Success Starts With Your Socks

Funny Spongebob SocksThis past Saturday I got together with some friends to celebrate the 28th birthday of my friend Alistair Hill, and if you remember my post on finding local niche markets to dominate, Alistair is definitely a dude who shows great interest in outside-the-box business models – and more recently this whole Internet marketing madness I’ve been engulfed in.  I have a great circle of boys who all support each other and for the most part, are all successful in their own way.  As much as it may seem to others that we’re a bunch of drunken hooligans when we’re out on the town, genius happens quite frequently at these gatherings and Saturday was no different.

For Al’s birthday we decided to go bar hopping, or what some may refer to as a pub crawl, with more soldiers joining the brigade as the night progressed.  Stop number two on the night was a quaint little establishment known as Sharkey’s;  A contemporary, low-lit gastro pub with a menu and wait staff that were equally attractive.  Joining our original party of three was a handful of other friends who stumbled in from various locations throughout the city, and for the topic of this blog I will be introducing you to our good friend Vic.

Vic is one of those unique, eclectic type of cats that are completely unassuming – especially if you were to see him walking down the street.  He’s currently on his way to becoming a full fledged Architect within the next 24 months and has an insane knowledge of music culture.  Combine this with a pretty intense shoe fetish and the ability to inflict unforgettable moments in conversation, and you’ll begin to have a brief understanding of why we love it when Vic comes out to play!

The moment of truth…

After two or three rounds of drinks, about seven rounds into the night, the discussion was on the topic of prostitution and goat cheese – feel free to be creative and figure that one out.  Vic jumped in changing the direction a little by asking us all a question, “Do you know what sets apart the upper class of society from regular guys like us?”  Somehow I knew there was undeniable substance behind Vic’s train of thought as he began to tell us about a professor at school, and how he’s recently noticed that he never wears the same pair of socks twice.  Where normal guys go to Wal-Mart and grab the 24 pairs for $13, upper class dudes have a more refined taste in foot comfort and tend to pay upwards of $97 for a 12 pairs of Gold Toe Windsor wool socks which they will never wear twice in the same week, or month for that matter.  The moment of truth at the table hit pretty hard as Vic concluded that his professors level of success is because, and I quote:

“His sock game is tight!”

You heard right!  His sock game is tight, and having a tight sock game is vital to success in today’s business world.  Now let’s think about this for a minute.  Will buying $97 socks improve your chances of running a profitable business online?  Probably not.  If anything, spending that much money on socks will guarantee your future bankruptcy status and ensure that your wallet is forever empty.  Symbolically speaking, this particular individual is one who believes in the “dress for success” theory and your only as good as you look because we all know in the real world, first impressions are everything.

Maybe it’s the attention and care for minute detail, or the strive for perfection that has set the threshold of sock quality so high?  I think it would be safe to say that someone who cares that much about their feet would naturally expect supreme quality from their business and personal life, and those are the type of people you would want to be surrounded by when you’re first starting out.  I’m sure you’re getting my drift, or at least I hope you are!

You can’t expect to take care of business if you don’t take care of yourself.  Treat yourself to a nice dinner every now and then, or go out and buy that golf club that you’ve had your eye on for the last few months.  Don’t be stupid and put yourself into more debt, but at the same time don’t fixate on spending $60 that you hypothetically “don’t have” because if you really stop to think about it, when will you really “have” the money to spend?  Never.  Sacrifice is absolutely necessary to budget and create surplus, but don’t cheat yourself completely – live your life to the fullest, and surround yourself by things that make you happy.  Make sure your “sock game is tight” and everything else will fall into place.

According to Vic.

Cheers,

Elijah

21 thoughts on “Success Starts With Your Socks”

  1. LOL, I can feel this post and having a “tight sock game” as well. I think this speaks to the details of your life and business. As you said, if someone cares that much about their socks, they are likely to put even more energy into their business or profession.

    Also, it is important to remember that life is short and you must take time to not only smell the roses, but pick some and enjoy them as well. I say this in reference to buying that golf club you have been having your eye on. Treat yourself when you are doing well, again don’t go overboard, but it is good to get a taste of the good life.

    After all, that is what we are working so hard for anyway, right?

  2. Ha ha at several points in this blog I wondered where you were going. I have to say I was a little disappointed that the end of the post was actually constructive. Nice negative compliment there you’ll notice 😉

    As for myself, I always dress to the best I can afford. Dressing well just makes me feel better about myself and also the ladies bloody love it. Not quite at the level of $90 on a pair of socks yet, but you definitely gotta spend the $$$ on the shoes and shirts to get the lady love.

    Clog Moneys last blog post..Getting into gambling.

  3. Jeez – I’m lucky to trim my toenails one a month, let alone stick those sharp bastards into a $100 pair of socks! 🙂

    I am HUGE proponent of “Paying yourself First” and for most of my life… the first %20 of all profit or leftover AFTER bills, goes into something fun in life! The next 20% goes into savings and the rest to reinvest in what made the money in the first place!

    Good post Elijah!

