People smell. Some smell good and others … not so good. How do you smell? It’s important to know because the way you smell has an enormous impact on your likeability.

When I was in high school I found a note in my locker that was placed there by a girl I thought was very attractive. The note read, “Hi Bob, I think you’re cute and I like you.” It also smelled wonderful. I don’t have a clue how to describe the fragrance, but it was compelling.

This simple gesture was a perfect example of four of laws of likeablity in action.

1. We like attractive people. She was attractive.
2. We like people who compliment us. She told me she thought I was cute.
3. We like people who like us. She said she liked me.
4. We like people who we associate with good feelings … which I associated with the wonderful fragrance of the note.

Truth is, she had me at “Hi Bob.” Everything else was a bonus.

How you smell matters. How your home and car smells matters. People will either be drawn to you or repelled from you based on the smell they associate with you.

Here’s the catch. Most of us don’t have a clue as to how we smell to others, and they’re not likely to tell us. You need to be diligent about the odor you project and make sure that it’s an odor that attracts and not an odor that repels others.