SEX APPEAL 1: IN YOUR FACE!

What does your face shape say to the opposite sex?
As a marketer, it is very important that I know what makes a spokesperson, model, or entertainer appealing to the viewers.
As a photographer, this study helps me know how to make my portraits more appealing, how to coach models to get the look I want and how to achieve certain responses from viewers.
As a musician, this is a study into what makes men and women what they are and what they desire.
As a professional, studies show that attractive people make more money.   This goes way beyond facial features, and deals with the overall person, grooming, personality, posture.  This study will help us learn the signs of attractiveness, are simply the signs of good and balanced person which equals success.
As a Christian,  I am overwhelmed at the evidence before me.  Science is finding what the Bible told us centuries ago.  He “formed us in our mothers womb,”  and he gave us so many tools to accomplish His purpose for us.  It also shows how Satan seeks to destroy, manipulate, and mutilate us from they way God originally designed us when we deviate from walking in His precepts.

INTRODUCTION:
It was 2003, I was working at a youth camp, and I was the lucky male staff member picked to co-teach a “FOR GIRLS ONLY CLASS.”   lucky me.    All week long, Erin was teaching these girls how to be Godly and how to be pure.  On the very last day of class, I would come in, and they could ask my anything…YES ANYTHING they’ve always wanted to know about guys and how we think. Some of the questions were:
> Why do guys like butts?
> Why do guys like breasts?
> How big do breasts need to be?
> Are you a virgin?
> Do you think Erin is pretty?
> Will you ever marry again?
> Why do guys scratch themselves all the time?
> How far is too far?

Aside from the personal questions…the majority of them can be answered with mere science–how God made us.  The answers and questions are not dirty, they are not sinful, they are just simply how God wired us as individuals and put us together to find the right mate. There is so much going on in our brain that we do not even have a clue about.  Utilizing all of our senses, God has placed in us a sense of attraction to the person that will help us produce a healthy family. No, we aren’t to be slaves to these senses, but it helps to know what is going on all around us.

We’ll answer the breasts and butt questions later…but for today, we will just look at what makes an attractive face.
1. Attractive Facial Measurements:
THE GOLDEN RATIO: This is an ancient ratio that can be found all in nature from trees, to architecture, to the human face.  It is a measurement that the human eye finds balanced and attractive. In our measurements, it is roughly two lines representing 1/3 of the total and 2/3 thirds.  Here is how a face should be measured:

> The space between the eyes should be the same measurement as the eye.

> The bottom of the nose, and the mouth should be equivalent to the Golden Ratio. Scientists have this down to a…well…science.  They have calculators and they can tell you if you are a knock out or not.  On a scale of 1-10 if you are 7 or above, they consider you amazingly attractive. 5 is average of course.

2. Feminine vs. Masculine Face

The male face is shaped during puberty.  So, the more testosterone one’s body produces at this time, the more attractive they will be to the opposite sex–because that is a sign to women that you will be a healthy father for their children.  Here are the defining characteristics of the male face:

> Brows are lower than females (key word is browzzzz..not brow)
> Jaw is more square
> Longer chin
> Male hairline is more square

*Parents: this is directly related to diet.  For your adolescent sons, you should keep them away from chemicals/pesticides, feed them lean meats, cabbages and stay away from SOY.   Soy and fatty meats increase estrogen and decrease testosterone.  READ MORE

Since females also produce testosterone, the attractiveness of the female face is based on how little testosterone has changed their face shape. So an attractive woman’s face:
> has higher thinner eye brows
> Rounder, thinner jaw line
> Rounder hair line

Lucky for women, most of these attributes can be accented with make up and a little hair plucking.

3. Symmetry:
Overall, we are instantly attracted to people with more symmetrical faces: meaning one side of the face is an exact replica of the other side. I had heard this before, but I didn’t know why.  Symmetry is determined when the body is being formed in the womb.  There are three things that affect Symmetry from forming:
> Genetic abnormalities
> poor nutrition
> infections

*Expecting moms…this is all you!  Eat right, live right.  the attractiveness of your child is in your hands.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR MEN:
As men, we can’t do anything about the measurements of our face, but there are other subtle things that women subconsciously notice in their selection process. Knowing these things and how to fix them will make you look younger and more appealing:
> EYES: make sure the whites of your eyes are white. If they are yellow, see a doctor.  That is a sign of malnutrition or disease.  If they are red, get some visine and some sleep.

