Great Throughts Treasury

"The most important justification for being in business is service to others. Every new business must be built upon the premise, since wanting to make money or desiring to ?dabble? in a favorite pastime are not enough to sustain such a venture. The business must fulfill a need."

"The most rewarding aspect of my life is to watch a woman come into our company like a tight little rosebud, sometimes too inhibited to even tell me who she is, and after six months of training, praise, and encouragement, and recognition by her recruiter and director friends ? she blossoms into a poised beautiful woman. All because someone helps her reach down within herself and bring forth her? talents and abilities."

"There are two things people want more than sex and money -- recognition and praise."

"The word enthusiasm has a Greek origin meaning ?God within.?"

"To me, P & L doesn?t only mean profit and loss ? it also means people and love."

"There is a way; Up, Around, Over or Through."

"Truly inspirational statesmanship moves citizens to put aside their self-interest."

"Unlike many people who start a new business, money was not my prime motivation ? not that I was so well off that it wasn?t a consideration, in fact, I had put my lifetime savings on the line. The business had to succeed or I would never have another opportunity to start my own business."

"We are meant to use and increase whatever God has given us. And when we do, we shall be given more."

"True leaders establish success patterns that make everyone think success."

"We all did whatever needed to be done. I sold, taught other women, conducted sales meetings, and emptied wastebaskets."

"We don?t sell ? we teach."

"We fall forward to succeed."

"When we began our adoptee program, it was generally felt that it wouldn?t work. But I knew that it would. I knew it would work because it was based on the Golden Rule. At Mary Kay Cosmetics we sometimes call it the ?go-give? principle. It?s a philosophy based on giving, and it is applied in every aspect of our business. At our beauty shows we do not like a beauty consultant to think, ?How much can I sell these women?? Instead we stress, ?What can I do to make these women leave here today feeling better about themselves? How can I help them have a better self-image??"

"We don?t want the guests to think its all fun and games? although it is fun, of course."

"When we began in 1963, we meant to change the lives of a few people. Instead we are changing the world."

"When you come to a road block, take a detour."

"Whenever I meet someone, I try to imagine him wearing an invisible sign that says: Make Me Feel Important! I respond to this sing immediately, and it works wonders."

"When you use this rule ? every decision becomes a right decision. [On The Golden Rule]"

"While it is true that a teacher generally stands at the head of the class and does most of the talking, a good teacher also knows how to listen attentively. So does a good manager."

"While listening may be the most undervalued of all the communication skills, good people managers are likely to listen more than they speak. Perhaps that?s why God gave us two ears and only one mouth."

"While clothes may not make the woman, they certainly have a strong effect on her self-confidence - which, I believe, does make the woman."

"You can do it!"

"You can?t stand still. You either go forward or backward."

"Women can no more duplicate the male style of management than American businessmen can exactly reproduce the Japanese style. This is not to suggest that Americans and Japanese cannot learn from one another ? they can and do."

"Women want to earn what they are worth, and in most professions, they aren?t allowed to do that."

"You must develop the ability to know the difference between a real problem and an imaginary one."

"You can eat an elephant one bite at a time."