What I learned from Texas

   A couple weeks ago I went to Dallas, Texas for a Mary Kay seminar.  I have only been a consultant for a few months so going to the seminar was a big step for me, but I'm so glad that I went.  I learned a lot about Mary Kay, met some amazing people and even learned some things I think will help me with teaching.

   The first night in Texas was our area awards night.  It was really neat seeing how far people have came when only being in the business for a short time.  It really showed me that if you dream big enough you can do anything.   Taking on a side business can seem like a lot with teaching full time but it really can be so easy and the rewards are endless!
  One bit of advice I learned from my trip is to start each day with a list of your 6 most important things to do. Every morning actually write down 6 things that you know you have to do get done and do them! So for teaching it may be things like make copies, call a parent, update website, etc. I know for me, sometimes my planning gets consumed with trying to find the cutest lessons or making my own activities up and a lot of other things that really need to get done are left to do after school. This year I plan on making my list in the morning of things I know I have to do that day and sticking to it!

   The next great thing I learned at seminar was the E + R = O formula.  This stands for event + response = outcome. One of the top directors explained how she made it a point to think about her attitude in response to an event.  She gave the example of if she had scheduled a party, showed up and no one was there, would she get mad and quit Mary Kay, or take extra time from not having the party and making the most of it. The first response would have just left her with a negative outcome of being upset.  The second response would have left her with possibly an opportunity to make even more money.   The idea of this formula may sound silly or so basic, but sometimes we are so busy we don't actually stop to think about how we are responding to events.  I know with the job I am about to start, there will be many days where the events are going to make me probably want to have a negative response. I am hoping to remember this formula and how even in the toughest moments changing to a positive response will evoke a better outcome.

  On another note, other than teaching I really learned how awesome Mary Kay is.  I love all of their products but just learning more about the foundation of the business made me an even bigger fan of the company.  By attending seminar I learned about our newest products coming out in the fall.  I was even given some of the new products to demo.  One of the best things coming out in the new catalog is the Deep Wrinkle Filler.  What is so amazing about this is that 100% of women that were studied using this product showed an improvement in the appearance of wrinkle severity!  It even has the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for doing what it says it will do.  We also have some new eye colors coming out as well which are very elegant.  If you don't have a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, I would love to help you! Visit my Facebook page here or email me at; jmemichael@marykay.com.

   Here are some more pictures of Texas.  Sadly, I didn't have time to see as much as I had hoped to. I'm sure I will be back for another seminar soon enough!