Okay, it has to be the weather change, or maybe the fact that I'm coming up on my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF STEPPING DOWN AS A DIRECTOR!!!  bounce bounce bounce (I'll have a huge party for the day I sent back my inventory too  )

So I've been reflecting on a few things.  Sorry to wax poetic on this one.  You know how many times we heard that we weren't working our business, or we just didn't spend our time on "the important things, i.e. getting 5 names a day", or if we'd just put our energy into working our business instead of _____ , then we'd be where we wanted to be and wouldn't have anything more to complain about?  You get the picture.

Driving in the car last week I realized that my "head tripping" on those issues was not really because I was lazy or non-directional, but it was because I didn't really understand the purpose of Mary Kay.  I wanted to make some money so I could stay home, and thought that's what I was doing, until I moved up and then suddenly I was more Mary Kay than mommy!  I think it just turned into a huge vicious cycle!  When the goals in Mary Kay started to conflict with my priorities, I stopped working.

And I think that's why so many women stop working too!  Think about it, how many people in mary kay really LOVED calling their customers for orders?  How many consultants really LOVE doing booking calls?  How many consultants LOVE recruiting???  I think we are trying to be who we are not, and deep down inside it may have more to do with ethics than just feeling scared.

I'm not saying that there weren't things I loved about my customers.  There were.  I built relationships with many of them, but I never enjoyed feeling like I was selling something to them.

Most of the training out there is to teach people how to supress that fear of sales.  The kaybots are still trying to convince us that's not what they're about.

I realized that I still work very hard in the things I'm doing now.  But those activities have a true purpose.  Whenever I spend time working on my songs for my 5th graders, I know it's time invested in growing their musical achievement.  I know so many of you have jobs like that, or if you are a SAHM, then everything you do, even the decisions you make in your home have an impact on your little ones.  I can't think of anything that comes close to this in MK.  I'd love to see a list of how Mary Kay "cheapens" women's lives.  I can see a good bumper sticker on that one- Mary cheapens lives.

Just my thoughts...would love to hear yours!

I must admit, that my short try at MK showed me that making extra money isn't really all that important to me. 
My husband's job covers all our expenses, and I love the freedom to volunteer.  My children both know I am home, and if they need me I am just a phone call away.  They both like having their mom be the homeroom mom for the class.  I am able to lead a gardening club at our elementary school.  The students love looking at the garden in the front of the school, and knowing they are responsible for it.  I am also free to tutor children in some of the local elementary schools.  I know one of the reasons I never went far with MK is because I was not willing to give up these activities.  Before MK I had often feared I wasn't a good enough mom, but MK showed me that my priority was my children (and even other's children), not money.  The hugs I get from all my kids, are worth so much to me.  That's the kind of recognition I want.

All of you guys had really amazing things to say...I was going to quote in my reply but realized I'd have to quote everybody!!!  Isn't it so nice to find out that we weren't alone in our feelings???

I'll never feel how "devalued" I felt when I was getting out.  As though I was walking away from "God's plan for my life", as though my leaders knew what that plan was!!!  I think all of us realize that we were really searching for something else in our Mary Kay walk...

Sad, I know exactly what you're talking about with the pimping thing.  I remember my senior criticizing me for struggling with feeling "above Mary Kay" because I had a good education.  But I could never shake that feeling!!!

Saved, I loved what you said about hugs from your kids!!!  Isn't it nice to know that we are REALLY living our priorities now instead of just paying them lip service???

OOP, I think it's the other way around.  I think MK takes advantage of the things we desire (or the people who are in MK do) and exploits them.  If you can turn your back on Prosperity Theology, then that greed you're talking about wasn't truly inside you in the first place.  More often than not it's easy to get swept away in something you really don't value, especially in MK.    for you.

Thanks guys for responding to this- it means the world to me that we can share these deep feelings!  I appreciate you!!! 

