and know it instantly--as I did with the three men in suits.

Why?

Because successful people carry with them certain magnetic qualities--things like vision, certainty, focus, and purpose. Qualities that your subconscious picks up on, even if you don't consciously realize it.

THE LESSON

You really can have what you want, but to have it, you, too, must carry with you your own aura of success.

Unfortunately, most people think this is something you're born with--"you either have it or you don't," as the saying goes. They talk themselves into staying small and content with little, because, they believe, they just don't have what what it takes.

But here's the truth. You can be, do, and have anything you want. You really can. But you must be willing to do what it takes to develop the qualities of successful people.

One of my favorite mentors is Dani Johnson, who in just two years worked her way up from being homeless to being a millionaire when she was only 23 years old. Dani says, "Until it becomes a part of you, sometimes you just have to put it on like a pair of pants."

One of the things she did when rising to the top was watch videotapes of successful people. She says, "I would spend an hour a day and watch them with the sound turned off just so I could see how these people carried themselves--what their mannerisms were like, how they dressed, how they did their hair and makeup." Then she would watch it again and listen not only to what they were saying, but how they were saying it--what words they used and the inflection in their voice.

Using these techniques, Dani developed a successful aura of her own, and today people often don't believe her when she tells them she grew up abused and on welfare, and was once homeless, living on a beach, and doing drugs to escape the horrors of her life.

TAKE ACTION

Are you frustrated with the results you are getting in some area of your life? Take action!

Today's action step: Think of someone you know who is successful at something you would like to be successful at (or even better--have lunch with them!). Pay attention to something they do that indicates they are successful. Maybe it's the way they sit or stand. Maybe it's the way they look people in the eye when they're talking to them. Maybe it's the way they smile or encourage others through their conversation.

Find one thing and start emulating just that one thing.

Then see how many people notice you at the diner!