Commitment Issues

My wife just experienced another milestone in her Mary Kay business. She just earned her 4th free car in the Mary Kay Career Car program, but this one is especially significant because it is her 1st Premier Club level car. As a result, she will be receiving a brand new, straight off the line, custom built Chevy Equinox!

I am very proud of her and all that she is accomplishing and grateful to her wonderful team of women she is working with who have made this possible. We never could have done it without them and I, personally, look forward to celebrating with many of them when they receive their first Career Car from Mary Kay!

When these women earn their first car, it really is a special day because it is a defining moment that allows them to say without equivocation, "Yes! I am a successful Mary Kay consultant!" The recognition is nice. And the commissions on their sales is great, but few people outside their family actually sees that. But when the company gives you a brand new car to drive around for free, that's a tangible, visible mark of success for them.

Unfortunately, not everyone earns their car in Mary Kay. Many of the women coming into the business say that they want the car, but so few ever actually earn it.

Why?

In a word...

COMMITMENT!

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, the providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!"

W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition, 1951

Every single woman on my wife's team, regardless of their current circumstances, could drive a brand new car in the next six months or less if they committed themselves to doing it. Do you want to know how I know? Because my wife has done it four times!!! As great as my wife is (and I do think she is pretty spectacular) she started at the same place as everyone else. But she committed herself to doing what her Director and National told her to do in order to get the results she wanted to get.

She still does that. Just three days ago, she was $3,000 in team wholesale orders away from earning her car. That equates to over $6,000 in retail product. And if that $3,000 in orders hadn't been put in by the end of the month, my wife would have had to start all over from the beginning to try and earn this car over the next six months. I'll be honest with you. She was a little frustrated to be so close and yet still be so far away.

We had several team members step up in big ways. One of them, on her first solo class, sold $1,043. (Well done, grasshopper! She has now made over $1,100 in PROFIT over her first two classes and she was one who joined the company just to have a little extra spending money. Not too shabby!) We had a couple $200 orders and a $500 order and even a $43 order, among others, helped get us a little closer. But all that would not have been enough if my wife hadn't committed herself to making it happen NO MATTER WHAT!!! She went to work and sold enough in the last two days to place a $600 of her own. Now that's commitment to a goal!

“There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.”

There is always a reason why someone doesn't commit to their goal. I've heard people use pets, parents, illness, spouses, car trouble, kids, church assignments, friends and a plethora of other "reasons" why they can't keep their commitments. It makes me laugh to hear people tell my wife, "My family comes first!" as if to imply hers does not. And yet my wife spends loads of time with our kids, serves actively in our church, hangs out with friends, spends quality time with me and still runs a successful, profitable business with the car score being 4-0 in my wife's favor!

If your family really comes first, discipline yourself, establish better time management habits and commit yourself to succeeding for your family so that you aren't struggling so badly financially. Imagine for one moment how much less stressful your marriage would be with the extra income a successful business would provide. At least the kids won't be embarrassed by the car you drive when you drop them off at school.

I'm not saying that there aren't valid reasons out there for not keeping a commitment. We totally understand those situations and we feel bad when they happen. But here is a good test for whether you have a good reason or just a poor excuse:

• Is it a reason you would give if you had to call your boss at the last second to tell them you weren't going to show up at work that day?
• Would you still have a job the next day if you did give that reason?

In case you are wondering, reasons like "My dog is sick", "My best friend came into town" and "I just don't feel like it right now" will land you in the unemployment line.

It is sad how many women I have seen who have come into this business over the last few years who had such high hopes and grand dreams that have left it to get a job where the discipline of showing up is enforced, you have absolutely no control over how much you earn and, no matter how good you are at your job, they will never, ever give you a free car. Don't let that be you.

Whatever worthwhile goal you may have, remember the example set by Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez. When he landed in Mexico, he gave his men the orders to burn the ships. He cut off their escape route. There would be no retreat. They would succeed in their mission or they would die trying.

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”
~ Mario Andretti

Commit yourself to your goals and your dreams at every step of the process. Re-commit every morning when you wake up no matter how poor your results may have been from the day before. Throw out your excuses and press on through your trials.

Amazing things lie within your reach if you commit yourself to achieving them!