I was at a seminar on Saturday and looked around the room. Here were business professionals in various states of attire, from very businesslike to more casual jeans. Yet I was the only one who was in shorts (albeit with a nice polo shirt, lol). And I was actually proud I was wearing shorts. In fact, anyone who knows me knows I’m always in shorts unless 1) the weather is too cold (which only happens a few months here in California) or 2) I’m out to some formal event or meeting.
So why am I always in shorts? The answer is simple — flow.
Growing up I was taught to be ashamed of both myself and my body. I was constantly criticized for always doing everything wrong when it came to personal appearance. If I tried to dress myself (keep in mind we’re talking a seven year old here) I was told I looked like “a sack of potatoes tied in the middle”. If I tried to comb my hair it was always wrong no matter what I did. In fact, when I finally started shaving I was always told afterwards that I had “pickled my face” and did it wrong.
As a consequence, I always wore pants no matter how hot it was outside or how inappropriate (like on vacation). No matter what my family said they couldn’t get me to wear shorts unless I went to the gym or swimming. This was hard to keep up given that summers in New Hampshire can get into the 90’s and 100’s with 100% humidity, and our house and cars didn’t always have air conditioning.
Finally when I began understanding my own flow I realized that I had internalized all the negativity I had grown up with. I also realized, although I liked to dress up every now and then, I was a very casual person. This was further reinforced when I moved to California as people are a lot more casual out here. In fact, my first California job in 1990 had a strict dress code — men must wear shoes and women must wear shoes and a top. That was it, and this company made a ton of money, more so than many companies that insisted on conservative dress.
This taught me that appearance is not as important as ability, something further reinforced when you consider that television executives sit around in $5,000 Armani suits trying to decide whether their show should have contestants eating worms or wrestling in cow manure. But it also taught me about understanding my own flow.
As the years went on I stuck to my shorts, and more examples popped up that confirmed my flow. I guy I knew growing up is an extremely successful motivational speaker. I went to see him last year and, surprise surprise, he gave his entire talk in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt! He said he did that to get people’s attention, and it certainly worked as everyone was on the edge of his/her seat during the talk.
So today when you see me, even when I’m speaking in front of an audience, I’ll most likely be in shorts. And while you may think of it as strange, think of it as a visual reminder of the power of flow.