Making our Mark with David McNally, International Business Speaker, Author and Thought Leader

Cindra Kamphoff: All right.

David McNally: We got it all right.

Cindra Kamphoff: Got it. Thank you so much, David McNally, I am so excited that you’re here on the high performance mindset podcast how’s your day going today.

David McNally: Yes, no it’s going well, thanks Cindra, yes I’m glad, things are good, thank you very much for asking.

Cindra Kamphoff: I absolutely loved your book Mark of an Eagle. And that’s one of the things we’re going to be talking about today, I thought I found it really inspiring I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to keep reading it even late at night, the wee hours of the night so maybe just to get us started David tell us a little bit about what you’re passionate about just to get us rolling here.

David McNally: Well, well I’m very passionate about inspiration, I really am and I do know that that sounds like. But what are the benefits of inspiration and but I know that everything great starts by someone being inspired. Now being inspired is not enough you’ve then got to take action, but that same time that when people are inspired and when I talk about inspired I mean that their spirit is engaged in something meaningful. So that they see some possibility out there that they now want to get out and become a part of so inspired employees, for example, I’m much more committed as a more creative than more innovative, so all of that starts with us the notion of being inspired.

Cindra Kamphoff: hmm love it and tell us a bit about you have you have several books and your latest Mark of an Eagle tell us a bit about why you chose to write about an eagle and what that means to you.

David McNally: Well, I was very, very fortunate I said, my first book was called Even Eagles Need to Push. That was came out and, believe it or not, so two years ago we’re still in print that it was a best seller, by any stretch of the imagination and the eagle was an accidental metaphor. That came to me after I watched a wonderful little animated movie which was that movie was called to try again and succeed, and what I saw was a mother eagle. Trying to coax its little eagle it off of the edge of the nest to get it to fly and the eagle was resisting. And then they the ego then go off and then be tumbling down and in a panic and the mother ego swept down and picked it up put it back up and started to help coax it again until Finally, it was able to soar so what came to me at that particular time was isn’t that interesting even eagles need a Porsche. So that became the name of the book and then I got connected to egos and I realized that it was such a in this country, especially such a powerful metaphor so Mark of an Eagle is actually the third book in a trilogy. My second book was called the ego secret and then this was mark of an eagle yeah.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah and I was thinking also about my reaction when I see an eagle you know I saw one, the other day when we are on a local lake and we are on a belt and there was just an eagle flying above us and it’s so gentle I guess is the word that I would use.

David McNally: yeah and I think we connect eagles to that tremendous sense of vision, you know they have they can be soaring, you know way above a the hills or the trees and then their vision can focus on what they want to accomplish, of course, which is pray but at the same time, you know it teaches us that that when you have vision towards something that you want to accomplish it’s a powerful way to take you to focus towards that accomplished.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah you know, and what I loved about your book David is the personal stories that were leave within if it was with your grandchildren and or just you know your observations and there was a powerful story at the beginning that it was related to a business deal that you are in and to how there was legal action tell us a bit about that story, because I think that story can be really powerful for everyone who’s listening.

David McNally: yeah I think there’s a powerful story in terms of when ambition can get a little bit out of control. And so I was very young, I was in my mid 20s and I was incredibly ambitious and had achieved by the time I was 26 a very high level of success, you know fancy cars beautiful home, I was living in Europe at that particular time, so it was quote the lifestyle of the rich and famous and then the business collapsed, and I was, as I tried to rescue the business. And an individual wanted to invest in the business and I in my desperation to try and save the business I allowed that individual to do that. And, in retrospect, I should never have allowed the individual to invest in the business because the amount that he was able to put into the business was insufficient to meet our needs by a big way, but I did allow him to do that because I was, I was desperate, so the story is a story of in some ways a lack of integrity and the lesson and it is let nothing compromise your integrity that no amount of success, especially financial success is worth. The way you feel about yourself that, as I said that integrated sense I’m whole so I was able to make amends, I was able to repay the gentleman everything finally not right away, I was able to repay him everything and make the situation whole but I had to go through the crisis. And the self-examination to understand that as an individual, we can do that sometimes when we’re overly ambitious and the other powerful thing about it was that I also had to be able to do two things. Number one forgive myself for having a lack of integrity and number two, then let go of it but use that as a foundation alone, upon which to build. My future and another business and to make that declaration I would never do that or allow that to happen again, and fortunately that’s the way I’ve been able to live my life, since then.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah well what I’m hearing there that I really took from that is you know that you had to go through the crisis, and while you’re going through it, you are really examining yourself and learning about yourself that then changed how you did business later.