Our director was really on the whole Prosperity Theology kick, wasn't she?  In my gut I just never could go there.  I did like Joyce for a while, but only because she's so direct and real about relationship.  There were still some things that I could never accept.  I think that it's easy to use GOD to justify most decisions you make, and it's just one more tool for the  to use to manipulate you into growing a desire to succeed in Mary Kay.

Keep posting, Dumping.  YOU rock! 

this so angers me!

When these upline directors pretend to be prophets of God, as if THEY know what His plan for you should be!! There's just something incredibly slimy about that kind of manipulation.

The thing that made me feel the most ashamed of myself was that I got sucked up in the "visualizing, chanting, willing your goals into existance" metaphysical crap - to be fair, I had no idea at first what the basis of that was. But once I heard them describe it as the universe sending out magnetic waves in direct proportion to your energy and desires...i was like "WTF?"
Once I woke up and realized what they were trying to do and get me to believe, i walked away. But I still felt kinda dirty.

I felt like I had ignored my own values (for a moment) to worship money. And that's exactly what happened. Once I realized what I was doing, I couldn't even talk to my recruiter anymore.

I know this topic is alittle old but it really hit home.  I can totally relate to every post here.  It is amazing that we all feel the same way but it never gets talked about.  They just throw more crap at us instead of dealing with the real issues.  I also thought I was in MK because that was my purpose in life.  But whenever I thought about it I could never figure out what that purpose was exactly.  I'm not sure if that sentence makes sense but I didn't truly feel like I was enriching every womans life just because I sold her some makeup.  Anyways, thanks for this topic.

Just wanted to chime in, for what it's worth because so many things here hit home.


I do believe in energy. I do believe that you send out your energy and desires. Maybe it was presented to you in a way that made it seem like witchcraft or some sort that made you feel weird. I can't speak to what you were exposed to, and my fingers haven't got the energy to type as much as I'd like on this subject, but I believe that you can call it God, the Universe, the higher power...Ala, Muhammed, Jesus...there is something bigger than all of us. I don't think it is something outside of us that we have to obey, bow to and worship. It's a power that our eyes have been cast away from by men who want to impose their order on society. Religion, to me, was created by man. Not to get into a big debate. And I'm not meaning to offend. Just thought I'd throw that out for the heck of it.

Free, you are so right with the fact that NO ONE in MK liked doing ANY of the activities that would actually stand a chance of bringing about a sale. As I have reflected on things, at first I said, well, that's natural. It's sales. You have to do prospecting in sales. You have to call customers. You have to make appointments. You have to be able to handle rejection and move on. (P.S....I'm still in sales now) .

BUT I think the big problem with MK is that in order to obtain sales or recruits you have to lie. The fact that you know you aren't being completely truthful to someone else you're trying to sell to is the reason you hate making calls and all those other activities.

That sounds harsh, but I'm convinced that it gets to the heart of the matter.

Want to get a recruit? You ask them to "help in your training" and listen to your director do a presentation. Hog wash! The whole point of it is to recruit.

Want to book a party? You tell your customer that you're "in a contest" to do 30 faces in a month. Baloney! It's so you can get in front of someone and make a sale.

Some finesse is necessary in sales. But I think the things MK teaches borders on complete and total misleading lies.

UYC- I totally agree with the notes about "energy". I think most of the older religions, buddist, jewish, tao, many eastern ideas, all have SOMETHING right. They all share simular ideas and points. I think there is a lot to be said for the power of our thoughts and actions. EVERY religion tells its people how to think, and how to act. That is a big sign that the power of out thoughs and actions is unlimited. I believe in a ripple effect, that you have no idea how your one action will affect people across the country. Everyone is connected. We have great power within ourselves, power for great change, great good, or great evil, I believe. 

I think the reason many of the bibilical truths are true (like, you reap what you sow) is because of this idea of energy, and getting back what you put out into the world. I think God gave us someone we could listen to, and follow, in Jesus, and gave us simple rules, to protect us from ourselves. But the bottom line is that we are in complete control of our lives, all of the good, and all of the bad. We bring it both, I believe, based on our powerful thoughts and actions. That is my opinion.