ep09 – Ann Mincey Jetton

Ann Mincey Jetton is a prominent public speaker and trainer helping tens of thousands of people reduce stress, achieve success, and enrich their lives. Today, her passion is “marketing with heart” to women. Ann received numerous awards including the North American Hairstyling Awards Hall of Leaders, and the Intercoiffure Lifetime Achievement Award.

Today we’re talking with Ann about her 40 years as the “Heart of Redken” and how it all started.

Show Notes

• It’s so important to spend the time thinking about what we want to leave the audience feeling after a presentation
• Learn about the power of connecting with people
• You are what you think
• You may have a gift that has yet to be unwrapped and developed
• The gift of receiving a great gift
• The art of listening
• What would Ann like to see happen in the industry in the future

Complete Transcript

Chris Baran 0:00
How great would it be to get up close and personal with the beauty industry heroes? We love and admire and to ask them how did you learn to do what you do? I’m Chris Baran, a hairstylist and educator for 40 plus years. And I’m inviting all our heroes to chat and share the secrets of their success.

This week’s episode is particularly special for me because it involves a beautiful young lady that I’ve known for probably, I’m guessing 3035 years. And she’s always been called the heart of redkin. And I want to give you just a little bit of a history as she was a field rep from redkin, which rapidly grew into the global communications position, and then became the vice president of public relations. She was, catch this, the NAHA The Hall of leaders award, New York women’s agenda gave her the star award intercoiffure Lifetime Achievement Award, the PBA gave her the beauty legends award. And in the spirit of life honoree, City of Hope she helped to raise $1.4 million for breast cancer research. And she was called a priestess of profit. I call her friend is an Mincy. So let’s get into this week’s head case. And me Mincy I don’t know what I can say. Firstly, number one is seems like forever since I’ve seen you. But I can tell you, my heart is just so full right now, with being able to look at your face. And for those in the audience right now you can understand how much harder that is right now. Because she’s actually in there, my camera is right here. And she’s actually right over there. For those of you listening won’t even see where I’m pointing to. However, it’s just hard seeing you out of the corner corner of my eye, but not being able to look at your beautiful face. So welcome on board, I am just super excited to chat with you about our past and what we’ve gone through some of the learning bits we’ve gone through together. So just from all of our people that are out there, I just want to say welcome. And it is absolutely a pleasure to have you on here.

Ann Mincey 2:22
Thank you so much. It’s my honor, I thought of all the people in the whole wide industry that would love to be sitting in this place across from you. And getting to have these moments. So recollection, I am just beyond honored. And I thank you and I say hi to everybody who’s going to be tuning in thank you so much.

Chris Baran 2:45
Ann, so listen, I there’s people out there that that know you, you know anybody that and I have to tell everybody if you know Ann Mincy and you’ve ever had a conversation with Ann Mincey. The first thing is that you feel like the world has disappeared around you when you talk to someone. The and I even remember one instance, when somebody came up to us, we were having this conversation, they pulled you out your attention away. And you I can never forget this you being so remorseful almost to tears that you weren’t attentive to me at that time when I know what that’s like. So I, I just want it for if any of you are watching right now you’ll see it in her eyes. For those of you who are listening, you wish that it wasn’t you want to go back onto YouTube and see it again. But I want to know where that attention came from like what? What special gift that you become aware of, or whatever so that you give that gift to people.

Ann Mincey 3:56
Thank you for the question. It happened early on in my career with Redken, it was my first national sales meeting. And one of the people that was very important to us at that time, he and I were having a conversation. And I felt that draw like you’ve just mentioned, someone else came up and he immediately darted his attention from me to this other person. And I felt completely deflated in the moment. And I apologize now, Chris, if I had to do that to you, because I know what that feels like. And I vowed in that moment. That to my best ability, not always possible. But to find that stability in the moment that if someone did approach me and you and I were in conversation, I would at least put up my hand or reach out and touch their arm and let them know that I know that they’re there. And I would just break our attention for a moment and just say, I’ll be right with you. But I would come immediately back to you and finish the conversation that I cherish. And so that that really, I mean, that was early on in my career with Redken and then I began realizing a new definition of charisma isn’t so much that you, as a presenter, or me as the speaker, on a platform are magnetic and energetic and try to grab the attention of everyone, it’s more about how we make the audience feel, how we leave them. That’s the new charisma. And so whether it’s in front of 10,000 people, or whether it’s a one on one, and then hallway conversation, how we leave them feeling honored, valued, listened to heard, all of those things are encapsulated in this, this attention giving that I’ve dedicated my self to, and the art of listening is a part of all of that too.

Chris Baran 5:55
Yeah, there’s one and I can’t remember the language or whether it was our indigenous tribes or whatever. But there’s this saying that they have this as I see you. And to me, that’s all about this connect that you have, and you can make with people because, you know, there’s that side of you whether you have a skill set that other people might perceive as extraordinary but that often can isolate you because you don’t feel you’re approachable but the moment that they can see that you’re authentic and and just can connect with them and listen to them. That it’s it’s such a powerful thing and powerful skill would you call that a skill or or attribute that you could have? So I just want to thank you for having me.

Ann Mincey 6:44
Thank you, I believe it can be honed and I think over the years we’ve all just as you have honed all the skills that have won you the awards that are sitting just behind you this is a skill I don’t do hair, but it was a skill that I could learn in enveloping people into my world and me into theirs.

