HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHADES!!

(Sorry, it is a day late :( - I know how old you are now, but I won't tell!
Hope you had an awesome day!

Holiday Fun!

For you, Luckylawgirl! They are topped with hot peppers, black or green olives, bacon bits, or plain. (We have our annual pepper canning party around September).

Balanced Mary Kay add exciting new feature! - Google Voice Call

Hey everybody,

It has been a long time since I have given an update... Not much new to report. Just really busy.

I would like to take this opportunity, however, to express gratitude to the great authors that have kept this site moving along and helping to create an environment that makes it a unique resource for those in Mary Kay, those considering Mary Kay, and those that have decided that Mary Kay is not a good fit for them.

mk4me and Miranda, in particular, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Now, on to the exciting new feature. Google has created a new thing called Google Voice. You can now call and leave a voice message for any of the authors of this blog. It is possible to set this feature up to ring to our phones, but for now it is directed to a message system.

If you have always wondered what my voice sounds like, now is your chance. Click the button at the top right of this site that says "Call Me". You will have to give it your phone number and name. It will call your number first. When you answer, it will ring for a little while and then hit the message system.

Be the first to leave a message for Balanced Mary Kay!!!

Thanks

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

BBQ'S, FAMILY, FIREWORKS, AND FRIENDS these are our plans for the weekend! I want to wish everyone a very happy and safe Independence Day!

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

Similiarities - or is it Personalities??

When I write I do try to be fair and objective, I may not always succeed but I do try. So please take this simply as observation not an outright attack.

The last several days as I have been reading the posts on pt - the one on ethics, the ones on mlms and the newest on cults. Does anyone one else see the irony of many of the comments? I have been moving away from "disagreeing" with their view points as a way to direct our articles but as I read this grouping, I actually had alot of compassion and sympathy for many of them. (no, I haven't lost it - I will explain). As I read and see the character's personality develope, I see what they loved about MK being recreated on pt and then I see everything they accuse MK of being guilty of doing, being down on pt. I don't want to write a whole book but my first point. The thing that got many so financial doomed in MK was their need for recognition and the respect of their peers or the prizes... Now parrallel it to the commenters swooning over the author of the daily posts, oh "prune", so eloquaint, you have such a gift for words, applause, applause, oh my you are the best, you are so awesome, and you can "see" the authors blushing and just eating it up. Most have this insatiable need for kudos and praise. Now they are not getting it from Mk so they have moved on to pt. They speak as strongly about pt now as they did MK, and then when they cross the line on pt, they will then be devasted again and find another "fix".

Cult think, - go ahead and voice a different opinion - just as fresh out of pink and nutmeg did, don't agree or don't word it right, you are going to be slammed into seeing things their way. Of course, it is now not "listen to your director, etc.." It is listen to us and listen to the tough love of tc. Be too dumb to doubt, just believe us. We love you, we are your friends?? friends?? yes over time we can make internet friends (waving to Miranda) but posting anonomously on a blog doesn't equal a friend. They trusted and got hurt in Mary kay, and now they are trusting and many once again will get hurt on pt. Let them deny it but... come on, yes the are anti MK sites, but there are anti - anti Mk sights!These sites are ex members of pt who formed an anti pt site Duh, ptlies, my pink truth read some of their testimonials and stories, there would be no reason for them to make stuff up. As we are accussed of putting Mary Kay on a pedestal, tc is also put up on a pedestal. Seriously if you would like to see my point bop on a read freshoutofpink's first comment... wow by the time you get to her last comment, you would have thought she came in and raped, pilered, and pundered. (Now mind you she is already feeling "lost" because she now "feels" her MK assosciations have abandoned her, now an internet group just slap her, her need to "belong" is so strong, it sounds of if she is down on her hands and knees, kissing butt, apologizing, confessing, groveling, oh my how sad, it just looks like she thought she was going to feel left out and sad and "nobody" wants me all over again.

