Slogans in Mary Kay
Written by Raisinberry
Before Mary Kay I worked in human resources and taught supervision and organizational development with a large international firm. Part of my acquisition of information required that I attend some of the seminars of the major players in the world of “motivational speakers.” (I still can’t get SNL’s Chris Farley out of my head.)
Slogans and motivational quips were those quick mental adjusters that helped fear and lack of focus dissolve into confidence and determination.
They originally were designed to help a person through the lows of rejection and to become mentally tough. They were for our good. But, like any good thing, in the hands of a person with wrong motives, or bad intentions, a good thing can go very bad.
In the hands of opportunist Mary Kay nationals, the quips deflected what has been happening under the surface, and became a method for manipulating women by hiding a secret M.O. Mary Kay has been busy doing the opposite of “enriching women’s lives” by creating a method to foster personal dissatisfaction and at the same time, fogging over its exposure.
I am sure Mary Kay Ash gathered her famous sales force “sayings,” never imagining that they would be used to block analytical thought, ignore true conditions, foster denial, corrupt leaders, maintain fraud, hide opportunism, shift blame, or become religious doctrine.
But what sloganeering has become in the world of Mary Kay is a sublime method of blocking women from facing the reality of what is all around them, what their otherwise astute “spidey senses” would have allowed them to see, months and years earlier.
Slogans and sayings have protected Mary Kay’s empire and have created a sort of corporate shield that becomes a self inflicted mind control for all parties involved, and deflects any responsibility for the results of running a pyramid scam, away from Addison, Texas. But that is only one part of its purpose.
Independent Beauty Consultants who question anything are shut down like they just got jolted with a electromagnetic pulse and no one is the wiser. When she awakes from her stunning, she will believe that Mary Kay is the benevolent overseer who sacrifices for her benefit, and she is the one who, alone, must carry the ball over the goal line. Trusting her overseer, she proceeds. Her overseer reminds her to trust her Director. Her Director reminds her to trust her National. The stage is set.
“If it is to be it’s up to me!” she courageously ventures forth.
“Find a way or make a way,” she tells herself when engaging in creative recruiting practices.
“You must show up to go up,” her Director tells her when she has no money to pay for the winter retreat.
“Take your daily mental bath” she reminds herself when evaluating where her business is financially.
“No? NEXT!” she quips, to steel herself against prospects who say no and the fact that bookings aren’t coming easily.
“Take God as your business partner” she reminds herself and wonders why God has not blessed her with a woman in her path.
“3 plus 3 plus 3,” she chants, wondering when the next $300 week will appear.
“You can’t sell from an empty wagon,” her Director sells her, as she wonders when her buckling shelves will register “full” in her director’s eyes.
“A laurel rested upon soon wilts,” says her Red Jacket letter of congratulation, with the encouragement to find 2 more recruits ASAP, to go “on target” for car.
“It’s not for the chosen few, but for the few who choose,” she is told, when half her team quits and she is making up production on her own credit card.
“Act successful and you’ll be successful,” resonates in her mind as her director calls her up front at meeting to talk about her last weeks efforts.
“Believe and you will achieve” her NSD tells her; when she asks what she should do if she can’t get to 30 by Friday.
“Work will win where wishing won’t,” she tells her children as she goes out again to warm chatter.
“The cream always rises to the top.” She is told when other unit members stop showing up and she is flattered into staying the course.
”No one follows a parked car.” She is chastised when her warm market appointments are done and bookings have dried up.
“The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.” Her NSD warns (when she says she can’t go, can’t order any more, won’t be finishing star) that she is teaching her team to do the same.
“The only person who fails in Mary Kay is the one who quits.” She tells her husband after he totals the credit card debt from years of “faking it till you make it.”
What slogans did you hear frequently in Mary Kay?
Visit the
I was never in MK, but here’s my contribution:
“Stars drive cars!”
I was never in Mary Kay either, but I will add in “Name it and claim it!”
“The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything.”
This is the most insidious of them all. That simple principle, more than any other, single-handedly contributes to (while helping hide) the financial, relational and reputational carnage present in every Mary Kay downline.
I will match my time with your effort.
“What you think about, you bring about.”