Chris Baran 7:04
sort of that perfect segue I might add though, because you said you don’t do hair but I don’t know of anybody else in our industry that knows you for more than the knows anyone more for hair than you because you know as particularly in in the Redken world Redken people that know you? You were even the spokes considered the spokesperson for Redken that carried on the the legacy that Paula had cetera. But I want to talk about your beginnings because I remember being so enamored with you, I think it was I can’t remember 77 or something. And I was this young punk from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and we thought we were pretty damn good at our salon. And I remember going to the Redken Sypmposium of those called the International Symposium, I believe it was at that time. And they had I think they were the yearly if I remember correctly, they were always in January. And was it the Bonaventure Hotel or something? I think they had smaller ones but then they transferred over to the Bonaventure Hotel. And, and I remember going into one of the classrooms and you were out front and I think you had a silver platter it had this box on it with all of these supplements around it and you were my very first meeting with you was you were Annie think well I think it was Ann but am the Ms Mincey the Nutralon girl, the Nutralon girl and I don’t even know if I’m using the right terminology for now but tell us about that. How did how did like Where were you at before getting involved in the hair industry? How did you get involved with it and then how did happen with Redken and Nutralon and by the way, so that every tell everybody what Nutralon was so they’re not wondering if it was some magic hair color potion.

Ann Mincey 9:04
It was something that was ahead of its time I know that nutrition. Plus salon was the brand name Nutralon that we gave to a multivitamin multi mineral and a protein powder was a supplemental, good for hair, skin and nails kind of product line that Paula Kent wanted to get out into the market knowing that if we can build healthy skin and nails from within because of our nutrition, then our products work even better on good healthy, flexible, shiny hair. So that was the whole marketing aspect of this thing. And I came in. I was in a salon in Dayton, Ohio. I’d come home from Oklahoma where I went to college, got married early there got divorced and my dad always told my sisters and me. If the bottom ever drops out, you can always come home, come home so I took him up on it. And I went home in about 1974. And a friend from high school had opened this very cool salon with 13 Very cool young designers, and it was called Designers Loft. And I was hired as the receptionist. And it was in that salon that our Redken salesperson, Bob Richmond, owned Hairdressers Supply in Dayton. And he came in one day to sell us our Redken products. And in the meantime, he said to me, there’s a job at Redken, and you would be perfect for it. And it was a representative of this Nutralon line. Well, I just got my degree in home economics. And I thought, well, that’s sort of fits, you know, I’ve got biology and chemistry behind me. And so I applied for the job did the interview and got the position as a field rep, driving my car, all my earthly possessions in my car, and going from state to state hotel, to hotel airport to airport selling Nutralon. And we would go into salons. I remember Jim Marshall, Jim Marshall at Marshall’s Beauty Supply, he was just such a supporter. And he would get me booked into all of these really upscale, wonderful Redken kind of salons. And I’d go in there with my blender and orange juice. And I would mix up protein drinks for everybody and teach them the Redken Nutralon way of nutrition and sell the product. And I thought the other I think there were 11 of us in the field doing that. And I thought everybody else was selling and teaching and doing it all. But it didn’t work. No, in 1975 there was not this wonderful wave of wellness and wholeness that we have now. Nobody in the salon wanted to take these nor did they want to sell these to their customers. And so after about two years, I lived on the road, two years, Paula finally said, we’re going to have to pull the line, you know, it’s just not working for anyone. And I said to her, if you pull the line, I lose my job. And I’ll have to leave Redken because I’m not a hairdresser and I can’t get on stage and you know and do a color, perms and all the things that you guys were doing back in the day, those days. So she said to me the line that changed my life in that moment was Why don’t you change your message from you are what you eat to you are what you think and start doing inspirational motivational messages for hairdressers around the world. And that’s literally what happened then, as it rolled out. At that time. There were people there were women like Jean Smith and Eve Prang and bless her, Katarina Vanilla from Boston, Paula Standish from Redding, Pennsylvania. The those women were on the stage but no, but everybody was focused on hair. No one was just doing personal development stuff as we know. And that’s where I put my foot in there, Nutralon went away. And I started developing these “take care of you first” messages before you pick up your blow dryer or before you mix your color in your bowl and with your bowl and brush. And that seemed to stick for 40 years. That’s what I did.

Chris Baran 13:29
You know the and see there’s there’s gonna be people out there. I don’t know how, but just don’t know who Paula Kent was. But she was this magical person that was so powerful and so strong in our industry and really helped to change our industry to where what I loved her message was always hairdressers are smart, because everybody thought before that hairdressers are just dummies, all they’re doing is they’re just a bunch of crazy people. They won’t be able to do anything but they just we never had the knowledge. So she was the one that went and probably with a whole bunch of other people that were around like Jerry, Jerry Reading at the time. Hence the name Redken that that went hairdressers are smart. They just don’t have the information. And I remember going to LA the first time I was at SC Golden Company was our distributor and they always looked after us. So to the nth degree. And I remember what I can’t remember whether it was Kent or Art Erickson that said, You’ve got to go to the Redken Symposium. So we didn’t know what this Redken Symposium we knew Redken we had Redken in our salons. But we had been to the some of the things regional seminars, we had our little seminars that we had within there but never had been out of the country never went there and that what really changed for me was when we went to those international symposiums. And they talked about not only how smart you were in, you can do science. And you can understand, and I never forget how that I don’t think David was with us yet, but how he would always make sure that you could understand the science part. But it was the people that grew you as a person. And, they developed you personally. They develop you with business, and then they developed you with skill. And to me, that was the magic that I think that happened at that that nobody else was doing. And you were a big part of that was the message that she gave you and how Paula had the foresight to say, You know what, you just need to change your message. And you think about how shall that woman changed us all? Yes, true testament to how she was really put on this earth to make change and to help people. That was, that was awesome. So So now to that point is like, you do a lot of that now, right? You’ve kind of shifted away from from not shifted away, you’ve shifted. And that’s what I, I always love when people say that. What’s the word there that I always always hear them say that you have? No, I can’t remember what the date because they said to so many people around us, they’ll always say, you’ve done this, you went from this, you went to the next thing and you went to the next thing. All it is just an evolution. You just find the next thing that you really enjoy and love doing and you do that. But you’re doing it, I know that you were doing Heart Math, you still do Heart Math. And

