Should you dress for success?

Hustle Machine

It took us 17 or 18 takes to get this one in the books because Jason’s computer kept freezing up, including at least once early in this final shoot. Find any more instances of him freezing up to win a prize!

Warning: Hustle Machine can make no promises about providing a prize and this previous sentence is not a legally binding clause requiring us to give out a prize. Sorry.

As our duo learn revenge is a dish best served cold, Jason begins considering his career viability in case of a zombie apocalypse and Zack is confronted with whether he’s the Jack Shepherd of the group in perhaps the most tortured “Lost” metaphor of the past five years.

We almost break up the podcast entirely over Jason’s terrible Yoohoo take, but we do get down to business eventually in this marathon episode about the need to dress for success.

The irony of Zack wearing gym clothes while Jason wears a blazer over a graphic T-shirt to discuss this is duly noted, we promise.

Nonetheless, Zack in particular emphasizes the importance of first impressions and creating an office culture alike through office apparel, while Jason faces an existential crisis about his possible lack of a fashion style and whether he’s changed in the years since he once swore not to allow any hats in the office.

(Has Jason potentially been replaced by a pod person since then? What is he hiding under the cap he once threatened to ban from the workplace? Stay tuned to find out!)

We’ll talk about elevating your style, the difference between wearing certain clothes for client meetings versus wearing them for a day in the home office, and how wearing a nice outfit, even at home, can make your work feel like your career and not just a hobby. We note how people treat you differently depending on your attire and talk about how to maintain your individuality even as you find ways to dress up to the expectations of new clients.

And as Jason, in particular, tries to find that perfect balance between the three-piece suits of the past and the casual Friday approach of the weekend, we can all remember that, if the apocalypse does happen, we can dress down as much as we want. The zombies won’t care.