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Mary Kay Ash Quotes

20 quotes from Mary Kay Ash — Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, a direct-sales beauty empire..

Read the full Mary Kay Ash playbook →

“Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.”

Belief

“We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don't know where you're aiming, you don't have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared.”

Purpose

“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.”

Empathy

“When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone.”

Perseverance

“People fail forward to success.”

Failure

“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret.”

Appreciation

“A mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one.”

Innovation

“My goal in life is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared.”

Legacy

“Aerodynamically, the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway.”

Inspiration

“The greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity.”

Positivity

“Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.”

Courage

“If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right.”

Mindset

“Those men didn't believe a woman had brain matter at all. I learned back then that as long as men didn't believe women could do anything, women were never going to have a chance.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“If an employer would treat employees and customers as he or she wished to be treated, all would profit.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“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.”

— 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 business, you will succeed in life.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“I wasn't that interested in the dollars-and-cents part of business. My interest in starting Mary Kay Inc. was to offer women opportunities that didn't exist anywhere else.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“We must figure out how to remain good wives and good mothers while triumphing in the workplace. This is no easy task for the woman who works full-time. With your priorities in order, press on, and never look back. You can, indeed, have it all.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“I believe that most successful people are ordinary people with extraordinary determination.”

— Mary Kay Ash

“People are a company's greatest asset. Good people are more important than the plan.”

— Mary Kay Ash

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Mary Kay Ash

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Mary Kay Ash

Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, a direct-sales beauty empire.