David McNally: Yes, for sure my wife likes to use the expression “We are perfectly imperfect human beings”, and so I think that as Mother Teresa or someone like That said, you know that that doesn’t kill you strengthens you and I certainly know that that’s what happened to me that I’ve been through a number of crisis and my ability to survive that crisis has given me both a sense of shelf. And a strength that no matter what happens in my life that that I may not like it at the time, but I have that sense I can definitely handle it.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah and I was reading the story, I remember you saying that you know, during your self-exploration that you maybe went to alcohol anonymous meeting with your uncle and then, and then you saw these. These principles of a and I was curious like which principle, do you think at home for you and helped you make the change, even though you weren’t you know addicted to alcohol at that time it kind of shows you the power of some of these principles that allow people to move on past addiction in our.

David McNally: everyday life well for sure I mean I think it’s the fourth or fifth step in the 12 steps of a and again you’re right I fortunately I have not had an addiction issue. And, but when I went to that a meeting and I, and they handed me the 12 steps I didn’t realize what a powerful influence they will be, and then I can remember that one night I just saw them on the side of my bed, and I picked them up and I started reading them. And it was at a time where I still hasn’t resolved the situation with this gentleman who had invested in the business it wasn’t resolved and in fact I was feeling at that time more like I was the victim he wasn’t the victim I’d lost everything at that time. But then when I read this, it was the full step and that is to do that Sarah inventory of yourself to see whom you might have harmed and light came into my head and I said. I was responsible for that that was me, you know I would help important information that if he had known that information he may not have invested his money, so I realized that that I was in the wrong. So that was the first of the steps that I took accountability for then the next step was to make amends. And I’m not sure what that step is but it’s good that you seek to make amends, with the people who have harmed. And that’s when I reached out, I found out what money was still owing to this gentleman I because I’ve been paying back some of it. And when I got that amount, I unfortunately was in a position where I was able to pay him in full so they were very, very, very powerful and it’s not an easy either it’s not easy being that ruthlessly honest with yourself it’s not easy, knowing that there’s some tiny dark side inside of you that that you have that capability to be able to do that, but once you do know it and you make amends, well then you, as I said earlier, you can move on yeah.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah and it sounds like you learned a lot about forgiveness with others, but. I heard you also save forgiveness and compassionate with yourself, which is so important, we end right we all make mistakes, whatever that means you know, but I liked what your wife says in perfectly perfect.

David McNally: Yes, exactly I think it’s very hard to forgive others if you haven’t forgiven yourself, I mean because it takes a great deal of humility. To be able to do that and it’s not about you know being falsely humble it’s about that recognition oh my gosh I was capable of doing this and I’m very sad about it and. I want to make amends, well, I think that’s important yeah.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah wonderful you know, there was the beginning of the book really caught my attention, right from the beginning, and there was a part that I want to read to everyone who’s listening and then I I’d like you to expand on it, David. And so, your life and my life have never been lived before that’s what’s new well we create is truly original and no one else can lay claim to that creation. I felt that was really powerful, because I think right now, especially during coven and people are really searching for their purpose and why are they here and what their unique this is. And that’s one of the reasons I loved your book tell us a bit about. What this idea means to you that your life in my life has never been lived before. And that what we create is truly original.

