Open Your Eyes with McKay Christensen

Today, McKay delves into the concept of becoming a person of grace and a leader who leads with grace. He shares an inspiring example of grace from the most recent Little League World Series playoffs. Like the little leaguers, when we extend grace to others, we become more inspiring. And that’s needed in our world today. While grace is incredibly motivational and encouraging, not many people actual...

On this week’s episode of the Open Your Eyes podcast, McKay talks about perseverance, how to adapt and overcome mistakes/failure, and why you should start doing ordinary things with excellence.  He opens up the episode with brief remarks about Walmart and the company's evolution. In 2010, when Walmart slowly started to fall to a new competitor on the scene, Amazon, they shifted their online m...

Decision making remains a core life skill that benefits you and those who learn from you for years to come. In this week’s episode, McKay breaks down the importance of decision making and teaches listeners how to become better decision makers themselves. McKay begins by citing 9/11 as an incident that highlights the critical importance of decision making. He explains how rapid decisions had to be...

In this week's episode, McKay discusses the importance of building and investing in your brand. We all have a brand which we create and build daily, and today, McKay shares the secrets on how to create that brand, how to keep the brand alive, and how to fulfill the purpose of whatever brand we create. He begins looking at the importance of brand building by sharing a story of the Superbowl and why...

McKay kicks off today’s Open Your Eyes episode by sharing his wisdom about failures and flops, specifically how some of the world’s greatest success stories followed in the footsteps of rather embarrassing failures.  Take Dick Fosbury, Brian Epstein, or Tiger Woods for example.  Even J.K Rowling was a homeless, single mother by the time she began to write the world’s most beloved childre...

Today, McKay reflects on the curves we all experience in the road of life and discusses how we can not only cope but also thrive when life throws us a curve. He discusses how leaning into life can make all the difference.  He opens up today’s episode on an unexpected note, recounting the trials and tribulations of the world’s famous eating contest competitors.  And while McKay doesn’t ex...

In the episode of Open Your Eyes , McKay discusses a grip that often takes hold in our life and directs our actions.  This grip, which McKay describes at the jaws of life, often lurks just outside our view and, little by little, changes the way we think, act, and live. What are these jaws?  Habits.  These habits can change our view of reality and over time pull us in a direction we...

On this episode of the Open Your Eyes podcast, McKay  introduces the audience to the practice of showing up. He opens up the conversation by sharing the resilient story of Jane Marczewski, America’s Got Talent competitor, 2-time cancer survivor, and beautiful singer. Despite all of the unfair challenges that seemed to hold her back, namely a long battle with cancer and an unexpected divorce,...

In this episode of the Open Your Eyes podcast, McKay talks about being a light not only in your own life, but in the lives of others as well. He opens up the episode with a story which exemplifies finding a light in someone else involving a midwife named Joanna and the message she received from her dead grandmother in a hospital room. McKay then goes on to alert us to the fact that we can all be l...

This week, McKay talks about aspects of the culture effect, including creating culture, maintaining it, and how to rescue it. He opens up with a story detailing Tonga’s devastating volcanic eruption and how the Tongan culture, which values respect and open-mindedness, helped the people weather the storm. McKay notes that, when teams or families have a strong culture, they will thrive and prosper,...

On today's episode, McKay explores the concept of happiness, including where to find it, and how to hold on to it. To intoduce this rather expansive topic, he opens up the show by reviewing Elizabeth Smart's story - her brutal experience getting kidnapped and raped, and her journey toward happiness. McKay says that, while it's true that happiness is partially dependent upon circumstance, we can al...

This week, McKay talks about how to speak so people listen. He opens up the episode with the story of Ronald Reagan’s powerful speech to D-Day veterans at Pointe du Hoc.  Great speakers, McKay says, ask questions to connect with the audience and help them feel like the message is for them. To remember and map their speech, good speakers break their speech down into manageable chunks, each wit...

What makes a speech remarkable and memorable? McKay answers this question in today’s episode as he brings to light examples of great speeches and teaches us how to improve our speaking skills. In order to connect with your audience, McKay explains that you have to focus on your audience, prime them to think in the same mindset, use stories to carry them along, and ask questions. The episode begins...

On today’s episode, McKay talks about how to turn the skeptics and critics in your life to supporters and partners.  He shares several principles that can help bring skeptics to your way of thinking.  First, approach everything from their frame of reference. Often the smartest person in the room tends to be the quietest one, because they first seek to understand.  He goes on to talk...

On today’s episode of Open Your Eyes , McKay talks about getting over obstacles or mistakes in your life.  More often than not, we find ourselves looking to the past and focusing on what we could have done differently or better.  McKay argues this is harmful behavior.  The only true way to overcome the past is to accept where you are, see your current circumstance as a blessing, and...

On today’s episode, McKay talks to the audience about the importance of faith, and begins by introducing the story of Desmond Doss and his unwavering faith and peaceful determination at Hacksaw Ridge.  McKay frames faith as a commitment to a choice, and the more we act on that choice, the more we reinforce our faith - reminiscent of Isaac Newton’s laws of motion.  Moving forward and taki...

This week, McKay talks about miracles, opening up the episode with the story of pilot and pioneer, Amelia Earhart, and the unbelievable tale that is the rescue of McKenzie Morgan.  He argues that both stories are miracles in their own right, and these miracles can happen to us so long as we open our minds and hearts to them. McKay says it’s all about realizing  your worth.  Too many...

Today on the Open Your Eyes podcast, McKay talks about creating lasting wealth, and opens up the episode with two stories about Charles Ponzi and Bernie Madoff - both of whom schemed investors out of billions of dollars.  He points out that, unlike Ponzi, Madoff, and their corrupt practices, in order to create genuine wealth, one has to define what wealth truly means.  The next step acco...

This week on Open Your Eyes , McKay talks about why it’s no fun being poor.  He opens up the episode by recounting the plot of the Oscar Award winning film, CODA , in which the protagonist's family rises above the poverty line and comes to live a much more fulfilled life as a result.  Next McKay talks about his friend’s work building wells in the Republic of Congo and educating the commu...

Today, McKay discusses how to change your money mindset. He opens up the podcast by discussing the tragic day when Sergeant Jay Rosenberry saw his children and friend flailing in a riptide.  While he successfully saved his children, his friend Mark didn’t make it. McKay likens this tragic unpreparedness for the riptide to the lack of understanding we have about our money habits, and he goes o...

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...

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 t...

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.  McKa...

McKay talks about the importance of goals in today’s episode, and he opens up the episode by recognizing the success of Mike Krzyzewski as Duke basketball head coach.  Only after seeing his book in an airport, did McKay read it and learn about having worthy goals.  He ties Coach K’s story into that of Chris Norton, a football player who suffered a paralyzing injury in a football game, hi...

Today’s episode finds McKay guiding the audience on a path to sustain one’s personal energy.  He opens the episode by discussing Bitcoin’s mining scarcity and how it negatively impacted the personal will power of those like James Halls, who misplaced his Bitcoin retrieve code worth millions of dollars.  This story prefaces his statement that personal energy drives will power and emotiona...