Ann Mincey 16:40
yes, I do with when Mary Wilson and I do our destination rejuvenation retreat each May, in Laguna Beach, I always bring a piece of Heart Math into that because it helps us to connect our heart rhythms with the way that we think and create and communicate. And when we are in fear or anger or frustrated or disappointed, or all of those things that can tend to really build up especially in the way the world is today. And coming into the holiday season, we have to remember to that sometimes patience get short and clients don’t show up on time. And you know, it just sends us into sort of a reeling. But HeartMath teaches us that when we breathe, and when we are grateful and feel grateful inside for someone or something or some experience we’ve had, all of a sudden our heart and our brain begin to be in sync with they are in sync then we have the kind of positive relationship building the positive create creativity we need and want and the communication that is so vital today. So yes, HeartMath has been a very big part. The last five years, I think before I retired from Redken. I sort of deemed myself as the chief spiritual officer of Redken. And I went out under Pat Parentis blessing to all of our elite salons and gave them the gift of this HeartMath training. And I think in the end, we trained over 2500 of our elite salon stylists in their salon owners in this technique of breath and gratitude. Yeah, yeah.

Chris Baran 18:26
You know, you hit you hit an amazing spot right in there right now. Because I think there’s so many people that are out there particularly further back in time, when, when everything was going great guns and there was none of the stuff that’s going on in the world right now. And everybody went, Oh, well, this, it, I’m gonna perceive that as woowoo stuff. I’ve always loved one of my business cards, anything that has to do with, with, with life and changing your mind and so as woowoo but the reality is not just woowoo it’s how you have the control over you and your body with your mind. And you and another magical word that you say in there that will give you in my mind my personal opinion, whether it’s true or not. That will shift you from whatever state of negativity that you’re in into a more positive state more relaxed, probably helping you to live better, longer. Yes, it’s simple gratitudes.

Ann Mincey 19:29
even the smallest things in life now the other morning, my dear husband who I adore, brought our oatmeal we have oatmeal every day in these ceramic bowls. And when you get to the bottom of the oatmeal, your spoon sort of scrapes along these ceramic bowls and it’s just an irritating sound on the chalkboard. Yes. And I was sitting there and Max was across the room and he was doing his end of oatmeal journey at the bottom of the bowl and I just got irritated At that moment, it I just felt myself saying, or maybe it was a holy spirit’s saying to me, Ann just be grateful you have a husband that can feed himself. Yes. And it’s those kinds of moments that we can be aware of turning whatever the that little frustration thing or that irritation, or when someone pushes your button, and we all have those buttons, when that happens, just to stop, take a breath, and find something in it that we can be grateful for. And it’s not that not only shifts the energy in the room, but it shifts our own energy. And all of a sudden, now I look at this man, and I am just so grateful. Not only can he dress himself, he can feed himself, he can go to the gym, he could drive the dog in the around, you know, I mean, it’s just, it just opens up a whole wide avenue of gratitude. So

Chris Baran 20:57
I remember being in Italy, and there was just some stuff, you know, you always got to show there’s always stuff going on. And I remember there was about five of us in this taxi, jammed into this small little European taxi. And we are making this long way to this dinner. And, you know, all of a sudden, everybody started to just, you know, I pardon my language, but I call them the pisser moaners. Right. And so everybody just started, is first of all started with a niggling and I’m sure that those of you listening, if you’re out there watching this, you know exactly what what Ann and I are talking about there, all of a sudden, somebody starts off with somebody negative. And then it turns into some if somebody starts moaning and complaining, and that’s why I call it the pisser moaner group, and then you do it. And then it’s almost like misery loves company. And you just can’t you you say yeah, and then there’s this and then there’s that. And, and you know, it’s interesting, we started to go there. And I had just started with my coach Jason Everett. And, and, and every time that we’d start, we would say, we’d have to we’d say, our gratitudes here’s what I’m grateful for. And, and then I had just started this, he made me start this book. Well, that made me but I wouldn’t have done it if he but he suggested start your book, get up every morning and write down your gratitudes what here’s what you’re grateful for in the day. And he says you got to write down 10 things. It’s okay, if some of them are the same as what you did yesterday. Just don’t go back and read what you said and do that again. So I remember being in this taxi, the pisser moaner group was starting me included. And all of a sudden I just said, I turned around, and I just said okay, everybody 10 things you’re grateful for. And we just went around and everybody went around, even if it was just ungrateful for my dog or my cat. It’s just funny how all of a sudden, everybody’s attitude just changed. All of a sudden, we were grateful for what everything that was around us. And yeah, you’re gonna have little niggly things that can bother you. But it doesn’t mean you’re going to go away and they’re not there. But just how you can affect you with your mind.

