Amazing Things Happen when You Have to Manage Your Life

When you are young, still finding your way, you try all kinds of new things that sound fun and exciting. Some things are easy and some are not so easy. When you make decisions that add responsibility to your life, you must do anything you can to get by. Sometimes, there is that one thing you try doing that shapes your future and puts everything in life into perspective.

Discipline Drives Determination

Remember when you were a teenager and you got put on restriction for sneaking out of the house late at night, or skipping school to hang out with friends? The very discipline of getting put on restriction made you determined to 1) never get caught again; 2) never skip school again; or 3) negotiate your two-week restriction down to two-days instead.

When I sold AVON in college to get by, I had to learn serious discipline about not spending the money I made on makeup, perfume and things I didn't need. I had to be responsible for my 2-year old daughter and put that responsibility over wanting for myself. This is very hard to do when you are 23 and in college. Each time someone handed me a check for the AVON order, I struggled to find the discipline to save that money. I was determined to provide a good life for my daughter, but it was the discipline I found in myself that ultimately drove my determination for achieving everything else I wanted in my life.

Have the discipline to drive your determination.

Living is About Giving and Not Judging

Selling any product is a numbers game; the more sales calls you make, the more sales you make - if you are good at it. In rural Arkansas, it was a huge challenge to build a customer base of AVON customers since people were spread out for miles in between houses. I diligently put out my AVON books in stores, doctors' offices, churches, and schools. I felt impatient when I got a call and had to drive 15 miles through the Ozark winding dirt roads to find a modest house with a jacked-up old truck sitting in the field of weeds. My first thought, being a city slicker out of my element, was there would be no way I could sell enough AVON at this house to even pay for my time and gasoline. I was so very wrong.

In rural Arkansas, having the AVON lady visit was like having your Preacher come over. For the next year of selling AVON, I was astonished that every Ozark customer I met actually made an event out of my visit. Customers would bake pies for my visit; they would bring out family photo albums to enjoy while we drank coffee, tea, or hot chocolate; they would ask me about my family and demand that I bring pictures on my next visit; they gave me gardening and cook books to help me as a young Mother; they gave me hand-me-down clothes to wear as a struggling college student; they gave me their love and compassion in exchange for me stopping by for a few hours to share their lives.

Most AVON customers in rural Arkansas didn't have a lot of money, big houses, fancy cars, or fine furniture. It turned out that I made the Top Seller list of AVON reps because they chose to spend their little bit of money on AVON collectibles instead. These AVON items became what they cherished; valuable things they could pass down to their children. Some of my AVON customers had entire bedrooms in their small houses with shelves full of AVON collectibles. We sometimes spent hours in those rooms telling stories of each AVON collectible, when it was bought, how much it was worth, and which family member it would be willed to and why. I never experienced such thoughtful depth for living, giving, and sharing as I did from my AVON customers.

Wake up today and give to someone else, no matter how little you think you have to give. Your giving will change someone's life.

Choosing Right From Wrong Builds Character

All my experiences from selling AVON in rural Arkansas were not positive ones, but nevertheless, taught me another life lesson. One AVON customer I had went to the grocery store in mid-afternoon and her husband answered the door during my sales call. The husband was quite assertive in his attempts to have an intimate affair with me while his wife was gone. Nothing horrible happened, thank God. I hurried home and told my husband about the incident and warned him that this man was angry when I left and may do something to retaliate.

My husband and his father grabbed their shotguns and headed to the man's house. My mother-in-law advised me in a sort of old-fashioned chivalrous way, to let them do what they have to do. I thought they would kill the guy, but they decided to just teach the guy a lesson: don't mess with another man's wife. While at first I felt that my family members were wrong to act in such a vigilante way, I later realized they had character for defending my honor. It was like something out of a Clint Eastwood western. I learned in a dramatic way that character is truly built from choosing right over wrong. Just leave the shotgun at home.

Choose right from wrong and build your character.

Nothing Worth Having Comes Easy

I first thought selling AVON would be easy money. I needed a fast, easy way to make money. I confused flexible with easy.

You can make choices that give you an easy road in life, but where are the rewards? I could have chose to not have children, not raise pigs, not get married, not go to college, not sell AVON, and not live in rural Arkansas. I soon learned that everything worth having in life is not easy to get unless you work hard to make it happen.

Take time to make decisions. Choose what is worth having. Manage your life to make it happen. Work hard. Reap the rewards.