September 1, 2010

Been a great day so far!  I love a brand new month.  It's a opportunity for a brand new start. To me nothing feels better than a fresh start.  As I was driving my kids to school I heard about a great book on K-Love entitled "Outlive your Life" by Max Lucado.  Lisa and Eric spent the morning talking about that subject and even had Max Lucado as a guest speaker.  It sparked a passion in me even more for the opportunity we have to make a difference in the lives of women.  This book is made up of everyday people doing extraordinary things that will outlive them.  Which is exactly what we have the opportunity to do!!! I will be going to the book store today to purchase the book!  I challenge you to do the same because you were made to make a difference.  and God has you in MK for a reason!!

  I shared with you yesterday that my goal is to pay off $20,000 worth of debt by January.  Well below is my schedule we created to make it happen.  Yes you will see that my life is VERY structured.  Every detail is planned, even down to what night  I will take a shower, ha:) But I believe if you want to get the most out of life it has to be that way.  Plus with 3 kids it helps my sanity!  I also plan our meals 2 weeks at a time.  My goal with this blog was to let you see what I do everyday as a director to create $5000-$7000 per month in income. 

What would your life look like if you could live it any way you wanted?  God has given you an opportunity to make it happen.  Will you accept the call?  Remember you are hear for a reason, a season, or lifetime!  Make it count!  Gotta go, headed to the bookstore, product delivery to make, consultant orientation to do, and pick up my kiddos, then dinner w/family and skin care class tonight! 

August  31, 2010

Wow I woke up with an amazing feeling in my soul today.  I love waking up everyday loving my life and I truly believe it is because I answered the call God put on my life to pursue a career with Mary Kay.  I cannot imagine where my life would be today without this opportunity.  It's not that I love the kind of work it is, of course playing make up is fun but I also loved the work I did at the school board.  What I love is the choices it allows me to make.  I get to live my life however I choose and that is freedom and is priceless.  God has called me to a position to be an influence and to use MK as a vehicle to let women see him through me.  Yes that is scary sometimes! Yesterday I talked with 2 consultants who are considering leaving MK and returning their product to MK and I have to say that is the worst part of being a leader.  Nothing makes me sadder than to have those conversations because I know what they are giving up on.  At the same time I know that God puts women in MK for a reason, a season or a lifetime and my job is to fulfill that purpose while they are in my life.  In my 11 years with MK we have had around 10 people make the decision to return their product and one common reason is loss of belief because getting on the date book and staying there they felt was hard.  It is so easy to become discouraged by that and view that as a negative part of our business.  The thing is that I, as your director, deal with the same thing, the only difference is how I think about it.  I know that we have an amazing product that makes women look and feel great and when someone says no to an appointment it has nothing to do with me or the product it is simply her own situation.  So I am just willing to ask one more person because I have learned their is power in one person.  One person saying yes to a facial has tons of power.  I remember a time when I was feeling frustrated and hopeless, it was Oct 2004.  Very reluctantly I asked my best friend Michelle to share me with some friends (you know how you have that one person you just don't want to ask because you don't want them to know you are struggling?) but I ask her anyway.  She of course said yes and invited a girl from Mt Vernon (April Martin) who booked a party and invited Tasha Dillingham (who became a consultant and recruited Tracy Mink-still in our unit today, plus 4 other people 1 being Sharon Davidson from Berea, KY.  Sharon and I interviewed Misty Lakes--now a Toupin Area sales director!!!  Wow an amazing story right?  It all came from just asking one more person.  I still service customers today from that appointment, but what if I had given up?  Think of the lives changed all because I didn't give up and I just ask one more person.  Misty has a unit of 50+ people, not to mention countless customers.  This company not only is a great company to work for but it gives you the choice to create a schedule any way you want too, encourages you to share your faith, gives you any dream you can dream, and really change women's lives.  Anytime my family has a dream I set down with a piece of paper and develop a plan.  I see how much I need to earn and in what time frame, then I create the schedule around my family to make it happen.  There is no other career in the world that will give you that.  I am closing by sharing the goals my family and I placed on my office wall tonight...

The banner at the top says: People reflect their leader.  We cannot expect followers to grow beyond their leader.

I have a cadillac picture, our dream home picture, National court of sales and sharing tracking sheet, and most importantly a debt free poster with all our debt listed.  We have been on Dave Ramsey's plan for 2 years now and have paid off around $350,000 (we did sell our house for $220,000) but rest was all MK! Our total debt is down to $20,000 and I plan to have that all paid by January (yes just 5 months) all with my MK money.  I know I can do that because I know what I need to earn and how many appointments it will take.  I can hold the # appointments I need, still take kids to school & pick up everyday, take Cierra to dance and attend Hayden's soccer games plus have date night with my hubby.  Because I decide when I hold the appointments--no boss is giving me my schedule.

There is an amazing peace in knowing you have financial security and can earn as much as you want or need.  And most important you have control over it and the more people you help the more you earn.  What a career!  Almost seems to good to be true!  Sometimes I can't believe this is my life! 

Thank you for being a part of it!

