Looking and behaving better amplifies your ability to get anything in life. Applies to tons of engineers. Spent last week in India where these problems are especially acute. I put together an opinionated list of 15 things everyone ought to do: Fitness – Not only is being fat terrible for your health but it’s a big signal that you don’t take yourself seriously. Diet is the single biggest contributor to being fat or skinny fat and takes 6mos to change your body shape. Most things around you is carbs-slop. You are very likely eating way more calories than your maintenance. Start eating 1-2 meals a day, no snacks. High protein (1.6g/kg/day). For a 70kg person that’s 112g protein. Read the labels on food. Remove sugar, that’s a carb. Remove fried food. Oil is extremely calorie dense: treat it like the plague. Gets easier after 2 weeks. Don’t let parents peer pressure you into thinking this isn’t healthy. Don’t let friends peer pressure you into eating “just this one meal”. In India, there's a 100 myths about how protein has daal or ghee is good for you or a little sugar in chai doesn’t matter. “It's just a biscuit what’s the big deal?” when they add up to 500 cals a day in carbs. Or "our grandparents ate this and didn't need protein, this is just a fad." Take GLP-1s / Ozempic if it's right for you. – Work out 3-5 days a week. Lift heavy weights. More muscle makes you look better but also increases your metabolic rate. Do an hour every morning first thing. Use weights first, focus on cardio later. Lift as heavy as you can, you won’t look jacked (both men and women). Prefer compound exercises: bench press, squat, deadlifts. For cardio, get to running 5k. If you hate running, incline walk for 30mins. Cardio can’t beat diet for weight loss. Consistency beats intensity. If you can, get a treadmill in your house. – If you smoke and drink, I know it’s hard to change habits overnight and I don’t think it’s easy to quit cold turkey. Just try to pick the few days you’re going to do this and try to moderate on the order days to make those days special. – Get 7+hrs of sleep if you can. Grooming – Do your hair. Don’t do a fancy haircut. Keep it short and simple. Cut your hair every 2-3 weeks. Put some product (matte hair wax) after a shower and blow dry your hair into shape. No, it doesn’t make you bald faster. Use potent anti dandruff shampoo regularly if you flake. Use conditioner. – If you have glasses, get LASIK if you qualify for it. You will not lose your eyes and you’ll look way better. If you must keep glasses, find a shape that works for your face shape. – Shave everyday. A clean look shows people you put in effort every day. Some people can pull of the beard look. 90% of people think they can but look terrible. If you are doing a beard, trim and shape every day. – If you are balding, get a hair transplant. It hurts but usually being bald hurts more. if you have obvious balding, just bite the bullet and go bald. – Clothes. Make sure you have the common colors for all your basics (white black navy grey and some shades of beige burgundy). Don’t wear things with logos. Wear fitted clothes. Dress for your age. Don’t wear jeans. Don’t wear plain thin T-shirts. Find colors that suit your skin. Overdress > underdress. Have tailored formals. Shoes should be stylish but minimal. – Accessories. I’m more opinionated on this but I think clean is best. Never forget your shades when it’s sunny. Usually wear a belt. Maybe a watch (I personally find smart watches very tacky). If you need a backpack, keep it minimal but super high quality. Ideally, no tattoos. Ideally, no chains, no rings. Never do too much: nothing beautiful asks for attention. – Teeth. Get the dentist to scale your teeth annually and whiten them. Use veneers if you need them. Use Invisalign to move your teeth in shape if you have bent teeth. Use mouth strips for bad breath. Use a tongue cleaner. Floss at least once a week. – Scent. Wear some. Not cheap stuff. Try to carry it on you if it’s hot and you sweat. Shower every day. Use deodorant. If you sweat a lot, make backup plans for clothes. – Skincare. Face wash and moisturizer every day morning and night at minimum. Use sunscreen every morning. Manners – Smile more when you meet people! It’s the easiest hack to make friends and be more social. – Make sure you always monitor how much you speak vs the other person and moderate yourself. Talk about yourself less, and the other person more. Actually listen to the other person. Let your work speak for itself. If the person doesn’t want to talk to you, don’t force it. – Speak better and speak slowly. Improve your clarity and your diction. – Be authentic, honest and reliable. Relationships build over the long term. People remember fake, social-climby people who put on fake interests to fit in. Remember people’s names. Be on time. Doing all of this helps open a ton of doors professionally, helps with the dating, helps make friends, keeps you healthier and improves your self confidence. People take you seriously. Of course, there are plenty of exceptions. At the end of the day, all of things is polish for your main main thing: the work you do or family you build. Anyone who makes fitness or style their main thing ends up not being liked by anybody (unless it’s literally their job). Many people do not realize that these things also help contribute and open doors in the real world.