On to issues that they have with some of the seminar suggestions:
I go to Seminar, I have learned alot when I attend my classes, (off topic sentence) I would like to share if you happen to be in a class and it just isn't "doing it for you", slip out and slip into another one. Get all the information that you can and if you aren't connecting with the speaker , you aren't going to be learning that much. (return to thought)If you take your Mary Kay seriously and take it like a business, why in the world would you want to take your family along? Yikes, could you see a whole bunch of businessmen showing up a board meeting dragging his wife and kids. And the consultant that brings family might love and adore their kids, but I may not, I paid for the conference and i dont want to be distracted by someone else's child. I remember last seminar a group of pters were going to travel to Dallas and "protest" and pass out pt cards to all seminar attendees. lol A non business/non paid trip without the business to use the expenses of the trip as a write off. Are they going to leave their kiddies at home or drag them to Dallas and lock them in the hotel room or plant them in 100+ degree heat in downtown Dallas in July. So they are ready to drop all this money. Hm, see why there could have been money issues while they were in MK?

I have seen more religous manipulation and using scripture to "boost" their opinin than in mK- hey isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? If one is going to cram scripture down others "eyes" don't contradicte youself. Love this sentence by "prune" - "I WILL FOREVER HATE MARY KAY FOR THIS. It Righteous anger!"

Nothing done wrong is ever one's fault now that they are on pt, it was someone else's fault because that is what they were taught. The "model" is flawed..psshhh - but the same as we in MK are always accussed of sounding the same - do you see that everyone is saying "exactly the same thing" on pt -they all sound the same (isn't that what they say about us kaybots?)

Not disclosing the "whole" truth in MK according to pt is lying. Something misspoken - watch out, you may receive the golden boot award. (No -the last couple of years we can not say that "Mary Kay is America's Best Selling Brand of Skin Care and Color in the Us based on the statics and info based on ind. company xyz..because we didn't participate. But there was a time this was a legal statement. It just isn't current. I see pters get very emotional when a consultant says that MK is taught at Harvard. no - not quite there was a marketing case study - but I could see where someone not paying attention could misquote the the message and their is a "seed" of truth in it. And at last years seminar several universities and colleges had people their to study the principales of the Company. My POINT - Mary Kay is always telling us NOT to over sell, not to exaggerate, to make sure we have our wording correct - they don't support misinformation.

Half truths run all the way thru pt... the one thing that always amuses me - the $ amount of product returned to MK. MK reports sales yearly - to report the returns and not note that it is not just the annual offset it is the cummulative fiugre from the beginning of pt could lead people to believe pt has had a far greater impact on MK than it has.

Another point, MK scripts are always being made fun of... Now - author black nova rights her "script" that she uses when she is invited to a direct sales, party, everyone is now going to use her script because the words are so perfect. lol -

Absolutely love this... pro mkers argue, one shouldn't have argued if you didn't need the product... or but the pressure, yada yada yada... but.... if some ask you to attend a party... here is the response: "Be strong - Just Say No" - intersting,huh?
They did make my chuckl because all mlm's are boycotted EXCEPT the newer "pleasure parties with their sex toys" - I guess it is okay to bend the rules if you want huh... pleasure?

See the similiarities? PT is what they had recreated without the product. It is just like a parrallel universe. It was just the grouping of these articles and seeing that common thread that did help me to see how several ended up so "duped".


We get made fun of for wearing MK sweatshirts pins, (advertising) but something that is so stupid in mk is now a great idea to buy a pt t-shirt?? okay spend money to advertise something that is not even going to give you a snowballs chance in H*ll to earn a dime. We are ridiculed for "warm chatting or stalking" when we pass out a business card or offer someone a facial. But isn't passing out a pt card to unexpecting person still intruding on their space and still soliciating? I think it would be more annoying to have some approach me and hand me a business card "warning" me of the dangerous of mk - at least if she gets hand an MK business card, she at least nows what she is saying yes or no too.

What I see is the "birds of a feather, flock together". It isn't the business model. It is the personality type, and they are going to end up "addidicted to whatever is making them feel full in their lives at the time. This is the type of individual that is probably susceptible to cult followings as they are easily lead. Perhaps the personality types that are stonger or more analytical don't end up on pt. The stories sound so similiar because the personalites are so similiar, imho.

