It's the little things that help me measure my success.
This morning I began my day with a 7 am conference call. Well, ok, I guess it was yesterday morning since it's 1:30 am as I'm writing this. On our call my team decided on a name. We are now called "the Regulators". I'm not really thrilled with the title. It makes me think of Metamucil or menstrual cycles. But...they voted and decided on it themselves. It's the first step in building a foundation of a solid team. The second step will happen next Friday as the team brainstorms to come up with what a "Regulator" stands for.
I also snuck in some creative visualization with my guys today. I made today a theme day. I called it Fantasy Friday. I set the stage by sending out an email to the group telling them to imagine that the year was 2010 and that they'd just received their W-2's. On the form it said they made $100,000. The goal of today was to send a shout out to the team with every feature and device they sold that made them money. In their shout out they were to picture how they would put that $100,000 to use. At the end of the day I'd compile a list of the top 10 plans on how to spend the money and send it out the following morning. The team will vote on their favorite idea and the winner would get a free lunch on me, with me.
It probably doesn't sound like much, but in reality it's a pretty big deal. The reality is that if a person can visualize being successful and making that kind of money, they are more likely to make it happen. If you can visualize spending the money, you can visualize earning the money, which means you can make your success happen. So as they came up with ideas...and the more detailed they got, the more they bought into their own success.
Later in the day I got to spend some quality time coaching the team members in one of my newer locations. I got them bought into improving their salesmanship through the tips and pointers I gave them. I helped improve the attitude and approaches that the reps had. It felt like I made a difference, so I felt really good about the day.
This evening I had more good news. My second recruit went active, my third is on her way to becoming active. If she goes active along with 2 other women I'll go on target for my first Mary Kay car and be well on my way to going for director! After talking to my director I realized that this is immensely doable. So tomorrow I'm going to be working on doing exactly that by 5 pm tomorrow. At 6 I have a skin care class with a colleague and some of her girl friends. This is so exciting!
If you want to know more about Mary Kay or how I'm making a success of it, give me a call! If you want to help my business as a customer, feel free to go to my website at http://www.marykay.com/klevato. Either way, any help anyone wants to give towards my success, whether it be support, advice, purchases, or a request for more information...I'd love that. If you don't know how to reach me, go to my site...there's a link to my email.
I'm passionate about both my careers and my success. God has really been able to help with my clarity and vision, and as a result, I've been attaining success! I just keep doing my daily devotionals and talking to God for guidance and I can feel a difference in how centered I am. It's like the lyrics of an old Amy Grant Song called All I Ever Have To Be:
When the weight of all my dreams
Is resting heavy on my head
And the thoughtful words of help and hope
Have all been nicely said
But I'm still hurting, wondring if I'll ever be the one
I think I am...
I think I am...
Then you daily re-remind me
That you've made me from the first
And the more I try to be the best
The more I get the worst.
And I realize the good in me
Is only there because of who you are
Who you are...
Refrain:
And all I ever have to be is what you've made me
Any more or less would be a step
Out of your plan
As you daily re-create me help me always keep in mind
That I only have to do what I can find
And all I ever have to be
All I ever have to be
All I ever have to be
Is what you've made me.
Doesn't that promise just take all the pressure off? It opens me up to being able to focus simply on what he wants for my life and not to worry because my direction is in his hands. He can be trusted.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Gratitude is just Great Attitude morphed into 1 word!
This last week was difficult at best. I've been busy closing down the last of my Circuit City stores, been dealing with the instability that was created prior to my taking over my new group. With all the changes my location group changed from Fort Myers to Naples to Sarasota to Naples. Two of my new locations had one manager, the furthest north had another one. This means that there's a bit of an adjustment that needs to happen with management style changes and team visions.
I've been working long hours closing down my last Circuit, which meant I couldn't do all the visits that I wanted to do this week. I worked several 12 hour shifts closing down one location, then spent the rest of the week trying to gauge my new team member's knowledge and skill set levels.
