Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

The discussion kicks off with a look at CODA, showcasing how opportunity can transform lives. McKay highlights the impactful work of building wells in the Congo, emphasizing the role of education in overcoming poverty. He shares personal stories about the limitations of being poor, before outlining his three markers of wealth: being debt-free, having savings, and giving back. Practical tips for cutting expenses and boosting income are shared, along with a strategy to pay off debts efficiently. Ultimately, McKay reminds us that life is far more enjoyable without the burden of debt.

In a gripping turn of events, a heroic rescue from a riptide illustrates unpreparedness, mirroring our financial habits. McKay emphasizes the power of small changes in spending to build wealth over time. He warns against the cost of procrastination and stresses the urgent need to learn about money, especially in today's inflationary climate. Practical examples, like the comparison between leasing and paying cash, offer insights into smarter financial decisions. Ultimately, he advocates for learning from past mistakes to transform your financial future.

Today, McKay explored the sense of entitlement on the Open Your Eyes podcast.  He starts off by introducing various examples of moments when individuals were and weren’t entitled, beginning with the story of a man who was tired of waiting for his flight.  He then contrasts that example with George Washington and his heroism fighting against the British army.  McKay notes that, like George Washington, we are entitled to nothing in life.  If we start to adopt this mindset that nothing is guaranteed to us, we would be all the more happy. McKay goes on to recall a story about a man who can sleep when the wind blows - a tale of preparation and diligence teaching us that things won’t fall into line unless we do.  Similarly, he argues that adversity is important because it forces us to be resilient and to take responsibility for ourselves - when we teach our children that life owes us happiness and success, they’ll hardly be prepared to face real challenges. McKay also talks about his work at a nonprofit where he helps children get involved in science at a young age to stimulate this type of growth mindset.  He draws this episode to a close by detailing the journey of Elon Musk’s Tesla company and its humble beginnings demonstrating that success isn’t just entitled to us, it’s made.The Finer Details of This Episode: The difference between working hard and feeling you’re entitled to somethingWashington’s heroic efforts in the fight against the BritishWhy we are entitled to nothing in lifePreparation and the “I can sleep when the wind blows” parableThe importance of adversityWhy growth mindsets encourage confidence and persistence The journey of Elon Musk’s TeslaQuotes: “Things like the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution came about because of character, determination, hard work and even some chance. It was the individual choices and actions of the people at the time that gave birth to the country where some of us live. They were far from entitled.”“The truth is that no one owes you or me a living, and no one is going to hand you or me a great life.”“​​I believe he had the mindset to persevere especially when things got tough. He knew they were not entitled to freedom. They had to earn it.”“Here's the thing: I worry that my children and you and me tend to think that the freedoms we enjoy, to speak freely, to worship in the manner we choose, to have free and fair elections, and many other things, were somehow bestowed upon us because we are entitled.”“Sometimes we think we are entitled; entitled to freedom, entitled to a happy life, to a job, to benefits, and all of the other things that we enjoy. But the truth is, we are entitled to very little.”“We must remember to prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.”“Kids who develop this ability to struggle through answers have less anxiety and stress, increased attention capacity, fewer symptoms of attention deficit disorders, more confidence, ability to make independent decisions, improved physical and emotional health, and they perform and have a better attitude in school.”“Remember, we are not just entitled to freedom of any kind, whether it be political, financial or emotional - it must be earned.”“Now is the time to work so you can sleep when the wind blows, whatever winds may come.”Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

Today, McKay talks all about action on the podcast, starting off the episode by recounting Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to Antarctica.  After two years of combatting ice, cold temperatures, and the ocean, Shackleton finally managed to save his team and bring them home.  McKay attributes his unlikely success to his willingness to move and set his plans into action, and points out that many of us overthink far too much and are paralyzed by our thoughts.  To overcome our overthinking, action is the best remedy - making moves, changing our thought processes, and cultivating what McKay calls our emotional homes are key to success.During the latter half of this episode, McKay introduces Larry Lemieux, an Olympic sailor who made the heroic decision to forfeit his pursuit of the gold medal to save his competitors drowning in the water.  It was his quick action skills that made this move possible - he didn’t overthink.  Likewise, McKay draws this episode to conclusion by detailing Sarah Lift’s decision to leave her abusive household at the age of 15.  He says that her fast acting, like that of Lemieux, changed her life and led her down a path to emotional freedom and financial success. Listen in today as McKay demonstrates that, truly, “there is power in moving and keeping your focus on the next necessary part of your life's journey.”The Finer Details of This Episode:Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 mission to Antarctica Why overthinking is a bad habit Why action assuages overthinkingThe importance of a healthy emotional homeLarry Lemieux’s heroic move at the OlympicsSara Lift’s decision to leave her abusive householdQuotes:“We let habitual thinking freeze us from time to time, and the way out of our situation, or to safety or success, just might be to move. Action is a powerful force, not only in our life, but in our minds.”“The problem with overthinking is it can become a habit, and soon we get hung up on relatively simple decisions.  We worry excessively, our mind tends to go into overdrive, and we even begin to think about our thinking.”“Overthinking can prevent us from taking action by keeping us trapped in circular thoughts.  When we overthink, we may be unable to separate facts and what we know for sure from the worries we keep telling ourselves.”“You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading your last one.”“Overthinking plagues many of us, and we can change the rumination going on in our life and our thinking by focusing on what's next.”“Stand guard at the door of your mind. Only build rooms for the people and technology that helps you direct your thinking.”Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

