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Hannah Cotter
Mrs. Godfrey
Honors Leadership Studies
13 December 2019

Miracles Happen ​by Mary Kay Ash

“You can do it!” were words of encouragement that Mary Kay’s mother gave her all the

time. Being raised by a hardworking mother and invalid father, Mary Kay had a lot of

responsibility at home from a young age. This responsibility and the “You can do it” words of

encouragement helped build Mary Kay’s confidence. When Mary Kay had challenges starting

Mary Kay Cosmetics, such as her husband dying and her attorney telling her not to move

forward with the business, her sons Richard and Ben stepped in and helped Mary build her

cosmetic business and her sons said, “You can do it! Eventually, her daughter, Marylyn also

joined the company.

Mary Kay Ash lived from May 12, 1918 and died on November 22, 2001. She was born

in Hot Wells, Texas and grew up in Houston, Texas. Mary Kay’s father had been very sick with

Tuberculosis and, when he came home, he was an invalid for the rest of his life. Mary Kay’s

mom worked a lot since her father could not work so Mary Kay had to learn to be independent

and help around the house at a very young age. Mary Kay had three siblings but they were much

older. Given their situation with only her mom working, the family did not have enough money

for Mary Kay to go to college. At 17 years old, she married Roger, her first husband, and they

had three children - Richard, Ben, and Marylyn. Roger enlisted in World War II. Mary Kay

worked at Stanley Home Products and earned enough money to attend University of Houston.

After her first semester, Roger returned home from the military and asked for a divorce. Mary
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Kay eventually remarried but her second husband, George, died unexpectedly of a heart attack as

she was about to launch Mary Kay Cosmetic company.

In 1963, Mary Kay Ash founded the Mary Kay Cosmetic company. Mary Kay had

worked at several home sales companies in the past. At these companies, Mary worked very hard

and was successful but she was not treated equal to male employees. At one company, a man that

she had trained was promoted to her boss. As Mary Kay started her company, she used this

experience to guide her vision. She wanted a company where women could have the opportunity

to be successful. Within her new company, she created levels of leadership so, if the women

worked hard, they could grow to the next level from consultant to Director.

“Recognition was as important to me as money,” Mary Kay remembered as she pulled

together ideas on which to build her company (Ash 19). Mary Kay realized she could motivate

women to work harder if there was an opportunity to win a prize. She designed her reward

program so there was not just one winner but anyone could have the opportunity at a prize if they

worked hard. Eventually, a very big sought after reward was a pink Cadillac car. Many women

have become so successful selling Mary Kay. In fact, in 2003, there were about 200 consultants

who had become millionaires.

Over the years, Mary Kay learned people who succeed have the following attributes:

“enthusiasm, discipline, willingness (to work, to serve, and to learn), determination, and

appreciation of others” (Ash 1). From this and from her own experiences, she developed the

following company philosophy: “The first and most important is the Golden Rule. We teach our

people to treat others as they themselves would like to be treated.” . . .The second cornerstone is

belief in the right priorities: God first, family second, career third. . . .The third cornerstone is our
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belief in the beautiful potential inside each and every human being” (Ash 174). The vision and

philosophy was so important to Mary Kay that in 1985 the family purchased back all the stock so

that it was no longer publicly traded and they would regain full control of the company. Mary’s

son Richard explained, “Mary Kay’s dream is too important . . . no other entity in the world

would understand that Mother’s dream ministers to the welfare of humankind” (Ash 178).

Later in Mary Kay’s life, she received many awards and recognitions. In 1976, she

received the Direct Selling Association Hall of Fame Award. A couple years later, in 1978, Mary

Kay received the Horatio Alger Distinguished American Citizen Award. She also was named

Texas Woman of the Century, in 1999. In 2004, after her passing, she was awarded the

Humanitarian Rose Award by Kensington Palace.

Within the Mary Kay company, there are effective teams from the consultants who work

closely with their Director to the teams at the corporate office in Texas. The organization itself

has a clear purpose and objectives and sets performance goals to incentivize the consultants to do

well. This success benefits the company and each consultant. Mary Kay is also self conscious

about their operations. It takes time each year at its annual seminar to praise its consultants and

Directors and to educate them. Part of this education is reminding the teams of Mary Kay’s

philosophies.

“To me, life is no brief candle. It’s a splendid torch that I want to burn brightly before I

pass it on to future generations!” (Ash 193). This quote of Mary Kay’s describes her and her

legacy beautifully. Mary Kay shared her life and experience with so many women and her lasting

legacy is what she did for women. Having experienced inequality in the workplace, she knew

that if women were given the chance and support, they could be very successful. She built their
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confidence by encouraging them to say, “I can. I will. I must.” (Ash 174). She empowered them

to build and run their own Mary Kay business. When we consider the type of leader Mary Kay

was she was at the pinnacle level because she left a lasting legacy. She had people following her

because of who she was as a person.

After reading Mary Kay Ash’s Miracles Happen, I would recommend it to others because

it was inspirational to read about Mary Kay building her business and her ideas to make her

business grow and, more importantly, how to empower women to be successful. This book can

also be motivational for people facing hardships, because you can see the challenges that Mary

Kay went through and see her growth and success. The most important thing that I learned from

Mary Kay’s book was her business philosophies. The philosophies of following the Golden Rule,

having belief in the right priorities, and having a belief in the beautiful potential inside each

person all make sense but I was surprised to see her priorities of God first, family second, career

third. I would have thought to be so successful Mary Kay would have put her career ahead of

anything else but instead her faith and her family were her first priorities.
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Works Cited

​ ew York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers

Ash, M. K. (3rd Ed.). (1994). ​Miracles Happen. N

“Who Was Mary Kay Ash? Everything You Need to Know.” ​Facts, Childhood, Family Life &
Achievements of Businesswoman​,
www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mary-kay-ash-251.php#childhood-&-early-life​.

“Our Founder.” ​Mary Kay​, ​www.marykay.com/en-us/about-mary-kay/our-founder​.

“Mary Kay Ash.” ​Biography.com​, A&E Networks Television, 16 Apr. 2019,

www.biography.com/business-figure/mary-kay-ash​.