David McNally: Yes, I actually I began to understand that when I first when I wrote my first book, I even ios need a Porsche and send it out to publishers and I had an excellent agent in doing that. But it was soundly rejected by a lot of people and a lot of big publishing companies, and so one goes through that challenge of saying well. It’s not a very good book or it’s worthless so you’ve never said anything original. And then, and I think this is a not a wonderful book for anybody to read by Robert Fritz called the path of least resistance and that’s a book about how do you create what you want, for your life, but in a very, very unique way and what Robert fridge says in the book is exactly. And I paraphrase him and my book is that it says he said, you know when people tell you that nothing. New as ever been embedded in the universe, because people tend to say that right. And he says that’s not true, new things are being invented every day and your life again your life, you have a unique story, no one has your story another person that I love is the philosopher and theologian Gianna Donahue. It was magnificent and one of the things that he says – Is that you know everyone has a different face. You know, as a miracle of the fact that none of us have the same face, you know, we could say go into a supermarket. We could look at someone shopping and we say oh my God this syndrome over there I’m going to go say hello, you go over there, she turns around oh it’s not right so it’s not David is someone else because that face and that body may have seen similar, but the face is different, so we are. And it’s not cliche is we are genuinely unique and so in that regard it’s part of our journey to say Okay, what is it. That that I want to contribute to the world, what is it special for me that I want to contribute now you know people say I’ve got to find my purpose well. Let me give you a little shift on looking at it look at it in a little different way number one. When you look at people who are quite happy and fulfilled and I’m not saying jumping up every day with joy, I mean each. Life can be very difficult at times, but primarily they say yeah I’m going in the right direction, I am fulfilled, I am happy. In many ways, then you’ll find that there are two things one is that they are learning and growing so they’re evolving as a human being and then making a deliberate attempt to do that the second thing that they’re doing is that they’re contributing to the world. So they’re involved in contributing to others and contributing to their where they work, contributing to their friends to their family and other words providing value to others doing something. That is worthwhile and significant to the other person or relevant so you put those two things together, learning and growing and then contributing. Then what you do is to say okay that’s that actually is my purpose and that’s I call it. In the bigger picture the monster of humanity is that we’re all about learning and growing evolving and contributing so for each individual it’s more about finding out how I could do that best right how I could do that and if I look at my own children right, I have five children for girls and a boy okay so my eldest daughter is now senior manager learning development, a big at an airline. My next daughter is an aesthetician doing skincare and facials and or when my son has his tree business my daughter is my third daughter my fourth child is does is an artist, but does tattoos as well right and my fifth child is a family therapist but they’re so they are all but they all love. What they doing and I know that their happiness comes from serving others in that capacity, so I think that’s. An important way to look at finding your purpose.

Cindra Kamphoff: I thought the most impactful thing I loved everything you just said, but I was thinking about what is it that I want to contribute to the world and really. Asking yourself that and I think there’s a lot of people David that are unfulfilled and their job, maybe they don’t see their job as contributing or they’re going through the motions it really doesn’t fuel them do you find that as well.

David McNally: Yes, I think that’s very, very, very true and so when I come across that you know the obvious thing is, you will find something that you might find fulfilling right that’s an obvious thing, but that what I also nice that’s maybe not also very pragmatic right now very practical right that that family concerns family issues financial issues, all come into play, so what you’re left with potentially is shifting your perspective. And not looking outside of yourself. To find that purpose, how can I find it inside myself and I’ll give you a classic example right, I had a. Family friend who was an airline mechanic at a major airline right and I interviewed him for my first book even equals need to push and said tell me about your job, and what you do and he was in a very, very toxic culture, where he was working and he says very, very difficult David and I said, well, I said, have you ever felt like you could leave and go somewhere else, and he said, David look I’ve got four children I got a 401k I’ve got a pension, I got all of these things coming up there’s no way. That I can leave and I said well how long are you going to have to live like this, he said, water at least another 10 or 15 years and I said what does that feel like you said it filled damn lousy. And I said oh Okay, I said so, when you go to work, what are you thinking about when you think about the job you’re doing, he said, well, I definitely want to do my best and make sure the engines are in good shape and all that I said, well, let me give you a way of looking at why your work is so important, I said. I want you to think about me. I want you to think about your children and your family and all of my family when we get on one of your plans. I said I want you to think about us and I want you to think about why it is so important that that we feel safe on your planes and we feel safe because of you. Because of your yet nine to what you’re doing we feel safe and I said so, you know when you’re looking at your work, you know, this is a magnificent purpose that you have helping us to feel safe. Well, he took a pause Sandra and he said Oh, I have never thought about my work like that, and I said well. If you think about it that way, maybe I’m not going to say you can change that toxic environment. But at least you can manage yourself within that environment until you can get into something else so he went within himself discovered that purpose realized how important His work was and then started to live his life in that way.

Cindra Kamphoff: that’s powerful and it shows you that you know people don’t always kind of think about the ripple effects that they create by doing. The work that they do or contributing to society, the way they do, and there was a part in your book David that it was you know that people that sometimes have a question. Where they say well you know I’m not famous or I’m not on TV or I’m not the President of the United States, you know. You know what difference, do I make and sometimes I honestly think that sometimes David you know well I’m not on TV or I’m not doing this or that but that part spoke to me, and you said in your book, you know that that we all have this perfect purpose and you said. You know. What I guess what I was thinking is you know, sometimes I think I’m just one person what difference, do I make I’m not famous you know, so how would you react to that whatever famous means.