In closing, rb, askes this question: "Many of us here were "successful" by Mk standards but not by our own. For example..an ethical statement might be, Suzy, this is the last day of the month, and although our Unit could use the production under today's date, you actually lose one entire month of active status. If you are planning to keep selling weekly, this wont affect you, but if you think you will be struggling with new contacts after your perfect start and intend to go slowly,it would serve you best to put the order in on the 1st of the month to have the entire 90 days of active status. True or not true? And who among us has ever uttered those words? ( maybe no one answered her on pt but I would like to answer her, yes, I have and many of my sister directors, - our theory, care about others and you will be rewarded 10 fold. It has proven to be true over and over again.

Eyeshadow technique: Foiling

Foiling means to apply a powdered makeup product with a damp brush.

Well, there's more to getting the look than just that, which I'm about to explain. If you want your eyes to really have impact, this is the way to do it.

Get out your eye makeup, a little cup of clean water or sterile saline solution, a paper towel, and a medium sized soft, thick/firm eyeshadow brush, and clean makeup sponge. No sponge tip shadow applicators or little fluff brushes for this technique.

First, put on your shadow primer. Then apply your lid color and your browbone color dry. Now dampen your brush (not soaking. just damp) and pick up more of your lid color and apply that on top of the dry shadow already on your lid. See how awesome the color looks now? Dry your brush on the paper towel and apply your crease color. Now dampen your brush again and pick up the darkest color for your outer V. Apply that. Give it a moment to dry. If you have any edges that need blending, dry off your brush again and use a touch of your crease color to lightly blend out anywhere along the outer V that needs it. Finally, take a clean makeup sponge and swipe it along the outer edge of the eye area where the shadowed part meets unshadowed skin. This gives you a clean but soft line at the end of the shadow.

Now, your liner and mascara and any eyebrow products you use.

Try this and tell me what you think!

2008/2009 Ends 2009-2010 -A New Seminar Year!

It is that time of the year when we look at what we achieved and what we had expected of ourselves. See where we perfomed strong and identify our weaker areas so we can improve on them. Contrary to the negative sites, not achieving a goal doesn't mean you failed (as in you are a failure). It just means you didn't achieve your goal. Some believe that setting goals are bad. I don't agree. To improve and grow in any aspect of life we need to stretch and improve our skills and keep learning. Something as basic as being a new parent, for example. Things may be done very differently with the second child than the first because the parents now have experience and are better prepared to handle different situations by the time baby #2 comes along.

To set goals, first you must figure out what you want and/or need and then work up a "plan" or "map" on what it will take (your "route" to get there). Things very rarely happen if you are not working in the direction of what you want. Working your business without some sort of a plan would be just like leaving your driveway with no map, directions, gps, etc... and expecting to end up at your destination by just driving around. It just isn't going to happen. If you have attempted something several times and continue to have poor results then perhaps it is time to examine what you are doing and adjust it to produce different results. (I love the saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same exact thing over and over and expecting different results".

I would like to share my goals for 2008-2009 Seminar year (please do not think I am "tooting my own horn" I just want to be able to use a good illustration. I know from experience that if I want the type of income I need for my lifestyle, I need to be court of sales level (at least $36,000/yr) - when I see enough faces to sell this amount, I also see enough people that I can build my team without canibalizing my customer base. If I recruit 1 for every 10/15 clients -I continue to grow both my client base and my team. If I tried seeing less and recruiting more, I would be setting myself up to get in trouble. How do I sell this level? 2 to 3 selling appointments a week. I am so proud to share that my senior challenged us to do a year of powerstarts. 30 faces/10 interviews a month..... I am pleased to report, I took the challenge and had actually finished my 12th consecutive power start on June 22!! I do the work. .SEE THE PEOPLE SELL THE PRODUCT Yes, I am a director, yes I EARNED the Pink CTS last year, yes I have over 100 unit members, and YES I am still the best consultant in my unit and probably will be right up until the point I retire or go National - why... because your Mary Kay business must be based on strong selling consultants (including us directors). How can I expect my consultants to do something I am not willing to do. They see what I do and I lead by example. I am not a "do as I say, not as I do type of person". And I loved doing shows and facials. It is fun, why would I give that up?

