Try, try again. "If I were to sum up my Mary Kay business in one thought, it would be that success is not a race, but the sum total of many successes and failures," Independent Elite Executive National Sales Director Emeritus Barbara Sunden says. Throughout her business, Barbara experienced many of both.

She started her Mary Kay business with running shoes on, then stopped when her son was born. Later, she wanted something to do in her spare time. "I thought about going back to work as a hairdresser two days a week," she recalls. "Little did I know that opportunity was knocking in my closet. My Mary Kay business was waiting for me, but I just didn’t recognize it."

Back on the track, she jumped over many hurdles and tripped over others. "I adopted the philosophy of ‘try until you can’t try anymore, and then try again.’ But as I look back at the past years, I can’t help but notice how I have changed," Barbara says. "At that time, I was a quiet and shy person with little or no confidence. Today I know that it’s not the length of the journey, but what you learn on the way."

Her hard work and tenacity, along with her servant leadership and ability to build leaders, have paved the way and allowed her to inspire others around the world. In addition to her Mary Kay business in the U.S., she also has grown her Mary Kay business in several international subsidiaries spanning four continents. As a leader of leaders, Barbara holds the Company record with her total career earnings in excess of 16 million dollars, proving that her "try again" philosophy works. As she says, "Success is the prize for perseverance - and true success is seeing the difference that we can make in one woman’s life."