Want To Be Successful? Change Your Last Name.

Hello Simon

As a Certified Master Handwriting Analyst, I found your post very interesting and went to read the article in the Economist. I must say that it does make sense from the psychological point of view.

As you rightly mentioned, these childhood conditionings become subliminal and our handwriting is no different.

"Personality reveals itself in all human expression, but especially in the infinitely fine movements of the hand as it guides the pen..."

I would therefore be most interesting to compare this surname theory with a person's handwriting.

Handwriting can reveal more about a person than he may know himself, which is why it is used by corporate companies in the hiring process, for jury services and for personal improvement and compatibility, etc.

So, what I was wondering is whether those who fall in the first half of the alphabet have the desired traits for success and whether those who fall in the latter half of the alphabet lack the desired traits for success.

Perhaps those interested would like to look for the following traits in their own handwriting in relation to their surname...

A low self-esteem:
The position of the T-bar cross.

Writers who place their t-bars near the top or at the top of the stem have more self-confidence and self-esteem than do writers who cross their t-bars lower down on the stem. Confidence wins in the long-term. He directs his ambitions towards the future and will even forego short-term benefits for long-term rewards. A positive success trait to possess. If the t-bar is out of touch with the stem (floating above) the writer will tend to only dream about completing the goals he sets. This is usually because his goals are too unrealistic to accomplish.

The writer with a T-bar cross placed low on the stem is not a risk taker! The writer may miss opportunities because he does not demand enough of himself. He may set his goals too low for his own innate abilities. As he usually anticipates failure he prefers to stay within safe boundaries setting his goals in a security-minded manner.

Some other success traits...

Enthusiasm:
Shown by a long T-bat cross.

Tenacity:
Shown by final hooks on letters and words.

Persistence:
Shown by tied strokes in the three letter zones.

Initiative:
The t-bar cross is replaced by a stroke that starts at the bottom of the stem and breaks away in an upward stroke.

Self-reliance:
Shown by an underlined signature.#

Optimism:
Shown by rising lines. Words written on an upward slope.

Self-confidence;
Seen in the personal pronoun 'I' which should be proportionate to the overall writing size.

Medium to large writing also denotes self-confidence.

I would be interested to know if anyone has any of these traits or a lack of them in relation to the surname theory.

Or even whether those in the latter half of the alphabet always seem to find it an uphill battle and a struggle in the quest to become successful. Perhaps giving up just before reaching the finishing line or giving up too soon. Or, not understanding why this happens to them.

Best regards,

Susan.

> Hi,

> What follows is seriously funny.
> A friend send me this with the following
> comment:
> "We often forget about subliminal
> impression our names, aliases and sigs make
> on people (and ourselves)."
> -------------------------
> Reports claim people with surnames beginning
> with a letter in the first half
> of the alphabet are more likely to be
> successful.
> The problem has been traced back to
> childhood, when school lists and classroom
> seating arrangements are often determined
> alphabetically.
> The report claims people who continuously
> see their names at the bottom of a
> list can suffer from low self-esteem.
> The world's five richest people - Bill
> Gates, Warren Buffet, Paul Allen, Larry
> Ellison and Karl Allbrecht - are have
> surnames near the top of the alphabet.
> Of the British Prime Ministers elected in
> the 20th century, only Margaret
> Thatcher and Harold Wilson had surnames
> starting A to M.
> All the Spice Girls, three of the four
> Beatles, and six of the seven G7 heads of
> government all follow the rule.
> The trend is explained in this week's
> edition of The Economist.
> Economics editor Pam Woodhall says pupils
> with surnames at the end of alphabet
> aren't questioned as much by teachers
> because they're sat near the back of the
> class.
> She said: "The humiliation continues
> ... at university graduations, shortlists
> for job interviews, election ballot papers,
> lists of conference speakers: all
> tend to be drawn up alphabetically."
> The paper quotes psychologist Richard
> Wiseman saying a high alphabet listing
> boosts people's confidence.
> --------------------------