What Really Matters

From the first time our mother told us not to steal the other kid’s sandbox toy to the wedding vows before the preacher we spend our lives gathering values. Some we will live our lives by, some we will loosely hold, others will be forgotten, and still more will be purposely tossed aside.

Businesses often share their values through their mission statements or literature. Mary Kay Cosmetics talks about valuing God, Family, and Business in that order. There has been debate about that but lets leave that out of this post for now.
At turning points in my life I have written mission statements for myself. I reflect on where I have been and where I want to go and what values are important to me and then I write it all down.

My challenge in this post is for each of us to write a mission statement. Write a mission statement for your MK business if you have one or write a mission statement for your life. This isn’t a goal sheet. This isn’t about writing down what prizes you want or the status to attain. This is about reflection and finding what is really important to you and/or to your individual Mary Kay business (as opposed to the company as a whole).

This exercise may bring up words or feelings that you don’t want to share. That is okay. If you do want to share then that is encouraged. There is a lot to be learned about and from one another through an exercise like this. I personally look forward to sharing and reading whatever may come from this entry.

Priorities vs. Career options

As a homeschooling mom, I have certain time constraints that most people don't have.

Educating my kids myself is my #1 priority. This comes before anything else. It has meant turning down jobs offered to me. It means saying "no" to certain activities. It means that before I commit to something, I have to ask myself if it fits with my decision to homeschool.

One criticism I have read over and over is that those who go above Director - NSD's for example - is that they do so by sacrificing family.

I don't have a problem saying no to things that interfere with my family time. With the constraints I have put on myself, I know that I have pretty much eliminated my chance of working for anyone - I need too much control over my time.

Realistically, I doubt I can be anything more than a Team Leader with the restraints I have set for myself, but that is my choice. When the kids are older, then I can decide if I want to work more hours.

I believe that if you have your priorities straight, you keep balanced. It doesn't matter if you are in MK, working a J-O-B or whatever.

So here are my discussion questions:

• Do you feel/were you told that you could go as high as you wanted to go in MK while only working 10 or so hours a week?
• Did you believe it? Why?
• Is Mary Kay to blame for the "stress" on families when in the higher levels or is it the fault of the consultant? (In other words, is the stress level is what you allow it to be, or is it inherent with the position?)
• Have you stepped down from Director to consultant in order to have less demand on your time, or is being a Director no big deal when it comes to time and stress?
• Do you have no desire to be anything more than a Consultant? If so, why?

Nothing follows.