Ann Mincey 23:05
That’s exactly right. What Max and I do before we go to sleep every night is give three

Chris Baran 23:09
I don’t want to hear this. I want to

Ann Mincey 23:12
go there. But we do. We can be we give each other three thanks from the day. Oh, yeah, I can be the slightest thing like you said, or they can be monumental changes that have happened in the day. Today. I’m just grateful for this gorgeous sunshine that we have. And that will be one of my three things tonight. One other thing too before because our Thanksgiving is coming. My family always wanted to show this. We always have this little thing. And it’s an acrostic and so at the dinner table after the Turkey has been picked over and the pumpkin pumpkin pie has been eaten or built up a little bit. Right before everybody falls asleep. We go and we will list something starting with each letter T.H.A.N.K.S and then go around the table and everybody gets to share what they wrote on their thanks list for that particular Thanksgiving. And it was funny one Thanksgiving after Tom Hanks was the Academy Award winner I think for Forrest Gump. My very clever brother in law said I’m thankful for Tom Hanks and that was it. Oh so that’s an idea that if anybody wanted to pick up on it for this Thanksgiving to do with your friends or your family around the table and I can promise you that when everyone starts expressing out loud what they’re grateful for, with this little prompt, it does elevate levitate the entire room

Chris Baran 24:44
and can get emotional to remember it can get very emotional because all of a sudden you tell somebody how truly grateful you are for them and that sparks emotion and and it was I mean it was watching On, they had a gentleman that was on TV. And that during the news and quite news, I can always call him getting more so that your book reports than they aren’t news. But nonetheless, they had a gentleman that was launching this book. And it was a children’s book, and they were talking about that it’s okay to feel meaning that, you know, men are raised up that you’re not allowed to cry, because, you know, man up, you have to do all those things. You know, women are supposed to be crying all the time. But it’s, it’s, it’s not true. We’re just human beings who feel. And if you don’t let those feelings out, and you don’t let show emotion, I mean, first of all, I mean, you know me really well that I first of all, I cry at cartoons. So you know, it doesn’t take much to get me to cry, but if somebody is showing appreciation, it just shows that in own Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shows how you need to fit in with your family, that need of, of belonging is really there, and when you can show appreciation that takes it to another level. So I really appreciate you like, so I want to go from there. And then I want to talk about because you also about personal development than I, most people, if you say to the average person, I need to get some personal development, or you should go on to a platform of personal development. You know, when somebody said that to me, and I was even talking about doing it, I had to look, I looked it up and I got up one person’s opinion. What does personal development mean to you?

Ann Mincey 26:32
wholeness, wholeness. It’s not simply I think for me, it is. Trying to reframe this, I was going to say it’s not simply what I want to say is that it is considering physical, my body, mental, my mind, emotional, my relationships, financial, what do I do with my money? Earn? How do I give? How do I invest? How do I save? And the last one that always comes last, but actually should be first and that’s the spiritual, right? So it’s, I look at personal development, how can I each day, when I put my feet on the floor, give some kind of attention some kind of time to developing each one of those areas of my life. So that there’s wholeness here, I’m not so much of a gym rat, that I’m on my yoga mat every single day. And I forget the fact that I need to call my sisters and check in with them and develop that relationship,

Chris Baran 27:39
and manage my finances and make sure my family is taken care of, or that I’ve got money set aside for the future so that I’m not a burden on somebody later in life. You know, those are, you know, you said such it was so profound when talking about “whole”. And you know, it was quite frankly, and I’m, you know, I’m My name is Chris, and I’m not well, actually, I tried to be a perfectionist, which I’m not. But the reality was, I always thought being a perfectionist that I should say, Yeah, I know what personal development is. And it wasn’t until I actually went on to the Googe, as we call it. And I looked up personal development, and it was two kinds of trains of thought number one was, is you’re just developing yourself personally, I need and am missing this. I seek education to get elevated in that area on things that I missing. That was number one. And number two, is the area that you just put so profoundly was it fits into those five kinds of areas, if I got my numbers, right, that it’s not just one thing, you can be financially set. But if your relationships are breaking apart, you’re not personally developed. So you you’ve got it, what are you doing to work on those other things so that you’re developed as a person whole, feeling good in all areas, or in most areas, because you’re always going to be working on one or more? Yes,

Ann Mincey 28:58
it’s so true. And since I’ve moved to Oregon, and since I married a pastor, more of the spiritual part of my life has been my focus, because for all the years that I was out, traveling, as we do on the weekends, and not being able to get church on Sunday, and all of the things that I can do now, I was feeling a real void in that area of my life. Although I you know, I would practice as I could on the road. But now, I have a real focus and it has been important. And I think it’s important for all of us to know what are what our spiritual gifts are, where are we most gifted and where can we invest those gifts so that we do feel this wholeness spiritually, and so it’s been interesting to go on line and find different spiritual gift assessments little you can take and these some are very extensive spiritual assessments, spiritual gift assessments, and they tell you your Your focus is women. Well, that wasn’t a surprise to me, because for all these years, we worked in a world of women for the most part in the salon industry. But your focus is family and marriage. Well, that never would have happened for me if I hadn’t gotten married and moved out here. So I think that that sometimes we think that we are set in our, in our gifts. And yet, there may be a gift that has been yet to be unwrapped and developed. And that’s what the exciting thing is, when I take these assessment, and I see that I, that I have this longing to, to minister to widows, women, yes, but the more concentrated area are widows. And so these are the things that I’m discovering now in that area of personal development that we’re talking about. So there’s always something to unfold, and something to unwrap and dig into. And it’s never ending,

Chris Baran 31:00
you know, because I think that, you know, there’s people out there that are spiritual, and they have their connection with their maker, etc. But it’s so so important to not turn off to the fact of the Spirit that you have within you. Yeah, you know, because we all have the spirit, that’s that thing that comes out when you walk into the room. And I’m not talking about charisma I’m just talking about, you can tell when somebody has a good spirit, like you’ll say, that person has an amazing spirit, because of the way that they they help others or the way that they just help mankind with charity, or the way that they support somebody else in a need, or just buy them the way they are as a human being. You know, and I think that’s really important to people. So just if something happened to you in your life, that you may be not as if you do putting it as one religion that you’re not just focused on. That’s not the only spirit that there is. But there is a part of that as well.