My goals for the Seminar year that just ended were Triple Star (Court of Sales, Court of Sharing, and Unit Club) and to earn the Cadillac. My youngest graduated this month and I am now ready to work a little more than I have been. Well, I would like to report to you that I accomplished 3 out of the 4. I completed Sales court (with actual sales to actual (real) clients of $36,000 retail (if I remember right it is my 13th sales court)- I have run out of fingers for the rings so I opted for the cash because I can't grow any more fingers and I don't want to wear them on my toes and I also completed court of sharing with 25 new team members 24 who are qualified and one that isn't. (It is my 6th court of sharing) Some did come in with $600 but many started with the minimum order $200 wholesale or even nothing and built thru the year.) May I add that if I finished the court of sharing it was done along with the court of sales. There was never a year that I did only the Court of Sharingbut there have been years where I only did Court of Sales.

We picked up the Cadillac the Saturday after Thanksgiving based on real production not whipping out credit cards. The quarter after we finished qualifiction I did have a partial co-op payment but between working so hard to finish (we were all tired), the election, the depression about the Economy, and Christmas - I was expecting and had planned for it. plus ($1000 bonus for earning the Cadillac) Had it continued I would have had to reevaluate my decision to have taken the Cadillac. If it was costing me money to have it, it would make sense to step back and take the cash, get a car and make the payment with the money from the cash comp. (Okay my pride would have taken a hit but... last I knew no one has died from hurt ego)- I think these are situations that teach us to be humble and keep us from being too pompous. If others allowed their pride to cloud their judgement, it is not MK's fault they choose to continue charging and going into debt. The Company is so gracious if you want to step down to a Saturn level. Could you imagine what pt would have to say if the Company made a director step down to Saturn level if they made two quarters of full coop payments. - The Company would be evil then too.

Back to my goals, Unit club didn't happen. We were close. We were less than $20,000 away from the $300,000 unit club, but the orders that had been placed were justified by sales. We had worked hard, we had booked our shows, and sold our products, right up until the end. (Only 10% of our June production came from our new consultants) But when the deadline came, there was no more time to keep working. Could we have chiseled that amount away, probably, could I have called consultants and asked them just to put in $xx.00, sure - did I? - NO. Why? because I would have had unsold product stressing an overstocked consultant out, interest building on her debt and then would end up watching a good consultant quit. No thanks... We did a respectable amount. I wasn't "charging" my recognition. Guess what? we have production in July already, guess what? We have a new unit member today. Our "journey" didn't end June 30. It was the end of a chapter not the end of the book.

Today, I felt a little melancholly for not acheiving triple star but still proud of my/our other accomplishments. When I cross the stage I know I EARNED my recognition and prizes... I can look at myself in the mirror, hey if someone else is doing it wrong and wants to stand up and take the glory, that is on them not me. Noone can take away my accomplishments. The key is that I know I did the best I could and did it ethcially and honestly and truely caring about both my clients and my consultants. Pt can say that you can not be successful in MK nor can you make money...and if you are making money than you have thrown ethcis and morales to the wind- to that I say B>S> . I have a brain and I use it. Have I made mistakes? Yes but I learn from them. I don't keep making the same mistakes, over and over. Yeah, keep claiming your were fogged and brainwashed and just did what you were taught....... I can understand if you are new...but year after year...blah...blah...blah.... - why are they surprised when they set them selves up for failure and then it happens?? duh... you can only do it wtong and cheat for so long. Bulding a house of cards... well it is going to tumble.

Sorry for the ramble but I so believe this can be such a great opportunity and I am so sick and tired of the ones that do burn and churn hurting the rest of us and I am sick of reading the statements from a few on pt - their proof is no more proof than words on a page. If I say I earned $40,000 after expenses, it is not proof but if they say no director making money in Mk is ethcial (knowingly or unknowingly) that becomes proof. -not-

I had a delightful day yesterday... will share in another post but I encourage ever consultant to think about what you want to acheive and work out a plan to assist you in your journey. It might even be fun to share some of your goals and cheer each other on throught the year. What do you all think? - Miranda's goal is going to be mk4me's favoritest/bestest client! (Who'd have thunk it?) - and I even had one consultant a few years back.. her goal was to have no goal for one year. She knew she wanted just to service her reorder clients for a year while she took on another project. No, it wasn't what we think of as a goal but she knew what she wanted or in her case didn't want :)

Have an incredible day. It is just as easy to be happy as it is to be miserable - you make your choice.

Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is a Mystery
and Today is a Gift! That is why it is called the "present" - don't waste it or throw it away!