Barriers to entry can make it really difficult to succeed when you're getting started in a new industry. Whether it's a car to get you to your job or the kind of clothes you need to fit in, a move up the ladder can be tricky without momentum.
But real estate investor Ryan Serhant just shared a very hot tip for those who might need a little accommodation to get to the top. Finding an affordable alternative can give you the confidence boost you need -- and he says he learned all of this when he purchased a fake Rolex watch.
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"In the early stages of my sales career, one of my biggest mistakes was not paying attention to how I presented myself… or more specifically, how I dressed," Serhant explains.
"But[...] if you dress like a regular twenty-something-year-old, you’re more likely to attract [...] other regular people in their twenties – and chances are, that demographic is less likely to provide the money and opportunities you’re looking for."
"If I wanted to catch the attention of people who could buy 7-8 figure homes, I had to dress like I was one of them," he explains. But not everyone can afford to dress for the job they want.
"Manhattan is the land of well-cut suits, expensive handbags, designer shoes, and watches that cost more than a year at your average university," Serhant continued in a thread. "Luckily, it also has another (much less expensive) side to it. So, I went to Chinatown – one of the best places to [...] buy fake designer goods on the street."
"I stood on the street[...] hoping no one I knew would see me while I was choosing which fake luxury watch looked the least fake," he recalls. "And that’s how I ended up with a fake Rolex."
Though he didn't pay full price for the knock-off, Serhant believes he got more than his money's worth." That cheap, gold-colored watch was like my secret lucky charm. Every time I looked at my watch to check the time and saw 'Rolex,' it was like having a vision board for success right there on my wrist."
The motivation put a little pep in the investor's step. "It made me feel much more confident!" he writes. "I felt more like a winner… which made me act more like a winner! It might sound funny, but I was just acting. But, by acting like that person, I BECAME that person!"
"If you want to get to the next level, act as if," Serhant concludes. "And, eventually, if you “act” for long enough, you’ll transform into that person."