> SKIN: skin should not be too oily or too dry.  Both could be signs of washing too often with the wrong soap.  It could also a sign of poor nutrition. For redness, see a dermatologist.  Use a moisturizer! You put your face through a lot, and you are gonna have to look at that mug for the rest of your life.

> TEETH: Healthy, white teeth say that your frame is youthful and strong. With the invention of Crest White Strips no one has an excuse for stained and yellowed teeth. Once you get your teeth to their desired shade, you can maintain it by just using the strips once every 2 months.

> FACIAL HAIR: Obviously the presence of facial hair, in itself, makes a man look masculine.  This is about the only thing a man can do to accentuate or extend the shape his face.  But, don’t even think about growing it unless you are prepared to trim and groom it.  The eye brows and beard on a healthy man will shine. If you have lost your luster, mens health suggest using lip gloss or a hair shining product to give you the look of youth and health!

IN CONCLUSION::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
All of the points above are subconscious clues telling us whether a person is healthy or not.  God wired us to seek out the most healthy specimen for our lifetime partner in procreation.  This isn’t the final word, ultimately love is a decision, but this is an exploration of why we are initially attracted to certain people’s faces.  Next we can discuss body shape.

As always, God doesn’t just give us a command.  He equips us as well.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.  Gen 1:28

REFERENCES: SEX APPEAL. DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Ties:Lapel Ratio…Fashion Science

TIP: Did you know that your suit lapel should match the width of your tie?
I didn’t realize that, but a skinny tie needs a skinny lapel, styles with bigger ties demand a coinciding lapel.  It makes  sense, I just never thought about it!

I love this science of fashion.  I think because I am a marketer, I connect things that most people don’t think about.  For instance, how our styles are influenced by our economy.

50′s/60′s – Tight fit, blue jeans, Tshirts, slim suites and pants
70′s – bell bottoms, larger collars
80′s –  Everything is baggy, hair had to get bigger to match the clothes
90′s –  fitted shirts, baggy pants
00′s – low waisted jeans, boot cut returns, rugged. trucker look
10′s – fitted shirts, skinny jeans, tailored clothing, suits return…more to come

Through this timeline above you can correlate the fashion with the economic times.  The more productive the time, the more flamboyant/baggy the clothing.  The more economically depressed, the more we lean toward buying fitted clothing that is more durable and timeless.

THEN THERE IS THE “ROGUE FACTOR”:
We call these people “fashion forward” or “rockstars.”    They are usually closely tied to the music industry.  These are the people that Zig when everyone else is Zagging.  While we may think they look weird, we also envy–and are attracted to–their confidence.  Everyone loves someone who makes “breaking the rules” acceptable.  That confidence is what will make their fashion the “next big thing.”  There will always be a place in fashion for this individual to make new things “cool.”

In a job description as a Calvin klein designer, they required that this individual be a part of the current rock music culture.  That tie with musicians and fashion is interesting.  That is where you will find tomorrow’s fashion.  Matter-of-fact, music itself is an industry that teaches you the rules, but then teaches you how to creatively break them…correctly.  A true musician cannot be worried about what people think about them.  If they were, they wouldn’t contribute anything original enough to be worth listening to.   This mentality finds its way into their fashion as well.  But that is why America likes rock music.  It is confident and unbridled and creative.  What we all should strive to be.  Breaking the rules correctly, is about knowing them first.

BREAKING THE RULES in BUSINESS:
If you are trying to apply this principle to business…read my blog on CORE VALUES.  You have to know what CANNOT change, before you start making changes.  Yes, it is a good and profitable thing to be the “rock star” of your industry.

All that to say….skinny ties with skinny lapels, guys–at least for now.

Best Moment Ever!

It is Sunday morning…. I had just bussed all the way from Michigan to Nashville through the night.  I found a shoney’s bathroom, shaved, brushed my teeth and fixed my hair (or messed it up….however you want to look at it.)  Then changed back into my gig clothes in the stall (because it was the closest thing to church clothes I had with me).  I had breakfast and drove about 45 minutes to go to church with my sister and brother in law.

