Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

In light of the fantastic opportunity afforded to us to be thankful for all the many blessings we have, Balanced Mary Kay will be taking an enjoyable reprieve from the standard eye-rolling and sighing over the childish nonsense on Pink Truth.

This just means that I will not be putting out any posts for the next 4 days. Feel free to leave comments, get conversations going, or even become an author and pen some of your own thoughts during the holiday... just make sure your relatives don't catch wind of how boring you obviously find them!

And make sure to 'tune in' next week as we have fun trying to make sense of the "logic" that Pink Truth uses to, get this, 'prove' that Mary Kay is a cult.

Good times.

See you all next week.

Pink Truth: Tirelessly hating on Mary Kay

Pink Truth sets up, and knocks down, more straw men

It is so easy to prove what a terrible company Mary Kay is when you don't allow anybody to critique what you say.

"DupedByPinkFriend" perhaps should do a little research into the sub-cult-ure that she is devoting herself to now.

Please feel free to comment... or write anything.

I don't mind keeping the site 'going' by posting these daily links, but if no-one is really interested, than it is sort of pointless.

I know that there is no real need to point out how much psychobabble goes on at Pink Truth as almost anyone with a brain can see right through it.

Does that mean that this is the end of this site? Should it stay or should it go?

Let me know.

Non MK -Information on Store Closings/Weekend Stuff

Subject: List of Stores Closing

For the most part, I just delete "Fwds" and often don't even read them, but I thought this was very useful to share, it might be a good idea when shopping to know if you are going to be able to exchange a gift, or a defective product. - Hope this info is helpful to everyone.

It seems there are lots of stores that are closing due to the "recession" and the fact that people are not shopping. If you have any "gift cards" from these stores, make sure you use them, or you will lose them!

Watch those store money cards and gift cards...and credit slips! These are stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October 2008 and January 2009.

Circuit City stores... most recent (? how many), Ann Taylor... 117 stores nationwide,( Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide), Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January,
Cache will close all stores, Talbots closing all stores, J. Jill closing all stores, GAP closing 85 stores, Footlocker closing 140 stores, more to close after January, Wickes Furniture closing, Levitz closing remaining stores,
Bombay closing remaining stores, Zales closing 82 stores and 105 after January, Whitehall closing all stores, Piercing Pagoda closing all stores,
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January, Home Depot closing 15 stores, Macy's to close 9 stores after January, Linens and Things closing all stores, Movie Galley closing all stores, Pacific Sunware closing stores, Pep Boys closing 33 stores, Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores,
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January, Ethan Allen closing 12 stores, Wilson Leather closing all stores, Sharper Image closing all stores,
K B Toys closing 356 stores, Lowe's to close some stores, Dillard's to close some stores, Harold's to close most stores

Pink Truth: Mary Kay can't help you get out of debt - heres a better idea... do nothing

Does Pink Truth seriously still wonder why people say they are "negative" when they say stuff like this?

Don't get me wrong, it is clear that you don't stand a chance of "making" $1 for every $1 invested. Yes, when you make the math as simple as possible, the equation is that you buy $2 worth of merchandise for $1.

As I mentioned yesterday, this is one business option out of many. It may work out great for you, it may not.

The 'basics' that are laid out by this NSD (That Pink Truth liberally copy/pasted... copyright infringement anyone?) are correct.

Overly simplistic. Perhaps.

I noticed though, that no one managed to point out that she repeatedly says "SELL" not "ORDER".

My thought process about that? Glad you asked. I know (from talking to my wife's director) that there are some people that, no matter how many times she tells them not to 'just order to get a prize', talk excitedly about how they are going to "win" this prize or that prize. (Implied is that they are planning on ordering even though they don't need to.)

Conversation goes something like this.

Consultant: OMG, Ms. Director, I am so excited about this prize. I am going to place an order for x,xxx. That will be enough for me to win this prize!!!
Director: That is great Ms. Consultant, but do you need those products? Are you sure that ordering them right now is a good business decision?
Consultant: OF COURSE it is a good idea. I will win this prize.
Director: I understand that you are excited about the prize, but if you haven't sold the other items that you already have in your inventory, this is going to do more damage than good.
Consultant: OH DON'T WORRY about that... I will sell it all. I BEEEElieve!!!! I just have to have faith.
Director: That's not really how that wor...
Consultant: OH I KNEW you wouldn't understand. You don't really care about me anyway. I thought you were supposed to be there to help me. **click**

(This was a 'creative' rendering based on the recollection of a few conversations that I have had with several people in Mary Kay and should not be viewed as an actual conversation)

I am not saying that all (or for that matter, any) PTers are/were like this. What I am saying is that any time Mary Kay has a document that uses the word "order" in it, they get all gang-buster with their "look, look, see.... I told you... all they care about is ordering". It would not surprise me to see them get up in arms when they go through the drive through and the speaker-box says "may I take your order?". Sorry, I am cracking myself up with the image of r-berry kung-fu kicking a McD's speaker-box and screaming, "I know you are one of them"...