In exchange for all my hard work my manager called me to the carpet for the numbers of my newly formed team of 1.5 weeks. He didn't feel our key performance indicators were good enough and he wanted instant change. Never mind that we were killing it in our activations/upgrade numbers overall. His concern was that some of the other stuff wasn't fixed overnight. (My team had always been good at these categories) Because of our "lack of performance" in this area he chose to get on the phone with me and tell me that he had concerns about our performance (hinting at my ability, etc). He wanted me to go home that evening and think long and hard at myself and my team and write him an action plan on what I was going to do for the rest of the month to improve this number. He also wanted me write down what areas I needed his and his floating manager's help in. He said it all in a very negative and condescending way. It was insulting...but not nearly as insulting as him telling me that he was going to be sending his floating manager down to shadow me for the next week to see what it is I do on a daily basis and critique my every move. It was a slap in my face and the ultimate in micromanaging.
Needless to say I was furious at first. Tears of impotent rage in my eyes. But I knew I was of no use to my team in that condition so I took some deep breaths. I calmed myself. I prayed. And then I remembered that later that evening I had a facial set up with my old friend, Shannon, for Mary Kay.
I came home and started preparing, much to Kirk's surprise. He knew that I was in a snit. He figured I'd probably want to reschedule or just curl up in a ball for a while. He knows me well. Much as I wanted to just hide and lick my wounds somewhere I knew it wasn't the right thing to do.
So I got dressed up, I packed up my gear and I went to Shannon's house. In my CD player I listened to one of my training CD's from Lisa Madson's Pacesetter's call and let it fill me up with positive thoughts and reinforcements. I looked forward to seeing my old friend and hearing about how her new baby was doing! I had some cool things to show her and I was being given an opportunity to pamper her and help her look and feel good!
When I got to Shannon's I gave her a big hug. We sat down and did her facial. I showed her how to get a great "Dash Out The Door" look and showed her how proper skin care could help improve the signs of aging around her mouth and eyes! She loved it! She bought a bunch of product from me and scheduled an appointment for her "advanced glamour" look where she planned on inviting a couple of friends!
As I got back into my car I began to think about my day and how my Mary Kay appointment really turned it around. When I left for Shannon's house I had a huge knot behind my shoulder blade and felt like a punching bag for my boss, leaving me feeling a bit out of sorts and without control. But after being at Shannon's and sharing Mary Kay with her and taking time to watch her videos of baby Tony, I felt GREAT!
I realized one thing then and there. As much as I love my job, I don't really love my boss. I'd prefer to be my own boss, control my own destiny. It seems to me that the more time I spend learning about the Mary Kay opportunity, the more it seems God is pointing me in this direction. As long as I keep working my business I'll be able to supplement my income until I can match what I make at my current career. My goal is to make this work the way I've made my other careers work so that I'm successful enough to be able to leave my other job...something I never thought I'd consider doing.
In the end, it comes down to what I've always told my team...the only thing I can control is my attitude. So for now I'm going to give 100% to my job and 100% to my Mary Kay career when I'm not working. And I'm going to continue to ask for God's guidance and direction and plan my wedding!
There's something about Mary Kay's Golden Rule motto along with her "God First, Family Second and Career Third" that really speaks to me. It's helped me realize that I'm glad and grateful to have the job I have even when I'm not thrilled with my boss because it's motivation to do great things with the Mary Kay business I own so that I can leave soon...and on my own terms!
Hey, God really DOES help those who help themselves!
I've been working long hours closing down my last Circuit, which meant I couldn't do all the visits that I wanted to do this week. I worked several 12 hour shifts closing down one location, then spent the rest of the week trying to gauge my new team member's knowledge and skill set levels.
In exchange for all my hard work my manager called me to the carpet for the numbers of my newly formed team of 1.5 weeks. He didn't feel our key performance indicators were good enough and he wanted instant change. Never mind that we were killing it in our activations/upgrade numbers overall. His concern was that some of the other stuff wasn't fixed overnight. (My team had always been good at these categories) Because of our "lack of performance" in this area he chose to get on the phone with me and tell me that he had concerns about our performance (hinting at my ability, etc). He wanted me to go home that evening and think long and hard at myself and my team and write him an action plan on what I was going to do for the rest of the month to improve this number. He also wanted me write down what areas I needed his and his floating manager's help in. He said it all in a very negative and condescending way. It was insulting...but not nearly as insulting as him telling me that he was going to be sending his floating manager down to shadow me for the next week to see what it is I do on a daily basis and critique my every move. It was a slap in my face and the ultimate in micromanaging.
