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[caption id="attachment_1200" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="What you wear affects how you feel about yourself."]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1200" title="clothing as costume" src="http://believeiam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMAG0639-200x300.jpg" alt="Strong T-Shirt" width="200" height="300" />[/caption]

Put a kid in a superhero costume and what do you get?

A lot of zooming around the room; sound effects of tazers and spider-web shooters; wild-eyed proclamations of saving the world...

Put a little girl in a Princess outfit and what do you get?

A miniature feminine specimen, flitting through the house on her tip toes, noticeably standing several inches taller and demanding that her every whim be met with grace and humility from her loyal subjects.

Its easy to notice the effects of costume on uninhibited children, but what role does it play in our lives once we are living in the adult world?  Could we ever experience that transformation again?
<h2>Yes!</h2>
Every day of our lives, we continue to use clothing as costume.  But as we get older, we more often use costume as a message for the outside world to treat us a particular way, rather than as a message to <em>ourselves </em>to bring out our inner super-hero.

Our work environments put us in suits, or scrubs, or business casual.  We dress in costume to match the rest of our yoga classmates, or our cycling friends.  We dress the part, we look the part, and we are easily recognized and identified as being involved in this or that, which can be very helpful and fun.

[caption id="attachment_1205" align="alignright" width="210" caption="Just putting these on makes my legs itch to run fast."]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1205 " title="lunar elites" src="http://believeiam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMAG0648-300x200.jpg" alt="lunar elits" width="210" height="140" />[/caption]

But we also have those moments where we choose a costume to <em>bring out a particular characteristic or attitude from deep inside us.</em> We have our "special underwear" that makes us<em> feel </em>sexy.  We have our favorite party dress that makes us unafraid to let it loose on the dance floor.  We have our knock-em-dead suit that helps us deliver a presentation with the confidence of the meticulously prepared.  We have our favorite running shoes that make us want to crest a summit.  We have our faded worn-out jeans that are too ugly to wear in public but make us feel completely at home.

This second type of costume: the one that brings out something in special in YOU, is the type of costume that Ro and I are creating with Believe I Am.  Through our experiences as Professional Runners, we have learned that the key to achieving any goal is to create firmly held beliefs about ourselves as empowered, capable individuals.  We identify words and feelings that we seek at different times in our life and spend hours and hours and hours finding a way to turn that word or feeling into a powerful design (<strong>a visual cue</strong>) that will elicit an emotional response.  Before selling a single shirt, or sending a design to press, we test it out ourselves.

[caption id="attachment_1201" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Do you see a flower or a word?"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-1201 " title="strong design" src="http://believeiam.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMAG0647-200x300.jpg" alt="Strong, up close" width="180" height="270" />[/caption]

Now I have a drawer full of costumes to choose from, some of which are available for sale now, and some of which will be released over time after they are perfected.  When I start my day, if I want to feel stronger, then I wear the shirt that says "I Am Strong."  Spending that time consciously deciding what characteristic I want to embody that day, or for a particular task, is a way to get in touch with my needs.  Its an opportunity to combat negativity and bring out my inner super-hero.

The visual cues are cryptic because it is not meant to be a message for the entire world to see.  Those on the outside see a beautiful flower on a delicate, soft, sustainably made tee.  Only those in the know see the truth, and that's the way I want it.  Its my secret super-hero costume...and every time I catch my reflection in a mirror or store window, it reminds me of what I truly am, and I can't help but smile on the inside.
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