... ahhh .... whew ....

... and were back folks,

Seriously now, what do you think of this get out of debt plan?

Seriously hogwash? OR legitimately possible?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay Husbands are weak and easily manipulated

Mary Kaybots shouldn't tell their husbands how to act... that is Pink Truth's job

I know that this conversation already started a bit - see here.

But for what it is worth, here are my two cents.

Followed, hopefully, by yours.

I think that there is a good, right, healthy manner in which a husband and wife should operate together. Considering current divorce rates, it is clear that in addition to not being able to agree about what that good, right, healthy relationship looks like, a lot of people are unable to 'get it right'.

If there are problems with your relationship, Mary Kay will, it seems, most likely magnify them. By contrast, it seems, that some people have reported Mary Kay magnifying the things that are 'right' with their relationship.

There comes a point (many times actually) in any relationship that things 'get sideways'. Perhaps I don't agree with my one of my wife's decisions. Perhaps the other way around. Perhaps this has happened with some of you?

How you deal with it is important. Supremely so. I will not offer advice on marriage here... I don't think it is my place, and this is neither the time nor the place. I am very happy with my marriage and love my wife very much. If you want advice, or want to ask a question, please feel free to email me... I love helping people. (And no, I will not try to get you to join my '4 1/2 steps to a successful marriage' MLM!!!) Seriously. I make no promises except that I will give my best effort to be of some help.

But this is not about my marriage or yours. This is about the tireless manner in which Pink Truth continues to make up whatever they want to about Mary Kay.

Follow the link above and then tell me how you answer Tracy's question at the end:

"Can you read between the lines to see the truth about Mary Kay?"

I will tell you how I answer.

Stop trying to read messages between lines that don't exist. There is no massive conspiracy behind Mary Kay. It is a cosmetics company that sells skin care and cosmetics. If you don't like their style you are under no obligation to be a part of it. You don't have to buy their products. You don't have to sell their products.

If you feel strongly enough that their products are inferior or that their business model is poor, you should feel free to express those feelings.

But for the sake of your own journalistic integrity and conscience, stop making up lies, smearing the names of good women (and men), and dragging down otherwise upstanding women into your mire of conspiracy minded nonsense and bitter, vitriolic, hate-filled gossip.

...

You were saying?

Pink Truth: Mary Kay tactics - It takes one to know one

Excelently timed, Pink Truth posits their opinion of the D.I.S.C technique

Okay look, we all know that Pink Truth thinks that anything Mary Kay does (or Mary Kay people do) is manipulation, or greedy, or insincere. We all know that this forgone conclusion is based on outrageous circular reasoning, hatched together with, at best, anecdotal evidence.

They will see anything Mary Kay does as manipulative and "bad".

The question I want everyone to answer today is not whether or not the D.I.S.C. 'tool' is manipulative.

I am pretty sure that everyone here (or at least most) are mature enough to realize that this is simply a truthful observation of the way different personalities respond to different stimuli. Studying it and understanding it and even utilizing it in improving your communication is not (in and of itself) manipulative or "bad".

The question I want you to consider and respond to, if you would be so kind, is:

At what point does it become manipulative?

At what point, does understanding and using these principles cease to be simply a means to improve ones communication and becomes something much more insidious?

Or, is it impervious to being used this way?

Something to consider that may help put it in a different light, there are certain things that most guys don't understand about women. Understanding these things can help a man better express his love to a particular woman. It can also be used, allegedly, to manipulate women. But the question is, at what point does one use stop and the other begin? And, more importantly, how can you tell which is which?

Ah, these are the questions that I like!

Pink Truth: We publish stories about Mary Kay - as long as they back up our preconceived conclusion

Pink Truth claim - this 1 story (out of hundreds of thousands) is the universal truth about Mary Kay

Don't take my word for it, here's a comment from Tracy:

"Disillusionedpinkie wrote:

The saddest/scariest part is that your story is not the exception but rather the rule in MK.

Amen, sister. So often we at PT are accused of being involved with (or actually being) the minority who had high debt and little profit. From the thousands of women I've talked with about MK, and from their experiences with hundreds of others in MK... I'm quite confident that they are the rule, not the exception. There are a very, very small number who are profitable at an "executive" level. The remaining vast majority are struggling and not earning a living wage (most actually losing money and self-esteem)."

Hmmm... what about all those other women that try to talk to you about their experience but you delete and ban them? How many thousands of them are accounted for in this conclusion?

Just wondering.