I remember the preacher saying something about how we should dress different than the world….and since I was the only one NOT in a shirt and tie that morning…well, I guess he thought it’s something I should work on.  lol.  But no matter how I was dressed, it didn’t take away from what would happen about 30 minutes later…

I was meeting my sister’s fam at Carrabba’s. I walked in the door and three little kids exclaimed to the top of their lungs, “It’s Uncle Robert!”  I didn’t even make it all the way in the door and I had three pairs of arms wrapped around my legs.  I had to drop to my knees and pick up Hillary who refused to let go.

“Mom, Uncle Robert’s Here!”  (William)

“Uncle Robert, sit over here by me!” (Natalie)

“Ruff Ruff!” (Hillary, she turns into a dog the second I see her and insists on being call “Chey”)

The whole restaurant turned to find out who this celebrity named “Uncle Robert” was.  The hostess laughed and greeted me as “Uncle Robert.”  I saw people’s faces turn to smiles as our eyes met.  Yes, everyone in that room wished they were Uncle Robert.  But it was me.  Eat your heart out world!  That was my moment and no one can take that away from me!

PS.  The restaurant manager came out and met these three little angels and gave them a FREE sunday on the house for being so good and polite–but you have to do more than that to get the “uncle robert” treatment!

“God’s Will” is not an excuse to sit around.

(thoughts on 2 Chronicles 1)
I loved David’s attitude.  He never got over-stressed in finding God’s “perfect” will or “permissive” will.  Instead, He knew that God WOULD work His purpose through him.  All he had to do is “acknowledge Him,”  live righteously, and DO whatever his hand found to do with all his might. Pro 3:6, Psa 37:23

Throughout Davids life you see a man of action, a warrior, a musician, a king, yet a humble and dependent child of God who never hesitated to obey God’s command.   As he “acknowledged and served” God, David had complete confidence that God would make his efforts successful.

That is how he approached the building of the temple.  He simple wanted God to have an even grander house than King David’s, so he started preparing to build.  That is when God sent his priest NATHAN (love that guy) to tell Him that God didn’t want him to build the temple but to simply gather resources instead.   And David did just that.

LESSON 1: DO SOMETHING
David never sat around.  He was always actively serving God.   And, the one time David did more than God wanted him to, God gently pulled him aside (without consequence) and shared an even bigger plan with him.  BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, God gave him an essential part of that plan.

LESSON 2: HELP SOMEONE ELSE DO SOMETHING
David’s temple would not have been as grand as Solomon’s.  And Solomon’s temple would not have been the same without David’s resources.   David had to recognize that he would spend the remainder of his days sacrificing and gathering the finest resources in all the world for a project that he would not be able to manage.

WOW. If our only churches and government had more Davids.  As I look around at so many talented people like Leah Taylor, Matt Mills, John Paul Holmes, Jamie Anderson, James Jernigan…and so many more,  I can’t help but think that somewhere along the way,  people were suppose to store or provide resources for them to accomplish a higher purpose.   Yes, God’s plan will be accomplished. But imagine how much grander these ministries would be if generations worked together as a body.  That was the idea I had behind a BUSINESS PLAN God gave me to transform the American Music Industry.

LESSON 3:  DO YOUR PART WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT
David spared no expense, nor did Solomon.   David spent the rest of his days searching the world for the best of the best materials.  But while he did that, he also prepared his people to support Solomon’s vision.

LESSON 4: LET GOD BE THE ARCHITECT
Any great plan is much bigger than one generation!   And it takes EVERY generation giving everything they have to make it complete.  God is the only one who will be around for the whole process.  Let’s surrender to Him and let go of our own plans.  Just take whatever is in front of you and make the most of it.

What have you done today?
Are you simply sitting and waiting on God?
-Or-
Are you serving God and letting Him guide you?

Thoughts God gave me on this:
God does not guide something that isn’t already moving.
God guides gently, but He jump-starts with force.
God punished the man who buried his talent, but rewarded those who invested, regardless of the return. Mat 25:12
God has given you something (making money, talent, wisdom) what have you done with it?
If your gift needs a partner…FIND THEM!

How will God react to your excuses?
So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’   –Mat 25:27-30

FAILURE 101: A Prerequisite to SUCCESS 101

Okay, I spent years in college and this is not a class that was offered.  And–let’s be honest–if it was a book, no one would want to pick it up.  Matter-of-fact, in college all I learned were the rules of the game and how to stay as far away from failure as possible.

DID YOU KNOW: Donald Trump, Mark Twain, Larry King are just a few of the millionaires/billionaires that have had to file bankruptcy at some point or another.  Anything worth doing is worth failing at a few times first.