On McKay’s 50th podcast episode, he talks about the importance of staying in your lane, and opens this week by introducing the story of Sarah Blakely, the creator of SPANX.  He talks about her unhappiness as a fax machine saleswoman and her perseverance in the industry.  Only after dedicating herself to her position did she serendipitously find success in the hosiery business.  McKay notes that, although dedicating yourself to your craft in the face of unhappiness is no easy feat, giving yourself fully or staying in your lane is the most surefire method to achieve success. He goes on to recall the story of Dirk Nowitzki, the starting center for the Dallas Mavericks.  McKay remembers the moment when Dirk turned down high offers at other teams and chose to stay with Dallas - a prime example of staying in your lane.  He didn’t forego his path for the sake of money, but stayed true to his goal.  McKay concludes this episode by reminding us all that there is huge value in being loyal to others, to your calling, to your values, and that you will find you can travel faster, make more progress and feel better about who you are when you stay in your lane with confidence.The Finer Details of This Episode: Sarah Blakely’s journey to create SPANXFinding serendipitous successThe importance of giving yourself fullyDirk Nowitzki’s loyalty to the Dallas MavericksWhy imitation never worksWhy one should avoid worrying about othersFocusing on yourself Quotes: “You see too often in life, we don't stay in our lane. We think things are better doing what someone else is doing or want to shift strategy, because things are temporarily hard or something else seems a little more inviting.”“You develop skills and meet people that can likely change the course of your life. And on it goes.”“Give your full commitment to your relationship even though things aren't perfect.”“There is depth in anything you give yourself to fully.”“Staying in your lane is more than being focused, committed, or loyal. It also means you give yourself to what you were called to do.”“Stick to your lane until the time is right to add a boat or camper, and until then, smile.”“Now I've known people who are very good at staying in their lane in life. They just have this way about them. They're not worried about other people. They're not obsessed with what other people do wrong. They're just confident and observant and patient and comfortable with who they are.”“Next time you're tempted to be nosy or out of your lane, or critical of someone else or wanting to direct their life, say to yourself, ‘I've resigned from that job.’”“Every second you spend driving someone else's car is not spent driving yours.”Links: Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

Explore the transformative power of worthy goals through inspiring stories. Discover Coach K's insights on commitment and how setbacks can lead to success, highlighted by Chris Norton's journey from paralysis to recovery. Learn the significance of daily habits and the mindset required to focus on winning rather than fearing loss. With an emphasis on persistence and the importance of revisiting goals, this discussion empowers you to take control of your destiny and let go of the past.

Discover how personal energy fuels willpower and emotional sustenance through fascinating stories and scientific insights. Hear about the cautionary tale of a Bitcoin mistake that highlights the fragility of our resources. Learn the crucial role of variety in diet and exercise for enhancing well-being. McKay emphasizes that healthy habits and meaningful human connections are key to sustaining high energy levels. Uncover how energy can be drawn from stories and shared experiences, ultimately reminding us that true vitality often lies in our relationships.