Needless to say I was furious at first. Tears of impotent rage in my eyes. But I knew I was of no use to my team in that condition so I took some deep breaths. I calmed myself. I prayed. And then I remembered that later that evening I had a facial set up with my old friend, Shannon, for Mary Kay.
I came home and started preparing, much to Kirk's surprise. He knew that I was in a snit. He figured I'd probably want to reschedule or just curl up in a ball for a while. He knows me well. Much as I wanted to just hide and lick my wounds somewhere I knew it wasn't the right thing to do.
So I got dressed up, I packed up my gear and I went to Shannon's house. In my CD player I listened to one of my training CD's from Lisa Madson's Pacesetter's call and let it fill me up with positive thoughts and reinforcements. I looked forward to seeing my old friend and hearing about how her new baby was doing! I had some cool things to show her and I was being given an opportunity to pamper her and help her look and feel good!
When I got to Shannon's I gave her a big hug. We sat down and did her facial. I showed her how to get a great "Dash Out The Door" look and showed her how proper skin care could help improve the signs of aging around her mouth and eyes! She loved it! She bought a bunch of product from me and scheduled an appointment for her "advanced glamour" look where she planned on inviting a couple of friends!
As I got back into my car I began to think about my day and how my Mary Kay appointment really turned it around. When I left for Shannon's house I had a huge knot behind my shoulder blade and felt like a punching bag for my boss, leaving me feeling a bit out of sorts and without control. But after being at Shannon's and sharing Mary Kay with her and taking time to watch her videos of baby Tony, I felt GREAT!
I realized one thing then and there. As much as I love my job, I don't really love my boss. I'd prefer to be my own boss, control my own destiny. It seems to me that the more time I spend learning about the Mary Kay opportunity, the more it seems God is pointing me in this direction. As long as I keep working my business I'll be able to supplement my income until I can match what I make at my current career. My goal is to make this work the way I've made my other careers work so that I'm successful enough to be able to leave my other job...something I never thought I'd consider doing.
In the end, it comes down to what I've always told my team...the only thing I can control is my attitude. So for now I'm going to give 100% to my job and 100% to my Mary Kay career when I'm not working. And I'm going to continue to ask for God's guidance and direction and plan my wedding!
There's something about Mary Kay's Golden Rule motto along with her "God First, Family Second and Career Third" that really speaks to me. It's helped me realize that I'm glad and grateful to have the job I have even when I'm not thrilled with my boss because it's motivation to do great things with the Mary Kay business I own so that I can leave soon...and on my own terms!
Hey, God really DOES help those who help themselves!
Sunday, February 08, 2009
The Power Of Affirmations
Since joining Mary Kay I've come to really admire my recruiter and director...Robbie Brannon. She recruited me with a CD & DVD called "Your Future Is Now". This cd has helped me recruit my first team members. So far I have 3 new team members using that same CD. The speaker is an amazing woman named Lisa Madison. She's my National Sales Director. What an incredible success story she has! In my starter packet were some CD's by Lisa called "Keep It Simple".
Robbie challenged us to write affirmation statements to start off this new year. Then I heard Lisa's first affirmation statement she made in the '80's...and how she discussed the power of making an affirmation tape or cd. That's what she did back in the day...and 13 years later all her affirmations came true! I figured I'd try my hand at it.
"Kat's Affirmation"
I am a skilled, talented, dynamic leader. I create opportunities to talk about Mary Kay and build my business. I am earning the use of my first Mary Kay career car in the next 4 months. I am on my way to Dallas this July as a sales director. Lisa Madison will be at my debut to introduce me. I am utilizing the talents and creativity that God has blessed me with to generate and build business opportunties.
I make time to exercise every day because I know that my body is a temple and that balance between mind, body and spirit is key to my well being. I am eating healthier. Junk food is not a temptation for me. I have time to cook and enjoy my meals.
I lead a balanced, happy life and inspire those around me to do the same. When someone positively comments on my life or my confidence I take it as an opportunity to share my faith and my Mary Kay success story with them. I feel great about myself and find ways to help those around me feel great about themselves. I have a magnetic personality that draws people to me.
People are dying to help me in my Mary Kay business. They are thrilled to book parties with me and join my team! I am a PRO at selling "I Want It All"! Where other people see problems and crises I see challenges and opportunities waiting to be discovered.
