Making (Pink) Lemonade Out of Lemons
Written by PinkPeace
As much as we can be very angry and disgusted with Mary Kay for any number of legitimate reasons, if we’re honest with ourselves, our experience in the pink bubble wasn’t 100% bad.
I wanted to highlight some of the positives I got out of my years in the business in the hopes that you’ll be able to look at your own experience and extract some good out of it. Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better about Mary Kay when you can see that it was part of a journey that made you a better person.
I became more outgoing and confident in public. Prior to Mary Kay, I was shy and was terrified to speak in front of others. I never wanted to go anywhere where I had to meet new people, and I was awkward any time I had to give a presentation or speak in front of a group. Mary Kay taught me how to start a conversation with someone else and keep it going by engaging the other person in talking about him or herself. My many years in directorship trained me to think on my feet in front of other women and give presentations that others were excited to hear.
I developed a more positive attitude. When I joined Mary Kay, I was negative, sarcastic and just generally unpleasant to be around. In the beginning, it was extremely difficult for me to project a positive attitude, because it just was not my nature. But as the years went by, I discovered the wisdom that “you attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
My positive and upbeat attitude gradually became natural and got me farther than my previous disposition ever would have. I became a generally much happier person by looking for the positives in any given situation instead of dwelling on the negatives. Without my MK training, I am convinced I would never have been able to turn that part of my personality around.
I learned to better deal with different personality types. Well, I’m pretty much a “D” personality – domineering, take charge and convinced that it should be my way or the highway. I was forced to deal with all different personality types in my unit and see the value in each one. I had to stretch and develop patience and tolerance for women who saw the world completely differently than I do. Eventually I came to appreciate each of their perspectives and value them for who they were.
I developed patience and persistence. I was naturally very impatient when I began Mary Kay, but I quickly learned that impatience did not help me build my business, especially when I was going through DIQ and was in directorship. I know that they always say, “Fast is good and slow is impossible.”
But when it came to pressuring women to become consultants, I found that if I took my time and “layered” them, I had more chance of success. (Of course now I wish I hadn’t brought anyone into this business, but at the time I thought I was doing the right thing.) Now if I don’t get an instant result in whatever I’m doing, I know that it’s not the end of the world, and that if I keep plugging away, I’ll eventually have a better outcome.
I learned how to give a good compliment. I know this sounds a little silly, but I was not in the habit of complimenting others before I received “warm stalking” training with Mary Kay. It taught me to be observant and pick up on little clues from women about what might make them feel special. One of the most fun things about being out of the pink bubble is giving random compliments to people just to be nice. I really love picking out something about someone else and letting her know I notice and appreciate it.
I learned to make others feel important. What a powerful life lesson! There is such value in giving recognition and appreciation to someone else. I also learned that the world does not revolve around me, and that sharing the spotlight with others is much more fulfilling. I’m so glad Mary Kay taught me to find whatever is unique and valuable about others and give it attention and recognition.
I discovered the power of praising someone to success. This has been an especially good lesson for me with my children. There is a world of difference in someone’s reaction and performance when you find something to praise rather than something to criticize. I apply this to other people that I interact with also. I’m always the first with a “good for YOU!” or “that’s fantastic – you’re doing great!” when someone does something right. I’ve been told that people like to work with me because I find things to get excited about instead of dwelling on what might have gone wrong.
I got a lot cuter. Say what you will about wearing makeup and having a dress code, but I really needed it! Before Mary Kay, I had NO clue about how to pull myself together to look appealing. I look so much better with makeup, a good haircut and cute clothes, and outside of Mary Kay, I don’t know how I would have gotten that kind of advice, short of being on a TV makeover show. And because I know I look good, I feel good and have more confidence.
Any of you who have read any of my previous posts know that I am NOT a kaybot, and I do not defend the company. But I believe God had/has you in Mary Kay for a purpose, and can make good come out of bad circumstance. Try to reflect on them as I toast you all with a glass of pink lemonade!
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Comments (13)
GirlNextDoor
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“you attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
But….. who wants flies?
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gettingoutofdebt
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PinkPeace,
I would have to agree with you on every aspect of this article. As I was reading it, I was nodding my head “yes” for each bullet point.
These were the lessons I chose to keep from my MK experience– the others I have ditched.
GOOD
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MLM Radar Detector
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I got a lot cuter with Mary Kay makeup….
BS. I saw the pictures. I can’t believe my Mary Kay Consultant said it was cute. Too-pink rouge circles on my cheeks that make me look like a circus clown. Lipstick colors which rubbed off within an hour and migrated into all the little crevices, leaving me with zombie Lips.