Ann Mincey 32:03
In our friend, Charlie Miller from Edinburgh in Edinburgh, but say he would probably say about you, Chris is one of the good ones.

Chris Baran 32:14
Yeah, he was a

Ann Mincey 32:15
good man you’re describing is one people who are one of the good ones, the spiritual connection, you can tell you

Chris Baran 32:23
always know them. Ann, I asked her and just for people listening and watching, I asked about this before the program, because we always tend to look at people when they rise up, and they’re at a certain place in their life. And, you know, and we look up to that place, or maybe better we look across the road at that place. And but you and I being you know, close personal friends besides being colleagues, we we’ve talked about all kinds of the things that we have to do to go through to get where we are. And, and I was shocked, actually, because when anybody that’s watching listening right now, you probably are one of the finest speakers that I know, that knows how to use intonation and pitch and pause, et cetera. But you didn’t always talk that way.

Ann Mincey 33:22
No, when I was a kid, and some of you may have children of your own who have this speech impediment, but I spoke with what they call a lateral lisp. And I’m going to try to recreate and for you now, instead of saying my “sss”, out front, which I have been trained to do now, I would say my “sss” out of the sides of my mouth. Yeah. And very often, saliva for fit, would also follow the “sss”. So it was years in school that I can remember being teased. I don’t remember really having a lot of friends on the playground at recess. And in my second grade, Miss Alice Sue Jones. So this my teacher connected me with a speech therapist. And that was the beginning of my learning to project my “sss’ in my front teeth rather than out my side. Then growing molars, I got my molars in and I think that really helped to to fill in the gaps. But anyway, yes, I think I’ve thought of it often Chris and I thank you for the remembering right now that here I have lived my entire life as a professional speaker for the number one beauty company in the world and Redken being part of L’Oreal and that I started out with as this stammering shy, sort of round, less being a little preacher’s kid. Yeah,

Chris Baran 34:55
isn’t it interesting how I can remember probably even Being part of that group and I, you know, I started school when I was four. I was always the smallest kid. And the youngest, I didn’t even find out how my biggest thing was, when I was in school, I just, I always made sure I had the biggest and strongest friend was my best friend. And then nobody would pick on me, but the reality was, is anybody that knows that you’re kind of the outside the norm. bullying in school is just, I think it happens in nature. And somehow, we haven’t evolved yet enough as human beings, in order to not bully. And I think that’s such a problem in schools, it’s such a problem in our world, right now that I wanted to talk about that because, you know, is even for the parents that have some kind of a, a situation like that, that to help them get through that to know there’s another end to it. A secondly, is people that don’t, is to that we make sure that as your kids are growing up to be kind, and not to, not to bully, you know, it’s there’s always that kid out there that was like you and I and, you know, they can grow up to be and do great things. And, you know, imagine how much sooner that would have happened if they would have gotten a little help along the way.

Ann Mincey 36:21
So, yeah, good, good message. Yeah, God bless you

Chris Baran 36:25
for how you persevered and how you came through that. So the, I want to share something that we talked a little bit earlier about how you have this amazing gift of being able to talk to people, but look straight at them and be attentive to only them in the world. I remember and I’m going to bring this up. I know you and I have talked about this one other time. And I’ve thanked you for this. But I want to say it again, for other people that are out there. So you can give them the message that you gave to me. And I remember doing the melee show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. And we were in the coffee shop. And you and I were talking and this girl came up to me and paid me a compliment about the show saying whatever that she said. And I was always told that you’re supposed to be humble and kind of slough off compliments. And so I made something a really stupid remark that something to the effect of you should pit better people or something stupid like that. And then she walked away. And I remember you said to me, you never shake your finger at me. But you said, Chris, don’t ever do that, again, I remember your words, almost verbatim, you said that girl needed a hero. And you were a hero. And you robbed her of that. And I made them not have been those. But that’s what my whether you said it like that. And my message I got in my brain was I robbed her of that feeling. And I was, I just remember walking away and go, I will never, ever do that again. So the thank you for that. And I just want you to talk on the fact that that so much just a little bit more about the world and needing heroes, especially now.

Ann Mincey 38:13
The gift of receiving is a great gift. And that’s what she was doing is giving you her gift. We talk about, you know, these people that may be in our audiences, and they’d love to come up and see you in a coffee shop, but they’re so afraid that she had the courage to come approach you. And she gave you a gift of this compliment. And in that moment, at that time in your life, that wasn’t something that you were able or willing to receive. Now I know you do. Yeah, I think for all of us is something that we need to remember that when we shut off someone’s giving privilege by really just keeping their their compliment at arm’s length. It shuts that off. And then the next time there, they want to do it. Maybe they they’re too reserved, and they don’t and so then they shut off. They’re giving privilege. And so all we need to do is simply as you have now learned over all these years, it’s just simply say thank you. And what I’ve done is gone on to say what was it about what I said or for you what was it about that haircut or hair design that you will take with you so I receive your compliment? And I also am curious, what is it that you think you’ll do with this information? And that allows them to give us even more gifts because then we know how powerful our message is or isn’t. But yeah, as a wonderful, powerful moment. And yes, we do. need heroes. And we need to find things throughout the day where we can be kind, as you said, and we can give a compliment. And we can not be afraid to do so. And just put it out there and keep putting it out there. Because, you know what? If not us who? Yeah, yeah, not today when? Yeah. So I believe that that’s, it’s a wonderful lesson. Thank you for bringing it to mind.

