Spanx- the Feel Good Underwear

Can we be the spanx for our family?

Sara Blakely was a wannabe criminal defense attorney, shadowing her father at his trials when she was in school at home. After miserably failing the LSAT Exam twice, Sara took refuge in Disney World, hoping to get the job to play Goofy. She didn’t get it. Her parents divorced when she was 16. Her Dad would often ask his kids “What did you fail at this week?” to encourage them to try new things and to take a risk. She ended up selling fax machines door-to-door (for 7 years, hello!), trying stand up comedy, and realizing she most of all enjoys face to face sales (Getting There Gillian Zoe Segal, 2015). That is a rocky road to learning her passion!

Sara listens to Dr. Wayne Dyer’s 10-tape series How to Be a No Limit Person several times a year. Anyone who keeps tapes around is committed, right?! She invented spanx and started her own business at 27, with $5,000 of her own personal savings. She had a net worth of $1.2 Billion in 2020. Billion with a B. She is worth only hundreds of millions now, since the pandemic.

2012 Forbes named Sara the world’s youngest, self-made, female billionaire. Sara turned a pair of cut off pantyhose into a gigantic business success after about 3 years of overtime and weekend research, face to face peddling, hard work, and determination with her face to face skills.

What do spanx do? They hold it together, smooth us out, push it all together, and help us feel strong. They forgive the imperfections and help us to put our best foot forward.

We could all use a little of that- I’m not talking about buying a pair of spanx for your kiddies. I am talking about BEING the spanx for our family:

-Help smooth out the rough edges,

-Teach our kids to hold it together and push on when times get tough,

-Help our kids feel strong, and

-And forgive everyone’s imperfections (with some basic flexibility?).

We may be a future Spanx inventor, or they may be sitting at your dinner table!