Meet Samuel McKeown

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samuel McKeown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Samuel, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My Dad taught me, although not intentionally, at a young age the thought process of “Don’t Duck, Lean In. Dad worked nights and I rarely had long periods of time to spend with him. One particular afternoon her was home, up and asked if I wanted to go to the ballfield and practice. Little League tryouts were coming up! Naturally, I was excited and said yes!
All was going well with the batting practice as he gave good instruction, correct bat position, choke up if I need too, stand in the batter’s box properly. All the things I needed to become a respectable hitter. We started with fast balls, and a few change ups. Then the unthinkable happened. My Dad threw the ball RIGHT AT MY HEAD! Of course, I did the natural thing, I ducked.!
Big mistake, because Dad had thrown a perfect curve ball, which broke down and in! Hit me right upside the head and put me out for a bit. The next thing I remember is Dad standing over me asking if I was ok! Did I want to continue? I said yes and all he said was “Don’t Duck, Lean In”! That day, although a little shakily, I learned to wait on the curve and the valuable lesson of leaning in to all the curves balls life throws at me!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

In early 2017, my wife Rita and I had several events leading up to a major move in our life. As a Pastor, we both knew God was calling us to a new and exciting time in our lives. We did not know who, what where or when. As in most Church settings there were some events which caused us major hurt, We were scheduled to attend a Conference in Atlanta, GA in May of 2017. We decided to make a long weekend out of it and go somewhere neither of us had ever spent any considerable time. Florida was the answer. We decided to find the least expensive. non-stop flights: Denver – Atlanta -Tampa – Denver was the result. (We were living in Cheyenne, WY at the time). Stepping off the plane in Tampa, while still in the airport, we looked at each other and istanly knew that Tampa was the area God was calling us. This was the beginnig of Sam and Rita Live, LLC. dba Alive And At Peace Coaching.
My specialty in the Coaching and Pastoral world is DISC. The best Communcicaton and Personality Profile assessment avaiable today. I am a Certificed Maxwell DISC consultant and have helped many individuals and companies to recognize their individual styles of communication and personality to grow and improve their lives. I have been able to incorporate DISC into my sales traing courses and into several areas of Ministry. When we are able to identify other peopels DISC style then we are able to communicate effectivley with them.
I have moved into Podcasting and have successfuly mentored several organiztions to start, maintain and monetize their Podcasts. This world gives me a Paltform which is my own and I am able to state my views without oversight from an organization.
I believe if we can think it or dream it, then God has fully resourced to attain it! This is were we decided on the Alive and At Peace business title. Sam and Rita Live, indicates we are fullty aware and living a God inspired full life. Alive And At Peace is a state of being and an active and energetic indicator of our lives.
How we do anything, is how we do everything is the foundation of all of our Coaching and Instructional courses and programs. We ecourage you to Live Intentionally and Be Blessed!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe the most important quality one can have is the art of being a true listener! This took much practice and focus on my part to become an active listener. Most people listen to respond and interupt at about the 17 second mark. A good listener, listens to hear and to undersand and then responds appropriately. Following up by repeating what he has heard and waiting to see if he has heard right. Then and only then can proper resonse be given. A great Coach knows when to listen, when to ask questions and what questions to ask. He must know the difference between Coaching, Mentoring, and Teaching as they are all important yet are all diffenent skill sets. A great coach will let the client know when they are moving from Coaching to another area of Mentoring or teaching. Practice listening skkills every step of the way! It takes self-control and sometimes note taking to become a great listener.
Learning to have true empathy in hurtful or stressful situations is the second valuable skill one should learn. There is a huge difference between empathy and sympathy. Sympathy will not serve a Coach or Pastor well. This is also a practiced skill.
Never fake it. I hear it all the time. Fake it until you make it! This is a dangerous path for a Pastor or a Coach to go down. The fact is you will never make it if you fake it. Never make things up, if you don’t know the answer, tell the client or parishoner you don’t know, but you will find out! Then make the effort to find out.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” is the premier personal growth book ever written. Every other book has an aspect of Hill’s work in it. The book is not what the title implies and many folks misinterpret this. For years I was made fun of in the Pastoral word for reading this book every year. That is until I ran Masterminds with several Pastors and they began to see the benefits of Hill’s teachings.
Hill has a simple formual for success and if one follows it, success will come. Most don’t and then claim the book and teachings are not worth the time. Everytime I run a Mastermind or do a teaching on “Think and Grow Rich” i learn more and I move towards my goals. “Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence, seem to enjoy insurance against failure” – napolean Hill.

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