Chris Baran 40:28
Well, thank you. And number one, if that girl is ever watching this podcast, I just want to say I’m sorry. And thank you. So that was great. Because I think that right now, especially now, that with the kind of the world and the way it is and so divisive, I think that if we can just have more heroes that are out there that are willing to listen help, even just to sometimes all that is just listening and not saying anything, when when people want to spout and I just think we’d be in a heck of a lot better place.

Ann Mincey 41:02
May I just interject something here about the whole idea of being divided. Our neighbors, Patti and Bill were given tickets to see Michael Bublé. The other night downtown at the Keller auditorium, moda arena here where the Blazers play their basketball games. And in the middle of the concert, Michael Bublé, looked around 10,000 people, we know what that feels like. 10,000 people surrounding his stage and he said, Look at us. He said people say that we’re divided. But we’re not divided. Here. We’re all together here. And I was watching the University of Oregon football game the other day, those kids in college work screaming for their ducks, and they will not divided. So I think we need to put our attention on these areas, these arenas, these congregations, these seminars that we do, where we look at an audience and we are united in the moment and be a part of the uniting rather than the conversation of dividing. And I think we can we can truly in the salon can be a conduit of peace. I did a speech once in Geneva, Switzerland, at the U N for a group of women and they were all about peace. And the topic of my theme of my program was the peace of beauty And the beauty of peace. And so I just think that we can be a part of the peacemakers by speaking words of truth and kindness and joy and generosity and gratitude. And do that through every client who sits in every chair, in every salon, in every country around the world.

Chris Baran 42:54
Truth You know, I was doing a program that we’re sort of back on the road again, we’re back in salons back doing seminars and so on. But I really think that you know, when I look at the people that are coming in to the salons now or that are going to events that you’re teaching at, first of all, I just find that them walking into the room and doing a can I hug you and then getting an accepted hug back. And just that human connection, this is something that I think just pulled everybody apart when we’re you’re stuck in your house and there’s no human contact with one another and listen, I make my living with Zoom, I make my living with video cameras, etc. But nothing will replace human touch and human contact. You know, just and bring two people together just with a simple hug. You know, we have one of my business partners. Sam Shimer is he’s he’s like Harvard grad, but he’s he’s a hardcore numbers hardcore guy. And he went, I have never seen anybody any business with more huggy people. He always called his you hairdressers, but I went, you’re right. I know. But I know, other people outside of our business, are hugging too. So it’s not just with us, we could probably solve a hell of a lot of problems with a hug. So yeah, listen, I want to take him back. And because you remember the regional tours that we were on it, it was always the symposiums that we did it was on I think that ood years and then we would go out and do regional seminars, which is like a mini symposium. And then you would we would go from city to city I can’t remember there was 9,10 or more regional seminars we would do throughout the year. And we would always start and there was always these gags that would happening so if you’re listening right now, at the very beginning, we would do like plank that prank things on on one another. And then finally, it was getting bad. They said look, there’s no more pranks allowed until the last show And wherever the last show is, there’s no rule, no all holds barred, you can do whatever you want to do. I you know, and I’m bringing that up because I’m sure that I always like every episode that we do on here like to talk about a, an embarrassing thing of something that happened a road warrior story, something that was funny, or it was embarrassing, and you can talk about it right now or whatever. But I remember two things that came to my brain number one is because I’m Canadian. And Doug Kohler was the was the, the producer at that time, that was before Charlie Kennedy’s days. And Doug. He did this parody off for me in a slideshow that we had to put together on the McKenzie brothers with the, you know, Cooo, loo, coo, coo, coo, coo, coo, coooo! . And we did that that was on on TV at the time. And, and it was, and I remember I had my daughter’s it Peanut, you know, the Snoopy doll from Peanuts. When eye missing, you know, all beat up and drool all over from her having that for like, whatever it was 10 years or more, and I would take that was with me everywhere I go. That was my sort of my mascot. And then I remember I had always had it sitting on my tray. And I remember, I remember coming into the room that morning, or that night, that night, there was this message on the tray that said, and it was written up like, you know, phonetically. But we got dug Digi pay, or else you know, and so I was trying to get so I ended up having to pay something to to get dug back. And in the morning, there was I walked back in the room there was dog hanging from the ceiling, and I went home just crushed. And I remember Do you remember Frank Sunseri?

Ann Mincey 47:00
Oh my goodness. Yes. Yeah.

Chris Baran 47:02
He had this habit of when he would walk on stage. He would always I think I told this in one other episode, but it was just so funny. And it’s happening here right now because of the regional seminar. But he would always have this yet remember, we’d never had these fancy carts we just had like hotel trays with a napkin overtop, and you put your product on. And he had that in his hand. And we had taken alum, my cousin, my client had told me about this mix alum up so it’s gets really big, and then you put it in your mouth, it takes all the moisture out of your voice out of your mouth, and you turn like dipping your kink anything out. And we thought this would be so funny when we walked on stage. And he takes a swig of this and and because he go on stage, you say you do your opening, and then you take a swig of water. That’s what his normal pattern was. And then they think, Oh, this will be so funny, because now he’s going to take a drink of this. Lemon, lemon drink or whatever. Just before they called his name, he reaches over and we’re sitting backstage going No. And he takes a big swig of this alum drink and walking on stage go. Oh, oh, it’s just yeah, but they got me. They got me back on several occasions there as well.

