#masculinity #selfimprovement #selfdevelopment I’m sure that you’ve heard the old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. However, according to book publishers, that is exactly what we do. Book publishers will tell you that your cover design is one of the most important decisions that you can make when creating a book. The reason is that research has proven that when making a decision to purchase a book, most people spend about 3 seconds looking at the front cover and about 7 seconds looking at the back cover. Maybe they will flip through the book quickly; nevertheless, if they like the “look” of the book then they will buy it. Some may flip through the book to see of there is any content – but most don’t. They purchase the book based on its “look.” Strangely enough, people do the same thing with you; they judge you by your “cover” – your image. We all create an “image,” in people’s mind. That “image,” can often be quite different that we have of ourselves. Yet, other people’s image of us may be more correct. Why? Because it is sometimes hard to see ourselves as we appear to others and that appearance is, usually, more aligned with the “true” you. (We are just “too close to the forest to see the trees.”) For example, you may feel that you are a good person, a hard worker, and a good and trusted friend who is always fun to be around; however, others may see you as a person who is insecure, who gossips, and is whiny. True, you might say that what others think of you is “their” business. Yet, that is not necessarily true, is it? What others think of you or the image they have of you in “their” minds is a factor in how successful you will be in life.