Last month, Pam received her largest commission check to date — $41,000. In the 15 years since she gave up a teaching career and joined the Mary Kay team, Pam has enjoyed nine consecutive years reaching the $1 million mark, marked by a life of pink Cadillacs, traveling and time spent with her husband, Jerry, and son, Thomas.

Pam Shaw looked no further than her own roots to find the perfect role model — her mother. As a homemaker and teacher, Pam's mother instilled in her the value of time management. Her first look at a weekly plan sheet came when her mother coached Pam to map out a schedule of her daily activities from Sunday to Saturday.  The system served the Waldrops well,
and her mother's accomplishments proved it. She had a career that spanned 32 years, she volunteered in the community and at church, and managed to prepare three square meals a day — all home-cooked.

Today, many of Pam's meals are prepared on the grill by her supportive husband, and dinner remains a cherished event when the close-knit family can spend precious time together. In fact, despite the hard work and determination it took to reach the position of Independent National Sales Director, Pam has never lost sight of the importance of family.

Pam left her home state of Kentucky and moved to Florida while pursuing a career in teaching right out of college. This followed, in fact, a brief time in which she admits she was uncharacteristically unfocused. In her 20s, Pam confesses she was anything but disciplined. "I had no goals, or rather my goals were, 'Where’s the next fun thing that we can do?'" Luckily, the phase was brief but proved constructive. Ready for a change, Pam bought her Mary Kay® showcase and held her first skin care class. On the drive home after that first class in 1986, she mentally tallied her revenues at $400 and decided this was the career for her.  Shortly afterwards as a new director, she met her husband, Jerry at a triathlon.  She has experienced this career as a single woman, dating, engaged, newly married, pregnant, nursing, and mother of  a now 7-year-old.

Transitioning from a career in academics to a career in which she now mentors motivated women has brought Pam a "clarity, knowing God's will and direction
in a world determined by confusion." She now describes her life as "happy, grounded, directed and blessed."

Pam's successful life approach is evident in her philosophy. "I believe every
person is born uniquely amazing, with untapped gifts and talents," she says.
"It's a decision to step into our greatness. Success is choice-driven, and prioritization of our values produces outcomes that we should take responsibility for."




Pam attributes her accomplishments to the value in making conscious choices. This awareness, along with a "sincere wish to stay in God's will" and an innate
love of people, has placed her on a path to spiritual and financial reward.

What does it take to mentor and develop 300 Independent Beauty Consultants and make room for self and family? Pam suggests that juggling so many responsibilities requires planning out the day by task and the amount of time it will take, being prepared and knowing exactly what you need to do when you have a spare moment. "You have to have the discipline to know exactly what you are going to do throughout the day," she explains.

"Many people lose out by not planning. Without planning ahead, they miss the opportunity while still trying to get organized. We are always making choices," she concludes, "and the choices bring us results." Since qualifying as an Independent National Sales Director last August, "it's a whole new ball game," Pam admits, and she has been putting in more hours to make the position a success. When she chooses to indulge in a little downtime, she enjoys active outings with her husband and son. "My idea of a perfect weekend is to sleep in, go have a big breakfast with my family, then go to the park and roller blade or bike with the boys," she says. "I'd probably like to spend a little time alone, reading or writing, but I always love time spent with Thomas, my son, I'd choose a date with Jerry, or time with just the three of us."

What’s next for this grounded dynamo who seems to have negotiated the road to having it all? "Of course, I'd like to become a Senior National Sales Director," she says. "But my next goal is to grow our number of units from 28 to 60." Although Seminar is just around the corner, who could doubt that she will do it?