Ann Mincey 48:16
Oh, it’s great fun. Yeah. What about for you? Days, too, so much of the business has changed. But I remember we had deal sheets that we would pass out to the audience. And at the very end, they would sit there with their distributor sales consultant and fill out their order form and collect them and go back to the hospitality suite. And we would sit around and count how many products How much money did regenerate from this seminar. And it was just such a team building faith building competence building time together, that we were in it. We did it together. And the audience loved it.

Chris Baran 48:55
Yeah. No, I there were there were good times still are. But there were certainly different times and good times. The you told me a story one time about you were applying for a TV shot. I can’t remember whether it was a host of a TV program or whatever. And I remember you telling me the story about the little voice in your head and little Annie. Before you went in to have this meeting with these big wigs. Could you tell us that story and how that transpired?

Ann Mincey 49:26
Yeah, and how fun it is. Now that Blair singer, one of our world class trainers has written an entire book about voice management, right? Yeah, yeah. I was in New York City. It was when Joan Lunden some of you may remember she was the host of Good Morning America and they had not hired a new person. And I thought to myself, Okay, I think I could audition for the host position of Good Morning America. And I was at the Hilton Hotel in New York and across the street was ABC TV. And so I called over to the TV station and ask for the name of the producer of The Good Morning America show. And they gave me the name, his name was George Merliss. And so and the phone number. And so I dialed, I was in my hotel room, I dial George Merliss, his number, and it began to ring. And before anyone could answer on that end, I hung up. And I began thinking about all of those what ifs? What if? What if they asked me what experience I’ve had in TV? What if they want a videotape of all of my experiences? What if I were hired what you know, and all of a sudden, I started getting those feelings in the pit of my stomach. But I was determined, and I pick up the phone again, and I dialed the number again, and lettering and I hung up again, scared to death. And then I realized that I had just finished a book called Big you, little you, and that every one of us have a five year old inside of us, our kindergarten remember your kindergarten picture with no tooth for that was the kid that keeps us very often, from doing the very things that we want to do the adult things we want to do. And in the book big you little, you may be out of print by now. It’s said to take your child, your five year old and lift him or her out of your body and sit them in a chair, and then begin talking to them. So that’s what I did. I lifted little Annie out of my body. And I sat her in the hotel chair next to me. And I could see her little face a little round face. Mommy used to cut my hair, my little Dutch bangs with, you know, down like this, that on Saturday night, because we went to Sunday school on Sunday, she would take the sides and put them up on bobby pins. So we would have some curls on the side for Sunday school. So here was little Annie sitting there in that chair with the silly hair, cut her little fat legs and sort of we’d be broke for eight. I don’t want to go George Merliss Why are you making me do this? And I said to her literally I spoke out loud. And I said Annie, Honey, I love you so much. And I know you’re afraid. And you’re allowed to be afraid cuz you’re little. But I’m not. I’m big. And I can make this phone call. And as soon as I do, I’ll come back and get you. Okay. And I can just see her going, okay, okay. And I left her in that chair. And I went back over to the phone and I picked it up and I called George merliss. His office, asked some questions. They answered them. And I didn’t pursue it. After that, I realized that that lesson was the whole lesson of getting or not getting the job was not the issue. The issue was like being to realize that I could separate my child like fears from my adult and dreams and aspirations and longings. And it was one of the greatest greatest lessons of my life. And I thank you for letting me replay that. Because it’s deeply emotional for me. Because there are still things in my future. I sit here at 75 years of age now. And I still think there’s more to do. Mary and I have used the three words over and over. And there’s more. And there’s more. And I look forward to seeing what my adult Ann wants to do at this stage in my life.

Chris Baran 53:47
Yeah, you know, I remember speaking of Blair, and how that correlation between what you just said and him. I remember him saying that the lesson sometimes the lesson that you need isn’t the one, the lesson you want isn’t the one that you’re going to get when you put yourself in, in times of duress. So he I remember him telling the story about how I think it was with him. And as Alan Walters, I believe it may have been somebody else but the way I remember it is with Alan Walters who was deceased now but I remember that Alan was staying in the room or the person that he was doing the presentation within it was what presentation was just on how to make a million dollars. And I remember him telling the story about how he was on stage on stage doing this pitch for all these people on how to make a million dollars. And this one guy stood up in the room who obviously had many millions of dollars and call them out and said you know as that I don’t think you know a damn thing that you’re talking about. And I’m paraphrasing these are not exactly the way it came out. But he said to him, I think that you need to I want my money back in Everybody was gone. Yeah, I want my money back too. And then so that was at lunch break. And he went back to the room that his boss was in. And he said, he said to him, here’s what’s going on. And then he said to him, would you have a million dollars? And he went, No. He says, well, then they were right, weren’t they? This isn’t first thing you need to do is make sure you go out and get a million dollars. But the second thing you need to do, the other thing you need to do right now is learn how to calm that thing down by admitting you didn’t have the million dollars, but you can still have the know how to do it, and you’re doing it on your own. And again, I’m paraphrasing some of that, again, and Blair, don’t hate me if I got it all wrong, but I just that one stuck with me is forever. The lesson that he needed to learn right then and there was that to be complete. He had to do those two things. So it’s funny how, what we want to life and the one that we want to do the thing that we want to do, sometimes we find out that’s not what we want at all. But the lesson we got was far greater than what we would have done by completing that particular lesson. Is that making sense, I don’t know if I were to not

Ann Mincey 56:07
know can you imagine being on Good Morning America every single morning having to get up at three o’clock? And

Chris Baran 56:13
I know I can’t, but I would have gotten up to watch it if you were there.

