Color 1 training

Do you have dreams of things you want to do but  your automatic negative thoughts have prevented you from following through?

  I call these  automatic negative thoughts, gremlins.    For over 10 years I thought about becoming an Image Consultant and my “gremlins,” almost prevented me from following my dream.

Here is the story of how I overcame (my gremlins) those negative beliefs we all have, that prevent us from following our dreams.

Perhaps my story will encourage you to become aware of, and tame the gremlins that are preventing you from following your dreams.

My passion has always been to help people make the most of their strengths and overcome their challenges.

My challenge, since I was a little girl, was feeling self-conscious about my appearance.

I believe this was related to my mother being very critical of herself and me, her oldest daughter. Maybe some of you can relate to this.

The way I dealt with my challenge, was to seek information in self-help books.

I devoured psychology books on self esteem and books on improving how I looked.

In the early 1980’s I thought I found a “pot of gold,” when I learned wearing the right colors could make me appear more attractive and make it easier to shop.  I read about various color analysis systems, but they all seemed too difficult for me to understand and the trainings were expensive and too far away.

The more I read about appearance and its effects on self esteem, the more I thought about becoming an image consultant.

But a little voice inside kept repeating,” You can’t be an image consultant, because  you are not tall, or thin and you don’t look like a model.”

The first time I read Joanna Nicholson’s book “Color Wonderful,” I did not fully understand the Color 1 system of color analysis.

When I took this book out of the library a second time, I read it more thoroughly and the “Color 1 ” approach began making sense to me.

I found a 1-800 number at the end of the book and discovered “Color 1” was located only one hour away from me and a training was scheduled in a few weeks.

This was in 1990.   I had been working with psychiatric patients at a half-way house for over 9 years.

Just as I was starting to feel “burnt out,” I got laid off.  While I was trying to determine how I could use my skills in a new career, I joined a “Master-Mind Group.”

I had been telling the Master-Mind group about my “ideal career.”  I told them,” I don’t want to just sell makeup, or just be a personal shopper, I want to do it all.”

I wanted to use all my skills, from my 3 previous careers as a teacher, photographer and social worker to become a “holistic image consultant” and help my clients to learn to love how they looked.

But those little gremlins in my head kept saying to me,”Who do you think you are. You are short, plump and too old to become an image consultant.”

 (I was in my forties by this time) “How can you help others to love the way they look, when you don’t even love the way you look.”

 I felt defeated by my inner gremlins.  I decided I would give up my dream of becoming an image consultant.   I would not be signing up for the “Color 1” training.

Fortunately, my “Master-Mind” group had  been listening to me and they were  ready to tame my gremlins. 

They reminded me of what I had been telling them. “The Color 1 training sounds exactly like what you have been telling us you want to do, and you have the time and money to do it now.  If you don’t do it now, when will you do it.“

That last sentence still echos in my head now, when I put off doing something I really want.“If you don’t do it now, when will you do it.” My gremlins were outnumbered and the rest is history.

 

It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.  An amazing transformation took place both inside and outside of me, when I took the “Color 1,” training and learned that I didn’t have to be tall, young or thin to look good.

Looking good is about looking visually balanced. This is done by understanding how to combine your best color clarities, choosing flattering styles of clothing for your shape and using accessories in a way that makes your head and body look balanced.

As I learned to make the most of my own appearance, and learned to like how I looked, my self consciousness slowly began to disappear.

I have been able to say goodbye to the panic of those “nothing to wear moments,” and  I have helped hundreds of women over the last 20 years to do the same.

How do I work with clients now? The first thing I do is try to understand a clients fashion personality and their figure or size challenges.  I also take into consideration budget, lifestyle and age.   So I can reach out to more women, I have been writing a blog.  Now I am able to do image consulting over the internet.

Want more information about the Color 1 approach?

Purchase Joanna Nicholson’s most recent books, “Dressing Smart for Women,” and “Dressing Smart for Men,”  from Leslie Stott, the color lady  at Leslie@thecolorlady.com

___________________________________________________

Think you might be ready for a virtual makeover?  It doesn’t matter where you live. Nancy is now able to do makeovers virtually.  Contact her at 410-513-9496 or write to her at Nancy@wardrobewiz.com for more information.

Nancy Goldblatt, “The Wardrobe Wizard of Baltimore,”and Color 1 Associate, specializes in working with mid-life women whose size or shape has changed and who have lots of clothes and nothing to wear.  She also works with younger women, as well as men.  Contact her at Nancy@wardrobewiz.com or 410-513-9496, her website is WWW.WardrobeWiz.com