Oh yeah! That one was great…and WHEN did it ever happen?? ~R
These are intended to end an argument and quell cognitive dissonance. You linguistically leap over the analysis and problem solving to the slogan and your brain heaves a sigh of relief. In political science and psychology, this “method of blocking women from facing reality” is called “Thought-Stopping Cliches”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9
“The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are compressed into brief, highly reductive, definitive-sounding phrases, easily memorized, and easily expressed. They become the start and finish of any ideological analysis.”
I still love/hate the “Take God as your co-pilot” quip.
My Kiddo is a commercial airline pilot. If your god is your co-pilot, I would argue they are in the wrong seat.
I actually still use “find a way or make a way,” but NOT in the context of MK/MLM. It’s more of a “Get out of your own head and look at things from a different perspective when tackling a difficult challenge.” It’s also a great line when playing D&D, as our barbarian once asked how big a window was. DM (dungeon master) said the window was closed, but that isn’t what the barbarian wanted to know. He wanted to know the window’s size — because he threw the bad guy out said closed window. Find a way or make a way… he made a way.
Dang! Two Ridiculous Downvotes™! I am going something right!
Doing not going…. I need more coffee.
I guess they were chucked through small windows by angry barbarians and are still cheesed off about it.
Remind me to tell you sometime about the DM who wouldn’t play with me anymore after I shapeshifted into a spider and crawled across the ceiling over his complicated deathtrap instead of Rube Goldberging my way through it.
That’s gold! If you lived closer, I would want you in our game group.
I had a MU/illusionist whose secondary skill was tattooing. She tattooed “teleport” on her arm in illusionary script. Thus she could cast it as it needed no physical or vocal components in times of need. And because it was in script no-one who wasn’t an illusionist could read it without going temporary insane.
I had another MU who used Rope Trick to swing across chasms, use instead of a grappling hook and escape from a high tower.
Gotta love how “If it is to be, it is up to me” is used as a motto in a “business” that is entirely dependent on having other people buy things and/or join your team.
Be “too dumb to doubt”. I had a director I knew use this a lot… I hated hearing it every time. Such a stupid statement.
Teamies and Starbies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t forget “nashy-nash”!
The MK baby talk makes me want to projectile vomit.
Your Mary Kay Girlie™
“You’re in business for yourself, but not by yourself.”
That’s a slogan a lot of the more half-baked franchises frequently use to persuade suckers that have the money to buy into a franchise probably is a route to financial disaster. I’m not talking about McDonald’s here but rather a lot of really small crappy little restaurant chains you never heard of, as well as minimarts and other business concepts where franchising doesn’t seem to do anything but put money into the franchisor’s pocket. People have even lost some serious dollars at well-known franchises too – Quiznos and Coffee Beanery too. If I’m not in business by myself, well the person who said that share in any losses I incur? Ha!
Sorry – a lot of typos with that message – let me rewrite:
That’s a slogan a lot of the more half-baked franchises frequently use to persuade suckers that have the money to buy into a franchise that probably is a route to financial disaster. I’m not talking about McDonald’s here but rather a lot of really small crappy little restaurant chains you never heard of, as well as minimarts and other business concepts where franchising doesn’t seem to do anything but put money into the franchisor’s pocket. People have even lost some serious dollars at well-known franchises too – Quiznos and Coffee Beanery come to mind. If I’m not in business by myself, will the person who said that share in any losses I incur? Ha!
“Put on your big-girl panties.”
“Put on your pink blinders.”
“Get the dollar signs out of your eyes.”
“Don’t let someone steal your dreams.”
DIN DIN club… do it now.
Also the MK enthusiasm song. It’s nails on a chalkboard for me.
“Don’t quit when you’re on a low.” The idea was you should wait until you have a $1,000 party, a new hot shot recruit, or some other “high” instead of “allowing negative emotions to dictate your career path.”
“Hitch your wagon to a star.”–Follow the example of those who are achieving.
“Shoot for the moon and you’ll land among the stars!”–Set the highest goals and even if you miss the goal, you’ll still come out ahead.
“Don’t take business advice from someone you wouldn’t trade places with.”–Don’t listen to the naysayers.
“Hang out with balcony people, not basement people.”–Stay away from the Negative Nellies!