Mary Kay Circus Clown cheeks and Zombie lips. I just cringe knowing I was seen in public looking like that.
So glad the no-pressure makeover I got at Ulta showed me what makeup was REALLY supposed to look like.
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Scrib
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I don’t deny that women can and do glean good out of their MK experiences; that they can become better speakers, gain confidence, or a sense of patience. But I take tremendous issue with the means by which those qualities come by. (And Pinkpeace, you know we’re here **indicates eyes with two fingers** so you know I’m not dogging you, girl!)
MK leaders teach everything from going behind one’s husband’s back, to leaving out information in the recruiting interview, to manipulation, to the twisting of biblical scripture and beyond in the name of business. The lies start small (“It’s a facial,” or “I’m not trying to recruit you”) and escalate from there; even the company itself is not guiltless, as it bases all numbers on what was ordered by its own consultants and not actually sold to customers.
In addition to schooling women in the tongue of lies, the stories of finances being pillaged are many, as well as the enormous potential to have one’s faith be distorted and twisted into something quite unrecognizable. Look at SSD Jordan Helou-Eischer, who bragged on her Facebook page that God caused natural disasters to happen on the east coast – disasters in which people lost lives and property – for the purposes of giving her unit an extra 24 hours to reach their goals…and then having the gall to call that an “Old Testament Miracle.” Jordan’s religious rantings are some the most disgusting words I’ve come across all year, and that’s no joke.
My point is that the women in MK are paying insanely high prices for confidence, patience, and the like, in actual money and in intangible currency. Each woman must examine the practices within MK and what’s being taught and decide for herself if she’s willing to make some heavy-hitting trades. You might be more patient, but you’re 6k in debt from all that stretching and buying product to help your director reach her goals. You might be more confident, but now you preach a God that looks quite different from the One in the Bible. And while you may be able to interact better with everyone, that everyone may not include your husband, who your leaders instructed you to bypass and leave out of the equation if he didn’t support the business, and now there’s a wedge between you both.
Count your cost wisely, my friends.
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enorth
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Just looked at her Joyful Noise Unit Facebook page and the first thing I saw was the MK “Winners Dinner” menu, complete with items like…(are you ready?)…mixed green salad, chicken and salmon! Wow, I guess her unit members don’t get out much…
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Been there done that
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I couldn’t have said it any better, Scrib! I couldn’t help but wonder, as I read PinkPeace’s list of things gained from the MK experience, was that really the return on investement that he/she was expecting to get? Was she/he really expecting to be going to a charm school? I doubt it. I’m sure the investment was supposed to be on business building with financial gain on the investment of money and hard work. I don’t mean to be crass, but it sounds more like a case of sour grapes to me.
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Scrib
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I don’t think that was PinkPeace’s intent, my friend. PinkPeace was a car-driving director for a number of years and saw enough buggery to make a Turkish brothel cover its eyes in shame.
MK is often touted in recruiting interviews as a means to gaining life skills, such as confidence, boldness, and other self-improvement perks; I’ve even seen one director claim that Mary Kay was better than Sunday School. (Heh, yeah, for the Church of Satan, maybe.)
PinkPeace is simply showing the positives she was able to sift out of the piles of debt, the manipulation, coercion, and deception found throughout Mary Kay.
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TRACY
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Never join MK if you are seeking out these things. But if you did do MK, and you did gain any of these things, then focus on that tiny bit of positivity.
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onelessSD
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Tracy! I totally agree!!
And I think that was PP’s message- she was in MK- bad overall experience, got out- yet through it all- found some positive things to take away from that overall bad experience.
I think it’s wise advice.
Thanks PP for reminding me that even though my experience wasn’t great- I can find the little things that I learned and put to use in now my other endeavors.
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Scrib
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Well said! If it’s patience you want, download a book about it to your Kindle, join a Bible study, or go to Disney World for your family vacation.
Trust me, one day standing in those lines will definitely exercise your patience muscle!
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onelessSD
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Scrib- you are funny! Yeah, we recently spent a vacation in Disney World- and let’s just say- it was an exercise in patience for sure!
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NeverWasPink
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The comparable analogy I see is this: I would never deliberately let my car run out of gas so I’d have a chance to take a five-mile walk on a sunny day, but, if it did happen (cough cough, a friend of a friend, you know…), I would try to have a good attitude about getting the exercise
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BlahBlah
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Completely agree, NeverWas! That’s how I see it.
Great article!
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