It’s been quite a few years now since navy hair dye became the gateway drug to a new and improved me. Michael 2.0.
I was going through a very challenging situation at work that made me feel helpless.
I hate feeling helpless.
I sat down in the chair at my salon, and my stylist asked me what color we were going to do that day. At that time in my life, the answer to the color question was always some version of blonde.
Blonde blonde. Red blonde. White blonde. You get the idea.
Out of the….blue….(I know. I’m sorry), I said “BLUE! Let’s make my bangs dark blue!”
My stylist looked at me for a moment, and then asked, “Are you serious? Because if you are, we can totally do that.”
I hadn’t been serious when I first said it, but when she asked the question, I knew I was serious then.
“Let’s do it.”
A couple of hours later I had navy blue bangs and a new lease on life, and work.
Things changed for me then. It was as if I had magical powers. I took back control of a situation that I felt was out of control. I couldn’t control everything, but I could control my attitude and my hair color.
Over the years I have had people love my hair, hate my hair, mock me, call me a child, and everything in between. I don’t care in the least if they don’t like it. It’s me. And I get to reinvent myself again every 6-8 weeks, with different colors, combinations, and designs.
Professionalism is who you are on the inside, and how you operate in the world. Once people get to know me, they tend to forget about my hair color, but they never forget about my dedication to creating positive, productive, and profitable workplaces.
You don’t have to have blue hair to make a difference. You just have to believe in yourself, especially when the chips feel stacked against you. And know that you have the power to control your own narrative and your own definition of professionalism. Read More
