Photo by Telstar Logistics on flickr.
Mary Kay Cosmetics had a huge influence on my professional life.
Are you imagining me driving in a pink Cadillac? Hosting Mary Kay parties?
What an image. Unlikely. Didn’t happen. (But don’t laugh because there are men who apparently are quite successful.)
So how did Mary Kay have such a big impact on me?
In my very first post on this blog, I shared the unique way I grew up. My parents took people in. All ages, races, religions. Some would stay a night while others stayed for years. That meant that there were usually more girls at home than just my four natural sisters. My mom wanted to earn some extra income and save money on buying all of the required cosmetics and skin care. Someone recruited her into Mary Kay.
Everything you do has an impact.
What impact did that have on a teenage boy?
My mom attended several Mary Kay conventions. When she returned, she brought home cassette tapes of the speakers. I’m not sure if she listened to all of them, but I devoured them. These tapes weren’t about Mary Kay. They never once talked about makeup or skincare.
“Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.” -Mary Kay Ashe
Better Than College
In minutes, I was no longer a kid sitting in a modest home. Instead, I was on the front row of audiences. I was listening to the greatest speakers in the world like Zig Ziglar, who said, “You can change who you are. You can change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.” (Sadly, Zig passed away on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012.)
I took that to heart and began to put all of these ideas from the tapes into my mind: sales training, customer service, negotiations, business building, psychology, achievement, motivation, on and on.
You know what? I still listen to some of those old cassette tapes.
You know what else? I’m honored to have met and known many of the people I listened to all those years ago. You see thoughts are powerful. They create powerful attractions. In what may be a mystery to many, I somehow ended up meeting and getting to know many of these great thinkers who inspired me. I personally don’t think it happened by chance.
As I look back at my academic career, including college and law school, I can honestly say that the ideas on those cassettes had a bigger impact on my thinking than any of the business or legal theories did.
Because they helped shape my thinking and created my life philosophy.
Profound Gratitude
Like most of us, I’ve been through many difficult times and experienced pain of all sorts. I’m profoundly grateful that I had such positive influences through these seminars. Those positive voices made a huge difference to me, especially when things were tough.
So today, as you read blogs, articles, books or watch videos, tapes or attend seminars, think about what you are putting into your mind. Think about your team, your children, your friends. What do you contribute to their thinking? How are you influencing them in future years?
Because I believe that what you put into your mind will have a huge effect in your life, and will determine your destiny.