Ann Mincey 56:20
together and we wouldn’t have had this great community. Yeah, that’s true. That’s true. Every day.

Chris Baran 56:27
Yeah. Ann,, the there’s a couple of questions that I always ask. I ask everybody in this room, because I think it’s really important in our in our lives as first swag that first two questions. Actually, I want to ask you one other person one another personal question. And I like to ask, these are three kinds of questions I like to ask everybody just so this one’s about, so people get to know who you really are. You know, and anybody that knows you knows that what they’re seeing right now is what what you are but if if I talk to your sister, and and I asked I didn’t know you, but I was talking to your sister, and I heard about this Annie. And and I asked your sister who is Ann as a person. What would your sister say?

Ann Mincey 57:24
Loyal, generous, attentive to family. Always there whether on the phone on Zoom or in person, dependable to family family has always been my rock. And my sisters and I speak every single Sunday at five o’clock my time on Zoom. We’ve been doing it now for about five years, I went to a retreat and one of my retreat partners, a woman there said she talks to her sisters every day. And I thought, wow, I’ve got these two great sisters, ones in Mississippi, and ones in Ohio. And unless we would get together once a year to reunion or something we rarely talk got a birthday card or Christmas present but rarely talked. And now every single Sunday, Jan and Kathy and I speak we’re the last of our family to be together. And we just review the week. What are our concerns? What are our gratitudes? How are the kids what’s going on, and we end with prayer together. And it’s a really sacred, beautiful time. And it has really transformed all of us as well as our relationship with each other. So my sister Jan is the one that I thought about when you asked the question, she would say and I think my sister Kathy would say she’s funny. Yeah, he she brings out my humor. Yeah. And I’m happy for that. Yeah.

Chris Baran 58:52
Thank you for that. And that’s the way I know you as well, too. So and then there’s the two things. Number one is if you could grant a wish for our whole industry, you know, not necessarily something that would benefit you and I or in its unless we were included in that benefit. But if you could have one wish for our industry in its totality, everybody included? What would that be?

Ann Mincey 59:25
I would reflect on what I said about the beauty of peace and beauty. And it begins with each one of us. What is the beauty of peace within us? And what is the peace of beauty? And to take care of that first and then to take it into my home? The Dalai Lama says start here and then do your take care of your home and then take care of your community and then take care of your business. And so I would I would say really focus on this idea that we are peacemakers and the scripture says that lessons are the peacemakers, for they shall see God. And I think the more we set peace in our world in our individual worlds, that the more we will see what God is doing in the world, and it’s all good. Good. He created and said, This is good. He created us. This is good. So the more peace we can be, the more we will see his goodness. Yeah.

Chris Baran 1:00:26
Last question. Yeah, there’s, there’s so many things that are out there right now that in our business a few. The one thing that you that you feel that people, if they could just do, what would the thing be, that they could do or let go of to be more successful?

Ann Mincey 1:00:53
Listen, listen, listen, let go of having to tell your story. Listen, and I’m going to give you just a really quick thing that I’ve never had documented. There’s no scientific report that I know about it, but I’ve used it for almost 40 years. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. So the right side, the emotional side, the creative side controls the left eye. So if you and I Chris, were talking about something emotional, something about your family, something about your creations, something about your create a generation of ideas, I will look you in your left eye, I will focus on the left eye. If you and I are talking about something businesslike and all numbers like you were talking about that gentleman a minute ago, logical ABC of color formula, all of those numbers, things that comes from the left brain, and it goes to the right eye. So my, if there’s been a trick to my listening skill is that if someone is speaking to me about family, I’m going to focus on their left eye and stay there. And you can’t tell if I’m looking in both eyes or at the middle of your eyebrows. You can not tell when I’m looking only in one eye. But if you’re talking to me about business, I’m going to switch over to your right eye. And it’s just it’s been an interesting thing that I have held on to all these years. And I think that would be the one lesson that I would love to teach the industry is to listen, don’t worry about telling your story. Let the other person finish their story and their stuff. And, and just look in the eye that’s appropriate for the topic that’s being talked about in the moment. Hope this isn’t too complicated.

Chris Baran 1:02:57
No, it’s not at all. And you’re just allowing that person because so often we just hear their story, we want to add ours, but let them be the horse, let them be the hero, let them let them sit in that. That gratitude or sit in that knowing that they did something really well and let them sit in it. So to me that’s that’s their in you know, the one thing that I would add into the, into the repertoire of what you are. And firstly, I just want to say, thank you so much for giving of yourself as you always do and being on our head cases, podcast, but I just want to say thank you and to add in is that I think you are one of the most caring people that I’ve ever known in my life. So I just want to say Ann Mincey Ann Jetten now Thank you.

Ann Mincey 1:03:55
Thank you, my dear. When I would go home to Ohio and visit my mother and dad’s church on Sunday morning, tiny little church there was one man there Fred hardback, who would always come up to me and he would say, and pray for you every day. So Chris Baran, I love you and I thank you and I pray for you and Rita. Every day.

Chris Baran 1:04:19
God bless you, girl.