August 30, 2010

What a wonderful weekend.  I spent Friday in Louisville training with New York Make Up artist Lori Hogg, then date night with hubby in Richmond.  If you have not watched Switch it is wonderful!!  Wow I learned a lot at the workshop.  Everything in Cosmetics is constantly changing.  I can't wait to share those new ideas with you at Color Certification in September.  I started my day with breakfast of course with my family, kids off to school, and back home to study.  I read Proverbs 29 from my John C Maxwell Leadership bible and was reminded of what a responsibility God has trusted me with.  John C. Maxwell points out how that God intended leaders to be an influence and that people reflect their leader and as leaders we cannot expect our followers to grow beyond the leader or to turn out fundamentally different from their leader.  Wow! Part of me was scared by that but ultimately that is the very reason God called me to this position.  And I do believe it was a calling from God.  I printed those words on a banner and placed it just above my desk to remind me daily.  It is a responsibility but also a privilege.  What excites me now as I read it is that if I build a strong, solid, profitable business and set a great example of living a life of obedience to Christ so will you!!!!  It gave me a renewed passion for achieving the National Court of Sales and National Court of Sharing.  I've already booked 1 class this morning and began preparing for tonight's Pink Camp #2.  I know that being a leader of influence is no easy task and you expect a lot from me for where much is given much is expected.  Just know that I'm up for the challenge and you can count on me!  Gotta go, more booking to do, lunch with Rick, deliver 2 hostess packets, deliver outside order, kids from school, dinner with family, and Pink Camp!!!  A full day but on my terms!  Discipline = Freedom!!!

August 25, 2010

I have attached a email that came to the director's this morning from NSD Linda Toupin just to give you a glimpse into what we as director's are focused on.  I think you will see that it's not much different than what I encourage you to focus on.  My status on facebook today said ‎15% of success is attributed to training and education; 85% is attributed to attitude, perseverance, diligence, and vision. Mediocrity with a dose of doubt can keep you from excellence!! My focus today is to get more classes on my date book. I will make some phone calls while Jameson is taking his nap @ 1:00.  I made some contacts on facebook last night and got some parties booked from there. Normally Wednesday is a day off for me.  We are off to the library and have lunch with Rick, then home to make those phone calls and make some deliveries later.  I love what Linda says at the end of this email....discipline gives you freedom!  The discipline of working a full time job, college full time @ night and starting a MK business led me to the freedom I enjoy today.  It's so easy to give up when things are hard but remember the easy thing to do is quit and live a life of mediocrity.  God did not design you for mediocrity! Just keep asking one more person and focus on your effort not the results.  The more effort you give, the more skill you build and the more results will come! Have a blessed day:)

In the hundreds of programs I do around the nation I always address the topic of  How we think...........so what were you thinking about this morning?

Did you wake up thankful and humble?

Did you have your 6 most important things to do list waiting for you at your desk so there was no MK confusion?

Was your weekly plan sheet displayed on your refrigerator for the family to see?

Did you take a Mental Bath today?

• B--book one new appointment
• A--Say your affirmation
• T-listen to a portion of a MK tape or CD
• H- Hello---check your intelliverse mailbox

 Things that I am focused on:

August 27--Lori Hogg's Advance Glamour Workshop

August 28--Barbara Henney's Daytime Business Workshop

August 30--Finishing out the month with a $400 or $750 whl. for Road Rally and/0r Royalty Treatment @ Fall Retreat

August 30--Registering for Fall Retreat, $1000 Cash Giveaway at Camp Holiday and Camp Holiday

Sept. 11--$1000 Cash Giveaway at Camp Holiday

 If you have a team is this what you are talking to your team about?

 My intelliverse message a few days ago was about freedom.....Discipline creates freedom.

Have a blessed and abundant day.

 Love Linda

August 23, 2010

I love the start of a new seminar year and with school starting I am back to work full force.  We have so many goals as a unit, Pink Caddy by Christmas, $500,000 unit club and my personal goals of achieving the Nat'l court of Sales and Court of Sharing that it's going to be a busy year, starting TODAY! So many times I think we dread starting over but once you do it you realize it's the best feeling in the world. My day started @ 7:00 with breakfast with my family (I made pancakes), Rick got off to work, Kids to school, I got back in my work out routine, weights & the elliptical and it felt good. I expected it to be much harder than it was.  Got in my office by 10:30, Nothing get's me more excited than preparing for our unit meeting especially when I know my consultants have big goals.  So spent the morning preparing for pink camp this week. Rick and I had a great lunch @ Penn Station, picked kids up from school.  I love the afternoons with my kids. They are so excited to share their day with me.   Hayden who is 8 had a little fight with a friend on the playground but felt bad about it so at snack time he gave the little boy his snack money (his friend didn't have any money) and went w/o a snack.  I was so proud of him for thinking of others first!  Rick usually gets home at 5:00 so we had dinner and I went to Pink Camp in London. I was expecting 5-6 in attendance and 1 ended up attending but I left with excitement for the hope of her business.  You see I could have focused on who wasn't there and why but instead my focus is on who came because I know the power of one!  Am I concerned about those who didn't attend-YES. But I must keep a positive attitude and if I help make this one consultant's dreams come true it will be worth it!  Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.  It's 8:30 and I must get my kiddos in bed and spend some time with my hubby.  He's the best! He had all the dishes done when I got home! Dating in the dark is on tonight and we think it is hilarious to watch:)