We recently connected with Marcia McCray and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Marcia , so great to have you on the platform. There’s so much we want to ask you, but let’s start with the topic of self-care. Do you do anything for self-care and if so, do you think it’s had a meaningful impact on your effectiveness?
I have always worked incessantly and unhealthily. It was during the 2020 pandemic shutdown that I reached an apex of abuse to my body. I did webinars and workshops and spoke at virtual conferences. I worked myself to the bone, pulling all-nighters and not going to bed until 6 or 7 a.m. the following morning. I would have kept going after the all-nighters, but I would get nauseous being forced to go to bed. My health practices were horrendous because I sacrificed my health and well-being for the entrepreneurial journey. I was a workaholic.
By December of 2020, I literally was crawling to the “finish line” for the year. I got so burned out that I did not have the energy or focus to complete the last of my intentions for the year. By the end of 2020, I vowed that I would never do what I did to myself that year ever again.
I implemented a system for myself for 2021, making a conscious decision to focus on the three aspects of every human being. I set intentions on creating harmony between spirit, mind, and body. In 2021, I scheduled mini-vacations (or staycations) every quarter on my calendar. I would spend a minimum of one week on vacation. I also took an 8-week detox program, which helped me to concentrate on caring for myself and giving myself the attention that it deserves.
As a serial entrepreneur, I still practice the quarterly vacations and use the detox program, eating effectively to fuel my body with morning and nightly routines. Taking care of my well-being has enabled me to operate efficiently in my companies. I am well-rested, better focused (with no brain fog), and make decisions aligned with my core values and life intentions. My self-care journey has also allowed me to see my sweet spot in my business. In fact, this journey of taking better care of myself led to the development of our most recent company—The Executive Call™ (TEC). The purpose of TEC is to assist entrepreneurs (leaders) in creating a healthy alignment within themselves and their companies.
In September 2023, I did something unusual for the year as an entrepreneur. I took my self-care to another level. I did not take my quarterly vacation. Instead, I took a sabbatical, shutting down my four company websites, and hopped off all business-focused social media accounts. I have been an entrepreneur for over 17 years (which I have been full-time for the last 13.5 years). Deciding to take a sabbatical has been one of the most challenging decisions I have made, but taking it has forced me to stay on track, ensuring that I remain attentive to my spirit, mind, and body. Every now and then, the urge to skip self-care tries to creep in, but I have been able to fight against it. I can safely say that I am a recovering workaholic.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am the founder and CEO of Marcia McCray Omnimedia™ (MMO), a holding company with multi-faceted subsidiaries that offer products and services for business-to-business and business-to-consumer. Our mission at MMO is to create quality experiences that help people connect with themselves and others through the power of messaging, visual language, and touch. Each subsidiary falls under one or more of the previous categories. Our subsidiary companies are The Executive Call™ (leadership training company), The Brand Naked Agency™ (a bespoke branding and consulting firm), Where Art Meets Design™ (e-commerce company), and Hug-a-Plush™ (custom and mass-produced products).
What is most exciting about MMO is that our companies work to inspire passion, creativity, and individuality. Each one helps people connect with themselves and then others, balancing and integrating logical and creative thinking.
One of our core values is to orchestrate and maintain harmony between our personal lives and business, so in September of 2023, I decided to shut everything down to create a space for rest and rejuvenation and to assess the status of each of our companies, ensuring they are on track with their objectives and intentions. We are on sabbatical until late May 2024, and our website will be back in full swing.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities most impactful throughout my journey are to persevere, keep learning, and take care of yourself.
1. Persevere: Keep moving, and do not give up no matter what obstacles hit you. There will be many distractions that come your way. They can include:
a. Lack of money to fund your dream. Do not let money stop you. There are many free or inexpensive resources that can help you move the needle in your vision.
b. Naysayers who speak negatively about you and your dreams. Everyone has an opinion, but yours needs to be the loudest to drown out the negativity. Believe in yourself and your ability to succeed. Reframe your thinking. If you need help with this, contact a licensed professional (counselor, therapist, or life coach) or get involved in a community that will support you emotionally. It is okay to receive help. The first step is to acknowledge that you need it so that you can move forward in your life.
c. Noise (listening to different voices, especially from social media). Focus on the mark that you want to leave on the world. What do you want to leave behind when you leave this earth? Live YOUR best life instead of living vicariously through some influencer’s life.
2. Keep learning. Always learn new things—especially in your industry. You can also learn new things unrelated to your industry that will help expand you. Be open to growing because you never know—you may be able to use some of the things you have learned as a foundation for building something new in your business and or life.
But beware. Ensure that as you are learning, be careful not to fully adopt others’ thoughts as the end all and drown out your own.
Also, keep learning more about yourself. Learning about yourself will help you determine your core values in your life—what you will stand for and what your non-negotiables are. A few great resources are Clifton Strengths Finder®, VIA Strengths®, 16 Personalities®. Many of the assessments share in more detail the qualities of your results. Take notes and read through them.
As you learn more about yourself, determine if the qualities from the assessments are accurate. If they are, try jotting them down in a notebook/journal (or even Post Its®), look back over them regularly to remind yourself of your qualities, and see if there are any connections between them.
3. Take care of yourself in the process of building. Whether you are building your life, career, or business, caring for yourself is necessary. Have you ever heard the saying that in an emergency, put your oxygen mask on yourself first before helping someone else? Well that saying rings true. You cannot help anyone if you do not care for yourself first. I am not referring to selfishness. I am referring to not ignoring yourself and your needs as you go through life. Many times, we abuse ourselves to take care of others and forget that we have needs that require addressing. It is not healthy to constantly give out to others without being replenished yourself. If you are giving out or working without caring for yourself properly, something or someone will suffer, and more than likely, that someone will be you.
We are spirit, mind, and body, and all three need to be taken care of. If people or your career/business are constantly tugging on you, learn to say one word. No. Create boundaries for yourself. Your life and career/business are not the same. They are two different aspects and need to be considered separate. If you find it challenging to care for yourself, you may need to get to the root of the issue(s). Seek professional help to assist you in navigating issues that may be holding you back.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
There were so many books I read over the years, but one of the books that I read about 16 years ago that created such an impact was The EMyth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.
The first nugget of wisdom that I gleaned from this book was that a person needs to change first for their business to change.
A large majority of success comes from mindset, as the lesser percentage is on what you know and the strategy and execution of it. Our brains and thinking are powerful assets that can work for or against us. Beliefs about ourselves and our businesses/careers affect everything in our lives, causing us to make good or bad choices.
The second nugget is that many people make their businesses their lives when, in actuality, the two are separate or need to be considered separate. I realized this the hard way when I gained so much weight and ignored my health, living my life around the business in my entrepreneurial journey, I recognized that having a business and a personal life needed a divorce.
My journey as an entrepreneur has consisted of mountaintops and valleys—which have gotten me to where I am today. Taking care of myself while building harmony between my life and companies has taken years to create, but those experiences were worth it.
The hustle mindset regarding work is the hallmark of being busy and important. The United States, where I currently reside, emphasizes hustling, grinding, and working constantly. Sometimes, just being is all we need instead of living and attempting to thrive in hustle mode.
I want to reiterate the four things I mentioned throughout this interview—work on your mindset, persevere, keep learning, and take care of yourself as you build your life and business/career.
You can serve others more efficiently—whether at home, at a job, or in your own business—if you put your oxygen mask on first.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marciamccray.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marciamccray
