How to unlock the Harvey Specter self-confidence
Harvey Specter is a badass lawyer played by Gabriel Macht who looks like a cross between Superman and Marlon Brando, we come across in the show ‘Suits’. His character traits are impeccably sharp and attractive. Men want to be like him while women want him. He always got something under his sleeve, making him a master strategist. Today we are going to talk about some of his character traits that we can adapt to our life.
1. Self Image
Confidence is all about self-image, how you see yourself. Nobody is born self-confident, it’s something you grow within yourself. Harvey thinks he’s better than everyone, making him immensely confident around anyone. You may think it’s an arrogant thing to think that you’re better than everyone. But having this mindset — thinking you are better than everyone in the room or at least you are equal — gives you access to your inner self-confidence to boom.
A clear display of this attribute is to be unfolded now. Now let’s get into a scene where Harvey meets a manager named Sam who’s also a client of Harvey. In this scene, Harvey thinks he’s superior to Sam in every department. And he’s telling all these to the manager’s face. No going behind the back happens here.
“ If you try to stonewall me, you’ll be out on the street in less than a week. As for the other stuff, do I think I’m smarter than you? You are damn right I do. But if you think that means I can’t kick your ass up and down this floor, take a swing and see what happens.”
How do we can apply this to our life? If you are a young man and you’re full of self-distrust that you can’t approach women because they are too attractive, you are letting their beauty define who you are. Don’t think that they are out of your league. Take the steering wheel to your hand and be a man. Go out there and talk confidently. Don’t let their external appearance alter the perception of how other people see you. How you see yourself is how other people will see you.
2. High Standards
He always has high standards of himself. He always expects a “win” instead of settling for a reasonable offer. By not settling to an offer straight up, he increases his demand. And gives the message to the opposition loud and clear — that he can’t be dominated. He doesn’t believe in luck, He makes his own luck by doing the hard work. He has self-confidence because he has analyzed every possible scenario that’s gonna happen to him and he has chosen the best path. He deserves to be having high standards because he can back it up with hard facts.
“ That’s the difference between you and me, you wanna lose small, I wanna win big.”
“ I don’t get lucky, I make my own luck”.
And next time you’re going out with someone instead of ‘hoping’ that someone would like you, have higher standards of yourself and ‘expect’ that someone will like you.
3. Do Your Homework
When Harvey is meeting someone he always does the homework about that person, before coming for the meeting. And when he does, he owns the meeting. That’s because Harvey can’t be leveraged, he knows every little shady thing you’ve done. Harvey knows the strengths and weaknesses of his rival and he uses that knowledge against the foe. Understanding the people you talk with is key to confidence. When you have few tricks up your sleeve, It is easy to be cocky and to talk to that person with confidence and complying them to your word. Next time you have a meeting, do your research and homework and you can ace that meeting with Harvey Specter's confidence.
4. Style, Looks, and Body Language
I know people say that looks don’t matter if you have inner beauty. This may be true on a spiritual level. But in the corporate world, you are judged instantly for how you look.
“People respond to how we dress. And like it or not this is what you have to do.”
He’s always wearing a proper 3 piece Tom Ford suit, Patek Philippe wristwatch, Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, and his face is well-groomed. Beard is full-shaven and his hairstyle boosts up his look even more. You don’t necessarily have to use high-end premium products to look good. You can look absolutely dashing according to your budget, will is the only thing that matters. To attain his hairstyle, you will need to get the correct extent of dimension on top to create some height on that pompadour. Speak to your barber and make sure he takes your sides down to a short length but not buzz-cut. Remember you will need to create a hard parting so the length on top needs to compliment the sides in a contrasting sort of way — it’s a wonderful, juxtaposed type of cut that looks incredible when it is executed expertly.
And he uses dominating gestures and body language positioning to create the perception of his confidence. In a meeting sometimes he stands up making the other person look up to him in a submissive way. Body positioning matters. And when he talks with someone walking, he doesn’t stop. He keeps marching in his original direction keeping his shoulders straight talking with the bystander on the way. Standing straight keeping your shoulders back releases a hormone named Serotonin makes you biologically confident too. The first rule in Jordan. B. Peterson’s book “12 Rules for Life,” tells you to stand up straight with your shoulders back for the same reason.
When you are going to a meeting or a date be aware of your body posture — stand straight, hold your shoulders back without fidgeting and walk slow and elegantly. When you are sitting, sit comfortably. Always have a smirky smile on your face which will intensify your cockiness and charm. This definitely boosts your confidence level and will take you to the next level.
5. Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle goes a long way. Commit yourself to uplifting your health by engaging in a sport, working out, and maintaining the body shape. This correct body shape will give you an immense amount of self-confidence. Harvey Specter is a boxer. He practices boxing whenever he can and this increases his physical as well as mental well-being. And it is clearly reflected in his activities. Harvey Specter is a basketball fan and has a good sense of music — He has a jazz record collection — and a great sense of humor. By loosening up a little in your leisure time and listening to some quality music will uplift your mental well-being, ultimately amplifying your self-confidence. Sometimes you need something to take off the edge. Harvey does boxing in his spare time, what do you like to do to take off the edge?
6. Always think outside of the box
Harvey is a master strategist. No matter the situation or how hard the situation is he always comes up with a solution. He goes that extra mile that his competitors won’t even dream of. He always thinks outside of the box thinking of an innovative solution.
Harvey : What are your choices when someone puts a gun to your head?
Mike : What are you talking about? You do what they say or they shoot you.
Harvey: WRONG. You take the gun, or you pull out a bigger one. Or, you call their bluff. Or, you do any one of a hundred and forty six other things.”
All the alpha wolves of the society, CEOs, the top 1 percent think outside of the box. That’s how they have become who they are. I want you to think differently and come up with solutions that other people don’t here onwards, I want you to be like Harvey goddamn Specter.