In this week’s episode, McKay discusses the importance of an abundance mindset.  He opens the podcast by discussing Britney Bowe’s Olympic history and her decision to give up her spot in the 2022 Olympic trials to Erin Jackson.  This selfless act hardly granted Bowe a medal, but it led Jackson to win gold in the women’s 500 m speed skating event.  Christensen argues that this is a prime example of abundance thinking and grace.  Because humans tend to resent and envy the success of others, especially those in close proximity, Christensen urges the audience to replace envy and resentment with grace.  He then goes on to detail another Olympic tale between Mikaela Shiffrin and Sophia Goggia.  After Shiffrin practiced with Goggia’s skis and got her fastest time, Goggia gave Shiffrin her skis before an event in the hopes that she might be as successful in the competition as she was in practice.  The story exemplifies how abundance and grace can transform our attitudes and help others in a positive way.  In contrast, McKay then tells the audience about the tense relationship between Thomas Edison and his once student, Nikola Tesla. When Edison dismissed and admonished Tesla for one of his suggestions, Tesla quit and decided to patent his own ideas.  He eventually received the notoriety he deserved and was tasked with engineering Chicago’s famous World Fair instead of Thomas Edison.  McKay segues into the episode’s conclusion where he discusses the inherent value of personal worth and security that comes from an abundant mindset.  He closes out the podcast with a quick anecdote about Jesse Owens and Luz Long’s friendship that blossomed from the 1936 Olympic Games.  Long is rumored to have given Owens advice before his gold medal run, despite being Owens' opposition.  While Owens came out on top, the pair developed a lifelong friendship in the face of a disapproving Nazi Germany.  Long story short, McKay advises that if we truly believe that there is enough success and happiness to go round, prosperity will come.The Finer Details of This Episode:The story of Britney Bowe giving up her spot so that Erin Jackson could win GoldThe importance of rejoicing in others’ victoriesWhat abundant thinking isWhy we resent others’ successMen envy occupational success; women envy physical attractivenessWhy we envy close friends moreHow to replace envy with graceSophia Goggia gifting Mikaela Shiffrin her skis for an eventEdison’s scarcity mentality and how he devalued Tesla’s ideasThe inherent value of personal worth and securityThe friendship between Jesse Owens and Luz LongQuotes: “Every day, in most things we do, we have a choice.  We can see things as scarce, like the chances to win a race at the Olympics and decide not to help or cheer others on, or we can see things as abundant—that there is more than enough for everyone.”“I believe one of the most powerful characteristics you can develop in life, one that will reward you for years to come, is to rejoice in the other person’s victory.”“It’s common that our reaction to other people’s success isn’t always positive.  We tend to draw comparisons between what we have and what we perceive others are having—our thoughts get distorted and what they have grows in our minds and what we have shrinks at the same time.”“In one survey, more than 74% of respondents reported experiencing major envy recently in their lives.  Surprisingly, researchers found that we most often envy others of our own gender.”“When you take envy out of your heart, it needs to be replaced with something, otherwise the void will be filled with envy again.  So what do you fill it with? Grace.”“Most people are deeply scripted in what I call the scarcity mentality.  They see life as having only so much as though there is only one pie out there.  And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everyone else.  People with a scarcity mentality have a very difficult time sharing recognition and credit, power or profit.”“The abundance mindset, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security.  It is the paradigm that there’s plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody.  It results in sharing of prestige, recognition of profits, of decision making, and it opens up possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.”“Trust me.  Give your grace away, and soon you’ll know that when you truly rejoice in another person’s victory, you get more in return.”“When you give grace, you grow.”Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

