The anatomy of second chances. When Independent National Sales Director Melody Fox was introduced to the Mary Kay opportunity, her response was one with which you may be well-acquainted… she wasn’t interested. Melody’s reasons were valid. She was single at the time, with no children, and loved her job! Yet, she was broke and had a mountain of credit card debt weighing her down. “I had tons of clothes and china, but didn’t have enough money in my checking account to buy a Starter Kit,” she candidly recalls. With Melody, her overwhelming struggle to pay bills was met with her recruiter’s perceptive question: “What will be different this time next year, if you don’t give it a try?” She did, and look where she is now! Melody’s objections are familiar, but the rest of her story is one that inspires hope.

Melody grew up with a mother whose life preached how to love people and reserve judgment. “She lived what she taught. My dad modeled the work ethic and my mom modeled Christian values. She showed me that people watch what you do more than they hear what you say,” Melody recalls.

She says her husband, James, has been her rock and support. Her boyfriend at the time, he loaned her his car and the money to start her business. Now, Melody and James are the very involved parents of twins - a girl and a boy, Madlyn and Bailey. Madlyn is an avid equestrian and Bailey is a gifted athlete. Melody also believes she has the best mentor in the entire world. We know her as Independent Elite Executive National Sales Director Kathy Helou. Melody did what she suggested and going to Seminar was the first suggestion. “I remember sitting there in a gown I borrowed from Kathy, when Mary Kay Ash came on the screen. That was the moment a dream was born in my heart to become a Mary Kay Independent National Sales Director.” Consequently, Melody’s first year as an Independent Beauty Consultant was dedicated to paying off every penny of debt, including the cash she borrowed from her boyfriend. 14 months after she signed her agreement, Melody debuted as an Independent Sales Director, then earned the use of her first Cadillac a few months after that.

The story didn’t end there. Melody and James were married. The twins came and she continued to grow her unit and her business. Life was good. “Mary Kay works when you work,” Melody contends. Still, the Mary Kay journey, as with life’s journey, isn’t all mountaintop experiences. There can be valleys to walk through, in order to become a leader of wisdom and understanding. “I was younger and had never experienced blame for someone else’s business not working… even though they were not working their business,” Melody remembers. “I learned several hard lessons at that point.” She let others’ lack of working for their dreams steal her own dreams, became discouraged and stepped away from working her Mary Kay business with focus. After several years of success in another arena, Melody realized that she missed the Mary Kay culture. “I still wanted to be an Independent National Sales Director. I wanted to lead other women to financial freedom and flexibility, like I had experienced.”

Melody believes we’re all going to have a test, and that test should become our testimony. Her Mary Kay journey teaches her to believe that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. “I believe that He doesn’t call the equipped; rather, He equips the called. I have learned that I must work from a platform of commitment, full of passion, but never emotion.”