What has me thinking of this?
I was sitting at a roundtable with four other successful industry leaders and business men and women.  (I know what you are thinking:  why where you there–at least that’s what I was thinking.  The only thing I can attribute to my presence at that table is that I recognize and pray to the Giver of All Wisdom.  And, as I hear that voice guiding my thoughts, I speak up and tell it in faith. ) As we went around the table with introductions they each told their stories.  None of these stories were, “I was brilliant and made alot of money.”   Instead, they were stories of how they spent their lives working hard, lost it all, then built it back up from nothing but God’s guidance.

You can’t spell SUCCESS without RISK:
Okay…maybe you can, but wouldn’t it be cool if that analogy were as true as the concept?   ANYTHING worth doing has a greater possibility of failing than succeeding.  Otherwise, someone would have beat you to it.   It is how we learn to deal with failure that will make us succeed.  Look at each failure as a plateau that gets you closer to success. You will never in life have to step down from that plateau unless you quit.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|||||||:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

It kind of reminded me of the story of Joseph in the Bible.  Everyone always looks at that story and says “poor Joseph.”  But when I read it, I see the resourceful, loving hand of God that was teaching him how to be a leader–one failure at time:

1. Brothers selling him into slavery: Learn to be gracious, humble and loving with the gifts God has given you.  And learn not to tell everybody everything.  Sometimes God gives you a Word just for you–not to blab or brag.

2. Potiphar: Learn to do everything with all your heart, soul, and strength–as unto the Lord.  Potiphar’s love and deep respect for Joseph was probably the only thing that saved his life.  In that culture, if Potiphar had truly believed Joseph was capable of what he was accused, instant death would have no doubt been his fate.

3. Potiphar’s Wife: Learn to stay out of compromising positions, no matter how flattering and innocent they seem.

4. Getting Out of Prison: (see 2)  When you help make other people successful, they will help make you successful.  Human nature is selfish that way, but if you are going to manage people, you will need to learn this to get everyone working toward one goal and purpose.

5.  Saving his brothers: Learn that every bad experience with someone is not a cause to write them off.  It just reveals to you who they really are and what their heart is.  Take that knowledge and learn how far you can trust someone, and build a relationship (however shallow or deep)  around that.   Sometimes we are called to protect people from themselves.  That is what forgiveness is.  We can forgive and forget consequences and personal hurt, but we can’t forget the failure and struggle of the other person.  Otherwise, we become an enabler that aides in their sin against God, men and themselves.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::|||||||:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Lets do something HUGE with our lives!  Lets look at failure as part of success, so we can be a part of the 99th percentile that make a difference in the World.

2011: A Better Man

Last year I spent the year studying what it means to worship God in “spirit and truth.”  What I found was that our denominations take God’s word and (with their actions) either deny His power or use it improperly for their benefit.  If you are truly going to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, you need to find believers who follow God’s word and nothing else.  They measure every teaching by It and guide their life by It.  When you accept this, when you believe it, when you let His spirit work in you…then you will see a whole dimension to life we were meant to walk in everyday. This study will definitely continue, because God continues to speak and reveal new things to me as I seek Him in this light.

I finally came up with THIS year’s  new years resolution!  That is to be a “better man.”
In most cultures there are ceremonies or “rites of passage” for boys to signify that they are now men.  This involves men teaching men about being a man of pride and humility…how to be a good follower and a great leader.    In my 36 years (37 this year)  I have struggled to find this in our culture.

What I have found though, is there are a lot of rules that exist in our past culture that were never passed down.  There are ceremonies that were designed for men but have fallen by the wayside.    My goal this year is to explore this topic.  Men are a creature of “form and function” and I want to know the rules and reasons behind these things.

I can already tell you I am interested in the lost art of grooming practices, clothing rules, cigars/pipes, cars…(Ladies, this will not interest you at all.  You won’t get the attraction to these things–but then you are not suppose to.  Matter-of-fact, if you are one of those women who thought you would get married and have a Ken doll to dress and control, you REALLY won’t like this experiment !   As a man, I might not even get them all myself, but my goal is that by the end of this year, I will be able to find the kind of dignity my grandfather had in being an American man.  Our culture has ripped us a part, but then men themselves have done their part in tearing our sex down.

What does it mean to be an American man?

I have my work cut out for me!