There are moments in our lives when feelings of doubt or fears of failure discourage us from following our dreams or striving toward goals.  In fact, many of the world’s greatest success stories failed countless times before finally achieving success and notoriety.  McKay Christensen opens today’s podcast with Garth Brooks’ origin story, so to speak.  He details the failure and discouragement that inevitably forced Brooks to abandon music in Nashville for the comforts of his home in Oklahoma. After returning to Stillwater, OK, however, he realized that he no longer belonged in the town he used to find solace in.  So, only after heading back to Nashville for the second time and enduring additional bouts of failure and rejection, did Garth finally find success.  In the wake of signing to Capitol Records, Garth Brooks became a household name and the top selling act of the past two decades.  McKay goes on to remind us that, like Brooks, there is a right time and place for each of us to find what we’re looking for so long as we don’t give up.  He says that people often quit too soon because of hurdles and daunting challenges.  Christensen urges us to stop asking God to remove obstacles and tests from our lives, because they serve to hone our skills and strengthen us in the end.  After all, success is a marathon, not a sprint.  He then goes on to talk about snowboarding Olympian, Lindsey Jacobellis, who, after doing a trick that cost her a gold medal in 2006, she had to endure over a decade of failure until she finally won Olympic gold in the 2022 winter games.  McKay says that things rarely go as planned.  He looks back at who he thought he would become at the age of 20 and finds that he’s far from where he expected himself to be; and he sees this as a good thing.  Life is full of uncertainties, and failure is a necessary component for success.  Without it, McKay says we lack the mental toughness and wisdom that inevitably propel us to reach our goals in the end.The Finer Details of this Episode: Garth Brooks’ bouts of failure and doubt before finally achieving music stardomPeople often give up before their inevitable breakthroughHow tests help us find positive outcomesPlaying the long game is important (like the stock market)Ingrid Olsen’s story of praying for God to stop the windWhy we shouldn’t pray for obstacles to ceaseThe beauty in life’s uncertaintyThomas Adams’ struggle to find a use for chicle Why failure is a learning experienceHow Lindsey Jacobellis won gold at 36 years of age in the 2022 Olympics after over a decade of failureQuotes: “One of the truths we all learn in life is that much of the good that comes our way comes our way in its own time.”“Never give up.  Keep trying.  There’s a reason you are where you are.”“If massive good didn’t come from grief and loss and even stupid mistakes, God wouldn’t allow grief and loss and stupid mistakes.”“Too often, we look so long and so longingly at the closed door that we don’t see the one that is opening.”“Because of the loss we’ve had or our mistakes, we feel unworthy to even think that the best is yet to come, and those limiting beliefs hold us back from what God has intended for us.  So let yourself believe that you are of immense worth, and your time will indeed arrive soon enough.”“When we’re under pressure, we never know what we really believe until our beliefs are tested.  We don’t know our capabilities until they are tested.  And perhaps in those tests, we are learning that we can do hard things.”  “So tests are good for us, because they affirm strengths and reveal weaknesses.”“If you’re trying to do something remarkable, offenses and reasons to take offense will come your way.  Too many of us get stuck or sidetracked, because we can’t let go of what someone else said or did.  Get over it.”“Trust your own voice.  This is extremely hard to do when you look around and make comparisons with others or when others are critical of your lack of success or make light of your dreams.  Trusting your own voice and not letting what people say or do affect your determination is essential for your mental well being.”“Gilda Radner said, ‘I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned the hard way that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end.  And life is about not knowing, having to change and taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing.’”“Now for me, I am not the man I thought I was going to be when I was 20.  I’m more flawed.  I’m more imperfect, and I still have challenges that come my way in life, but I’m grateful most days for those falls.  The person I’m becoming because of those imperfections is someone more complicated and capable than who I thought I would be.”“Would you like me to give you a formula for success?  It’s really quite simple.  Double your rate of failure.  If you’re thinking of failure as the enemy of success, it isn’t.  You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it.”Show Links: Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

We all have important races we are trying to finish in life. For some, that race may be to finish college, or get their business to the place they know it can be, or to raise honest and capable kids. For others, it might be to lose the weight, beat cancer, or survive and thrive after divorce. Whatever our race is, McKay reminds us all today that we are endowed with great talents, and that if we stay in the race, we can prevail and reach our full potential.He uses the story of Dale Earnhardt and the Daytona International Speedway as a metaphor to introduce today's topic, elaborating on some proven secrets of getting back and finishing the race in your life. These include unhooking the load that's holding you back, whether that's your past, criticism from other people, or longstanding habits. McKay also delves into the remarkable story of the never-giving-up American speed skater Dan Jansen who finished his race despite personal difficulties and years of failure by breaking a ten-year Olympic record. At the heart of McKay's message today is to not let life's inequities keep you out of the race, but to stay focused on your purpose and discover that you are actually meant to be driving in the greatest race of life – becoming who you are meant to be.The Finer Details of This Episode:Dale Earnhardt's experience on the Daytona International Speedway. Finishing your race despite adversity Proven secrets to getting back on the track and finishing the race A chemist, an electrician, and an IT guy get stranded after their car breaks down... The importance of rebooting in finishing your race Unhooking the boat of your past, your habits, or the criticism of other people Dan Jansen's race A lesson to not let life's inequities keep you out of the race—the story of Victoria Ruvolo Quotes"Few people understand the extreme danger of driving at such high speeds. And it takes courage - immense courage - to finish each race. But it was something that his Dad did 136 times in his career.""There is joy in trading paint in the bumps and bruises of the race. And it's there that you find out who you really are, you learn how to protect those in the race with you and secure the lead, and you live life more fully when you're in the race.""It is likely that we ordinary people are being asked to do extraordinary things and may even be racing right now without the right equipment or vision.""My dad took me aside and said, 'Son, if you ever want to win a NASCAR race, you'll have to unhook the boat you've been towing behind your car the last 10 races.'""Here he was in his fourth Olympics after enduring one disappointment after another and still dragging the weight of those falls.""As ridiculous as it may be to see a car in the Daytona 500 pulling a boat behind it, it is just as crazy that you and I still carry these mindsets of the past.""How do you win when you are in a tug of war with your doubts? Drop the rope.""As John C. Maxwell said, 'You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control what happens in you.'""One lesson I want my children and grandchildren to learn is that life is rarely, if ever, fair. The truth is that we must take control of our life now. There is usually no hero coming to save the day. Life is unfair. And usually, there is no referee to call out the fouls or offenses that come our way. I learned a long time ago that everything in life is not fun or interesting or easy."Show Links:Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen