Module 12 was a great lesson in body language and its importance in life. I posted this artifact to archive, and I felt really wishy washy about it, simply because there were things I really loved about Leo in Wolf of Wall Street, and there were things I really cringed at.

What I liked was that, just like myself, we both started at the bottom of the financial industry, and through confidence and drive, like the display of comfortable, but not cocky confidence in this photo, it drove us to success, and granted, MUCH DIFFERENT levels of success and career paths, and thankfully ethical dilemmas that I will never have to face, it was that strength and display of body language that I believe helped tremendously. People look for leaders who are confident, they follow leaders who have shown success when in their own positions, and they trust credible leaders who don’t give off levels of unacceptable arrogance.

This module and its connection to culture made me focus on certain universal signs in body language across all cultures. Confidence and determination were ones that to me seemed universal. For example keeping your head and chin up, a nice but not extravagant smile, good posture, and level and pulled back shoulders. There are a lot of expressions in body language that can be translated differently across cultures, but I believe in a lot of cultures confidence is one that is universal, especially when it comes international business