Marcy McDonald
Marcy McDonald tells us that, “I’m the daughter of a genius father and a schizophrenic but loving mother. I’ve worked at a 6-figure corporate job, and I’ve hauled pounds of avocados on her back. I’ve dined in 5-star restaurants, and I’ve lived on beans and rice. I’ve lived in a house worth half a million dollars, and I’ve lived out of her car. I’ve had ups and downs and everything in between on life’s journey. I believe that if I’ve been able to learn how to be emotionally healthy, be intentional about my purpose, and be at peace—and happy—every day, then anyone can.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
I grew up in the 50s and 60s, in an entirely different world than we live in today. I was told by my father to be the best I could be at anything I did, and by my mother to be loving, kind, and creative. My parents divorced when I was nine, and we struggled financially because my mother didn’t know how to manage money. At times there was little to no food in the house. At one point, we were overrun by cats and fleas. On the positive side, I developed a strong work ethic and drive, so I became a high achiever at school. On the other hand, I had inherited my mother’s wild side, so the need to be the best was always in conflict with the desire to be free of rules and regulations. I was an entrepreneur much of my life, only turning to the corporate world when I became the single mother of a teenage boy. I got my dream job, creating high-end video lecture series, working with the top minds in America. But then the recession of 2008 hit, the company laid off half its staff, and I ended up working 80-90 hours a week for five years straight. By the time the company had recovered financially, I was firmly entrenched as a workaholic, still striving to be the best, still proving I was worthy by working so much of the time. It took its toll on me, and by the time I left my job, I was completely exhausted–emotionally, spiritually, and physically. I quit because 4 members of my family became critically ill all at the same time, and I was the only one with the resources to help out. After I got everyone settled, I decided to take a few weeks off before getting my next job. That turned into 10 months of traveling around the West in the U.S. I wrote a book on transformation, creating 70 neuroscience-based exercises to help anyone see their own thoughts and feelings more clearly–and then to change them. I did all the exercises, and for the first time in my life understood what it meant to become emotionally healthy. My coaching practice grew out of this. Eventually, I trained as an End of Life Doula–helping the dying and their families prepare practically, spiritually, and emotionally for death–and incorporated an end of life perspective into my coaching. I realized that it is only when we understand we may only have today that we are truly motivated to make the changes we need to live joyfully and purposefully every day. My role models are my two grandmothers–both were loving, kind, nonjudgmental, unconditionally loving, and always helping others however they could. My goal is to help as many people as I can become aware of the brevity of life so that they shift their mindset to become emotionally healthy and their lives to be purposeful.
Tell us something about your initiative/business. What is it about and how is it helpful for people?
I am a mindset and self-talk expert. I change lives by showing people what to pay attention to, what to ignore, and how to do both better. Most people pay attention to the things that make them unhappy instead of the things that make them happy. By using principles of neuroscience combined with what I call “Numbering Your Days”–looking at your life from the perspective of its inevitable end–I enable people to change patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting that have been blocking them from being happy, intentional, and mindful. I take them through a 90-day intensive program where we stack change through small, incremental shifts in our thinking and feeling. 90 days is long enough to break old, negative habits and patterns, and to create new ones that are healthier.
While the global pandemic of COVID-19 is associated primarily with adversities, it has also brought about a true boom in startups, with successful entrepreneurship in many countries. The pandemic has impacted all of us in one way or another. Would you like to share your experience on a personal and professional level?
I’ve actually been an entrepreneur for most of my career, and I was already consulting and coaching clients all over the world when the pandemic hit. Zoom was already a primary communication tool for me, fortunately! The one thing that did change is that I had been visiting people who were dying, along with my dog who is trained to visit the dying, and we weren’t allowed to see them any more. I remember early on trying to look through a window with my dog (who’s quite large) to talk to an elderly woman, but we could hardly see each other. Visiting my dog was one of the few joys remaining to her, so it was heartbreaking. Talking to people who are dying is challenging on Zoom, to say the least. But a conversation with a man who had been given a week to live and was burdened by regrets about his life is what made me add end-of-life elements to my coaching. He told me his life story and all the regrets he had, and I was able to honestly reframe his perspective so he saw himself in a different light–as a loyal, caring, and loving man. He (and indeed, his whole family, who were listening in) found peace for the first time in decades. He died a few days later. This experience made me realize that we can’t wait until we are dying to face any regrets we may have. We need to address them while there’s time to change. When we realize that we may truly only have today, we get enormous clarity as well as urgency to change what we can, while there’s time.
What has been the response of the users/consumers towards your venture?
I’ve been coaching and consulting on different topics in one way or another for nearly 17 years, and the last 7 have been focused on my mindset coaching. The people who have gone through my program are profoundly changed and deeply grateful as a result. Several clients have told me that they’ve changed more in 90 days with me than after decades of therapy. My latest book, “UnStuck Yourself: Daily Practice with the Right Tools Will Change Your Life,” became an Amazon bestseller in four categories within 2 days of launching, so I would say the response to my approach is positive!
How has your life changed because of your initiative/venture?
The most important change is really that I am now emotionally healthy as a result of the program I’ve created. I was the first “guinea pig” in my experiment to heal lifelong habits that might have helped me survive my childhood but that weren’t serving me as an adult! The second thing is that because I am happy and at peace, I create a calm center for those around me… so there’s a legacy impact. The third thing is that I live intentionally daily, so my life is balanced, joyful, energetic, and purposeful. It’s a wonderful way to live. Most people never get to see how much their negative self-talk sucks up their energy and happiness. I’m fortunate to live every day with the lifestyle and mindset I choose to create.
Do you have anyone who is the biggest support system in your life? Please let us know.
My family! I live with my son’s family, so we support each other, and the grandkids bring daily joy. My son and his wife are 100% behind my work. My sister, brothers, and stepmother always lift me up. And I have many wonderful, lifelong friends. So, no one person, and I’m grateful for all the support! I have always had a coach of one sort or another, since I started my business.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity? OR Share a motivational message for the audience/women who are reading this.
If I had the opportunity, I’d love to see every young person taught the tools to be aware of their mindset, how to manage their self-talk so it’s positive and healthy, and how to live in the present instead of in the worry, fear, and doubt in their heads. For any budding women entrepreneurs reading this, my message is that you are enough, just as you are. You are worthy. You are amazing. You are a gift to the world. And if something in your mind is telling you those statements aren’t true, know this: Your mind is lying to you. When your self-talk is true, you feel good. Pay attention to that!
Get in touch with her.
https://marcymcdonald.com; https://selfmasterytransformation.com; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068785427011; https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcymcdonald/; bit.ly/unstuckyourselfbook; https://www.instagram.com/marcymcmc/