Listening to this month’s book (How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big) has taught me a lot already. One of the things Adams talks about is the importance of focusing on things that energize you.

For me, that’s all of this blogging stuff. I hadn’t been able to put into words why I feel the need to create content. I’ve been doing it for years over various formats and it’s always been an itch I can never scratch.

I’ve told myself it’s because I want to make the world better, or that I’m good at it and I feel a moral obligation to expand on my talents, or that I want to offer answers to other men that I had to look for myself.

All of these may be partially true, but really I do this because it gets my blood flowing. I’m finding that’s the case even more when I do videos or podcasts, and the most when I speak about it in real life – be that one-on-one with a client or in front of a crowd.

Dressing well energizes me too. It helps me feel like I can command any room I walk into – even when I’m the lowest man on the totem pole. It gives me energy to be productive and accomplish daily goals.

If I were to show up at a conference in baggy cargo shorts, flip-flops, and a too-big T-shirt, I would have to work against that negative energy to get my mojo going. But when I walk in and know I’m well dressed, therefore projecting confidence and competence, the energy has already started to build.

It’s a positive added to a positive rather than a positive and a neutral canceling each other out.

When I’m energized I’m happier. I’m more playful, funnier, less high-strung, more attractive, more generous, and better all around.

Dressing well doesn’t make me a better person any more or less than having money does, but it can serve to magnify those qualities or work against them.

Start with the basics, get them dialed in, and either expand if it gives you more energy, or leave it there and move on to other endeavors that do. If you feel like it’s a drain to get comfortable at dressing well then don’t focus on it too much. Just become competent and move on. It’s all about that long game.