Mary Kay Millionaires

I went to a Mary Kay party the other day and it brought back a flood of memories.
I used to sell Mary Kay part time and it was really a lot of fun. I had to give it up to pursue some other goals, but one day I hope to return to it. I thought selling Mary Kay would be completely unfulfilling, but I learned quickly that I was actually joining a dynamic group of women for whom the word “no” and “try” have absolutely no meaning – we should all be as undeterred in our life’s pursuits.
Mary Kay passed away a few years ago and I joined the mourners at a tribute in Chicago. Women came from everywhere to talk about how working for her changed their lives. Mary Kay had some sayings that you had to internalize and make a part of your personal mantra to make it – not just in Mary Kay, but in regular life. You were charged with more than just making women more beautiful one face at a time.
To live the Mary Kay lifestyle meant never leaving the house in anything other than full make up, a pair of beautiful but livable heels, and a two piece suit or silk dress. Yes, there is a dress code and no you can’t ever get out of it. If you don’t want to leave the house looking fabulous, then you shouldn’t leave the house at all. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it because easier as you realized that every time you stepped out of your front door someone was going to ask you to sell them something. It just wasn’t good business sense to be anything other than your best self. It was kind of like being a movie star 24/7. Once in a while I broke out in a pair of dark shades and lip gloss, but I got busted so many times I couldn’t deal with it. I don’t have the discipline to be THAT cute all the time, but I hope to get there soon.
Here are three of the sayings I internalized in my search for being my best self:
Inch by inch it’s a cinch – yard by yard – it’s hard:
When you join Mary Kay you go to meetings with women who started selling just as you did. They built a vast team of sales people and are living a life that seems unbelievable – until they invite you to their home. They surround you with enthusiasm and they applaud even the meekest effort. They offer tips and training and friendship and encouragement that you’ve never even heard of – I’ve been extremely lucky in the managers I have had down through the ages in my regular job, but this was a whole new level of encouragement. They walk you through the process and take you beyond your comfort zone to help you do things you never thought you could, and before you realize it, you have a couple of team mates of your very own. But you can’t be given the pink Cadillac until you master the fundamentals, create an incredible customer base and build that fabulous team. It takes time, and that makes some people give up too soon.
You may be the only Bible anyone else ever reads
Your job is to be a total advocate for the customer. You are Mary Kay and everything you do, ever person you encounter, every lipstick you sell, and every party you throw, has to reflect what people expect from her. It’s the same when you work for a well known company, and its more true when you work for yourself. You treat customers the way you want to be treated and you attain a reputation for being good at what you do and other customers will follow. Your job is to be a living representation of the best self you can imagine at all times, even when you don’t know what to do and even when it isn’t your natural inclination – you are the product and no one will buy if you are not selling your own competence. Every single day in every single way – you are Mary Kay, and you truly can’t ever forget it. I’m going to get my lip gloss as we speak.
It is better to be exhausted from success than rested from failure
You go to these meetings once or twice a week and every month you meet with a Sales Director who greets you with a warm hug and kiss, a comfortable chair and a chance to relive all of the things (not just Mary Kay things) that bothered you that week. You have to wonder how anyone could have that kind of time. She has a family, she has a job (yes she is probably working outside the home just as you are) and she has a life of her own outside of Mary Kay. These women are involved in volunteering for the community, raising their children, working with their families, and at the same time holding more skin care classes than you can shake a stick at. They set up a list of 100 goals (yes, I got that from them also) and they make those goals stick. They scratch off the achievements one by one – remember inch by inch – and they show you that your impossible dream isn’t at all impossible. They don’t allow you to dwell on obstacles because they tell you what has worked for them and they challenge you to overcome your own set of obstacles. I stopped watching as much TV as I used to watch and I don’t think I will ever get back to that old level, even though I left Mary Kay many years ago. We all have the same amount of time in our day – do you want to spend your retirement thinking about your time in front of the tube, or your accomplishments. You have to make time for all that is really important, and there is nothing wrong with having a bottomless list. As long as you have a goal you are still alive!