I take ownership of all aspects of my career and my life. I do not accept excuses because I know that they are nothing but stumbling blocks to my growth and that accepting them from myself would be another way of saying that I'm not capable of more. I am the best me that I can possibly be every day.
God is the focal point in my life. I daily exemplify the values of God first, Family second and Career third. I make time for morning devotionals. I am constantly finding new ways to worship and praise God.
I am making $20,000 by the end of my 1st year with Mary Kay.
I am a National Sales Director by 2017. Robbie and Lisa are at my debut and are celebrating my success with my friends and family. My family and I are living in a large 3 story house in Texas with a fenced in back yard for the dogs to run free, an office for my business and a pool and spa in the back yard. Kirk and I are able to enjoy our Dallas Cowboys season tickets along with our children. Our oldest child is 6 years old and our second is 4. Kirk has moved forward with his career and loves his job. Mary Kay has enabled me to be a stay-at-home mom and still thrive in my career beyond my wildest dreams.
I am so successful in my career that I now have an assistant to keep me organized in my business, a team I love and am helping grow the way Robbie helped me, a house keeper to maintain my home, and landscapers to keep my yard manicured as well as people to take care of my pool. We are able to do nice things for our friends and family and enjoy vacations all over the world. We thank God daily for giving me an outlet to utilize my talents and help build the life we've always wanted without compromising our values.
And that's my affirmation statement. It enables me to visualize my success and make it happen. I figured writing it down where everyone can see will just hold me more accountable for making a success of my career.
Robbie challenged us to write affirmation statements to start off this new year. Then I heard Lisa's first affirmation statement she made in the '80's...and how she discussed the power of making an affirmation tape or cd. That's what she did back in the day...and 13 years later all her affirmations came true! I figured I'd try my hand at it.
"Kat's Affirmation"
I am a skilled, talented, dynamic leader. I create opportunities to talk about Mary Kay and build my business. I am earning the use of my first Mary Kay career car in the next 4 months. I am on my way to Dallas this July as a sales director. Lisa Madison will be at my debut to introduce me. I am utilizing the talents and creativity that God has blessed me with to generate and build business opportunties.
I make time to exercise every day because I know that my body is a temple and that balance between mind, body and spirit is key to my well being. I am eating healthier. Junk food is not a temptation for me. I have time to cook and enjoy my meals.
I lead a balanced, happy life and inspire those around me to do the same. When someone positively comments on my life or my confidence I take it as an opportunity to share my faith and my Mary Kay success story with them. I feel great about myself and find ways to help those around me feel great about themselves. I have a magnetic personality that draws people to me.
People are dying to help me in my Mary Kay business. They are thrilled to book parties with me and join my team! I am a PRO at selling "I Want It All"! Where other people see problems and crises I see challenges and opportunities waiting to be discovered.
I take ownership of all aspects of my career and my life. I do not accept excuses because I know that they are nothing but stumbling blocks to my growth and that accepting them from myself would be another way of saying that I'm not capable of more. I am the best me that I can possibly be every day.
God is the focal point in my life. I daily exemplify the values of God first, Family second and Career third. I make time for morning devotionals. I am constantly finding new ways to worship and praise God.
I am making $20,000 by the end of my 1st year with Mary Kay.
I am a National Sales Director by 2017. Robbie and Lisa are at my debut and are celebrating my success with my friends and family. My family and I are living in a large 3 story house in Texas with a fenced in back yard for the dogs to run free, an office for my business and a pool and spa in the back yard. Kirk and I are able to enjoy our Dallas Cowboys season tickets along with our children. Our oldest child is 6 years old and our second is 4. Kirk has moved forward with his career and loves his job. Mary Kay has enabled me to be a stay-at-home mom and still thrive in my career beyond my wildest dreams.
I am so successful in my career that I now have an assistant to keep me organized in my business, a team I love and am helping grow the way Robbie helped me, a house keeper to maintain my home, and landscapers to keep my yard manicured as well as people to take care of my pool. We are able to do nice things for our friends and family and enjoy vacations all over the world. We thank God daily for giving me an outlet to utilize my talents and help build the life we've always wanted without compromising our values.
And that's my affirmation statement. It enables me to visualize my success and make it happen. I figured writing it down where everyone can see will just hold me more accountable for making a success of my career.