Mary Kay Ash (1918–2001,) born Mary Kathlyn Wagner, was an American entrepreneur. She was the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. Ash’s reliance on in-home, direct salespersons, and creative motivational sales techniques brought her company great financial success.
After serving as national sales director for World Gifts (1949–63,) Ash purchased a formulation for a skin-care cream and founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in 1963. By the time she retired as the chairperson of her company, her direct-marketing sales force had grown to more than 750,000, mostly women, in 37 countries.
Ash wrote her bestselling autobiography Mary Kay (1981,) and the popular self-help books Mary Kay on People Management (1984) and Mary Kay—You Can Have It All (1995.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Mary Kay Ash
A good goal is like a strenuous exercise—it makes you stretch.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Goals
There are two things people want more than sex and money—recognition and praise.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Praise
We treat our people like royalty. If you honor and serve the people who work for you, they will honor and serve you.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Royalty
If you think you can, you can.
And if you think you can’t, you’re right.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Belief, Courage, Attitude, Thought, Luck, Confidence
Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise. Success in many cases is failure turned inside out. The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity. Eliminate the negative attitude and believe you can do anything. Replace ‘if I can, I hope, maybe’ with ‘I can, I will, I must.’
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Determination, Success, Success & Failure
Sandwich every bit of criticism between two thick layers of praise.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Praise, Optimism
Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as you mind lets you. What you believe, you can achieve.
—Mary Kay Ash
Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, “Make me feel important.” Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Confidence, Praise
A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go farther than a great idea that inspires no one.
—Mary Kay Ash
Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that; so it goes on flying anyway.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Hope, Confidence, Expectation
Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Risk
For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.
—Mary Kay Ash
Topics: Success & Failure, Adversity, Failure, Action, Entrepreneurs
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