Inside the Mission -
Strength, Resilience & a Made Bed

July 6, 2022

In this edition of Inside the Mission, we bring you Mary Plummer, a former student of CCKids' Road to Success program, who was recently signed with Page Parkes Modeling Agency.

Mary wanted to share more than her good news; she wanted to share her secret to happiness - a secret that has helped her succeed in every aspect of her life. We thought it was worth passing on:

I wanted to share my big news in hopes of inspiring someone. I thought about writing the news and including a few pictures, but I’ve seen those kind of success stories, and...well, I’ve never been inspired by them. Here’s what I will tell you:

I make my bed every morning.

It takes two minutes, but throughout the day I remind myself that my bed is made. Silly, right? Just wait, there’s a point here.

Throughout my life, so many things have happened that should “make me stronger”. But hardly any of those battles ever made me feel strong. More often, I was weakened. In truth, I’ve never fully recovered from some of them.

I realize now that it wasn’t strength I needed. It was resilience.

I am 31 years old, and man I wish someone told me to build resilience when I was 18. So if you’ve never heard it before, I’ll tell you today. Build resilience. Strength can’t hold a candle to resilience.

Resilience taught me to stand taller, talk louder, and fight harder to accomplish my goals. I learned to persevere and never give up. And the biggest lesson I learned is to be comfortable - but NOT complacent - with hearing people tell you, “no.”

Don’t settle for the “no,” but also don’t be so fearful of rejection that you build an exterior that shields you from growth and accomplishing your dreams.

I always wanted to be a model and an actress. I never tried, because it was more important to protect myself from the "no" I was afraid to hear than to put myself out there. For many years, I searched in the mirror for strength, and when I couldn’t find it, I hated the image of weakness that I saw.

There is so much power in these storms we go through. Turns out, weakness is okay. Failure is okay. After all, success is the sum of failures. It’s not measured by strength. In this lifetime, I’ve faced a lot of adversity. And it was through those storms that I built resilience. That resilience paved the way for today.

I am a signed model and actress with two major U.S. agencies, Page Parkes Talent & Modeling agency and Evolve Artists Agency, in Los Angeles . I have two pending international contracts as well, and I’ve been cast in campaigns for three major clothing brands that will publish this winter.

Even though my life has suddenly become a dream come true, I still hear, "no" from some casting calls. Some auditions have no call backs.

You wanna know my secret to dealing with that?

Every morning I wake up, and I make my bed. It takes two minutes but throughout the day I remind myself that I made my bed.

So even on the worst, most disappointing days I get to come home to a bed that is made. And a made bed gives me courage and reminds me that tomorrow is going to be better.

Always make your bed. Chase your dreams, and never give up on yourself. You are worth the effort and energy. You are worth the time and patience.

This world has everything, but there’s no one like you. In the end it will all be okay! And if it’s not okay, then it’s just not the end.