    Mark – The Niche Store Builders last blog post..Tips for Sending Engaged Traffic to eBay

  4. @ Freddie – Absolutely! What’s the point of spending so much time working your ass off and not enjoying any of the rewards? I have an uncle who probably has a million in the bank, lives in a crappy apartment, drives a crap car and won’t spend a dime to save his life. He’s saving for this rainy day, and is a cheap bastard with nothing to show for it… I pity him.

    @ Clogmoney – I can always count on your for open disappointment followed by a smiley! It’s my conscious mind that makes me bring a moral to the story, otherwise I would have just told you guys that later on birthday boy puked 3 consecutive streams over the patio balcony onto the head of the pub owner – and we got escorted out as a waitress was yelling “home-wrecker!” at my buddy.

    @ Mark – I like the 20% factor, it’s a nice rounded number and something that is substantial enough to provide genuine enjoyment.

    @ Jarret – I enjoy writing them much more, the problem I face though is being broke doesn’t allow me to leave the apartment much. 13 hours a day in front of the lap top doesn’t really make for off the wall writing! lol

    Elijahs last blog post..51 Free Online Webmaster Tools

  5. While my theory isn’t exactly based on socks… I have noticed that a lot of success is based in the mind. When I purchase higher quality items, just in smaller quantities, I tend to be more productive on my websites. When I buy crap just because it’s cheap? It’s like I’m telling my business self that I’m not worth success.

    WordVixens last blog post..You Wanna Make Some Money For Me?

  6. @ WordVixen – I’m with you 100% on that. I was reading a lot of talk about that theory when StomperNet dropped the 1 million dollars a month price tag – lot’s of people were saying the exact same thing. They’re spending $800 a month on a membership site – they’re gonna make it pay off more so than some $7 club…

    I still wouldn’t pay the Stomper price tag though… that’s my rent.

  7. I only wear socks that have the individual toes in them, as I don’t like my toes to touch each other. They cost more than $13 for 24 pair, but a lot less than $97 for one, so I guess my sock game is medicore, but unique.

    @Mark: LOL@ “those sharp bastards”. Santa’s bringing you an extra set of toenail clippers for the nightstand buddy!

    Cheers!
    Jay

    SuiteJs last blog post..How Justin Brooke Tried To Stop Me From Flipping Websites

  8. Since entering the blogging world, i am so fascinated by different views on different subjects. I’m telling you, i live in an area where there are so many narrow minded people and i’m seeing it more than ever by visiting different blogs each day.

    For me, i work my ass off every week and come the weekend, if i want to go to the local bar and drop 30 or 40 bucks on beer and food, then heck yeah!! But you would be amazed at the comments i get, especially from co-workers about how that is such a waste.. These folks, work, go home, work, go home and it’s a never ending cycle!

    Thanks for helping me realize i’m not alone hahahaha! PAY YOURSELF BACK!

    JeffLefts last blog post..Looking For Direction in Your Life? Get a GPS!

  9. I tell you that was one for the ages! The way Vic just busted out that “on a comletely different subject. My profs sock game is tight”
    And it just spread like wildfire for the next hour! Gotta love those types of nights!

  10. @ Jay – Aint nothing wrong with having a mediocre sock game. Mine would be considered poor at best.

    @ Mark – lol! CeramicTileNippers.com

    @ Dennis – FindMeSocks.com

    @ Joe – What’s that old saying? Bare the fruits of your labour?

    @ Jeff – I have a name for folks like that, Robot Sheep! You better believe come Friday the first thing I do is crack open a cold one and kick my feet up.

    @ Busto – Absolutely! It’s priceless man, and I’ll never forget you buddy getting called a home wrecker as we were getting kicked out – that was the icing.

    Elijahs last blog post..Success Starts With Your Socks

  11. Its actually the first time I have visited your blog and the first post I saw was about socks – its brilliant! lol. My sock game is pretty tight, in the sense that they are almost always clean 😛 (unless Im really lazy and cant do a wash :\ )

    Dans last blog post..Interesting Idea…

  12. @ Yan – Dude, considering I’m at home more often now I don’t where socks often either. That means you gotta have a tight foot game!

    @ Joe – You got it right bro! I used the experience as a metaphor to introduce the concept of taking care of yourself, and rewarding when deserved!

    @ Dan – Welcome! Having clean socks is super-important. I’m a person who constantly needs to have my ears clean because it helps my over all feeling of being on point. clean socks kind of have the same effect.

    @ TheMoneyac – I’m with you on that, actually I’m kind of bad – I rarely by myself new things, but will wear everything I have until it’s falling apart. Veronica always gets on my ass for not buying myself clothes when I have the extra cash.

  13. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting that, but I like it just the same. Your friend Vic seems like a wise man; very insightful, unless that was the liquor talking. 🙂 Very good point all around. I’m going to have to process this one just a little bit more.

    Mitchs last blog post..Widget Bucks Has A New Widget

  14. Hey Mitch, thanks for stopping by! I don’t blame you for needing the extra time to process what the hell I was, or wasn’t talking about! The more you read on here, the more you’ll get used to my style of writing.. if there’s even a category for it!

    Elijahs last blog post..Internet Marketing Causes Insomnia

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