David McNally: Well it’s a great it’s a great question and it’s one that we all suffer from in many ways, because sadly we live in a world of comparison we’re always comparing ourselves to other people and looking at celebrities and looking at people on TV and saying look what they’re doing and I’m really. Not doing a great deal, but I’m you know I’ve been in this field. Now professionally for 45 years and I have worked all over the world in spoken to hundreds of thousands of people work with many of the world’s biggest companies, and I say that not to brag but what I just say it to identify the fact that one thing I know is that not everybody can be the President of the United States, they can only one person every four years has that chance right, but more importantly syndrome, not everyone wants to. And people have different levels of motivations and desires and it’s their motivations and their desires that they need to be honest about you know. If you don’t want to do a happy to drive you know, a Honda civic. Admit I’m happy to do I don’t need more than that you know I so, but if you want to drive a Jaguar or BMW sure no harm done but you need to be very, very honest, so we all have different. Levels of motivation my I have a brother in Australia younger brother who has the lives, the simplest life on an island. And he I’m a guy who has always been driven and ambitious he has the most beautiful idyllic life on this island water all around him a fishing boat and all that he’s so happy and I am so happy for him, I couldn’t personally do that so I’m so that’s one part of it, no, no, what you really want be honest and don’t be influenced by what you others telling you, you should want right that’s one thing. The second part of your question is. Let me just think I just lost my thought and so I’ve lost my thought on a live broadcasts, let me have.

Cindra Kamphoff: I think I was done, but I asked about was you know I’m just one person what difference, do I make me think oh. You know yeah.

David McNally: Okay, so, then the other thing about all of my work is that everybody and think of the title of the book mouth of an eagle how your life changes the world. And that’s the title. And the reason for that is that one of the things I’ve learned is everyone leaves a month in every human interaction, you are leaving a mob. And that mine ends up being your legacy so whenever you go in and you’re interacting buying your coffee at Starbucks so caribou wherever you might go at your local coffee shop is the way you interact with somebody to respectfully kindly your you are leaving a mark on that particular person whether it’s your mail carrier or your garbage guy or whatever it may be you’re leaving you leave much we all do we leave this trail of marks, you know over a lifetime so. What I’m saying is, for example, I mentioned in the book at the church that I go to we have a group called Community mills where we serve to the homeless meals, to the homeless, once a month right well. You know you wouldn’t know who those people were voluntary right, but I can tell you right now that the people who are our clients who have been served they know who we are and they are deeply grateful for the kindness and the practical food that we bring to them, so we all, we all make impressions that leave marks.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah that’s really powerful David when you think about you know every interaction you’re leaving a mark and then ultimately that becomes your legacy it makes me take a step back and think. Am I showing up and those everyday conversations or interactions at Starbucks or with a mail carrier or at the grocery store, the way that yeah I really want to.

David McNally: Exactly and there’s a lot of work, for example, as you know about the whole notion of building a personal brand right.

Cindra Kamphoff: So yeah.

David McNally: And one of my books is called other books is called be your own brand, which is about building personal brands and the greatest lesson in that book is that people cannot see inside of you. They can’t see your intentions, they can only see your actions. So if you want a strong personal brand. Make sure that every day, your actions enhance the way people perceive you because, as a result of the impressions you make every day, as I mentioned, you make your mom or you build your brand so it’s very, very critical every one of those impressions.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah that’s powerful I’m thinking about you know, the question that you had us thinking about is what is it that I want to contribute to the world what else should we consider when we think about our purpose and how to uncover it or we’re live by it, I guess.

David McNally: Well, you know i’m at a stage in in my life, where you know i’m enjoying flying at 35,000 feet right and what I mean by that is kind of looking at the world and humanity and a very global sense, and so, of course, when we were younger and I had my five children, what are we doing we’re working hard to survive. You know, a paid the mortgage save for college whatever we’re doing so, you know where we’re driving along on a freeway more than flying at 35,000 feet, so what I would say to anybody is that. We have to understand that that the generations that follow us, no matter how young, we are right now the generations of follow us a building a planet built on our actions. So, and what we what we do and so part about purpose is to look and say i’m my actions as my contribution really contributing to making the world a better place. Is that what I because i’m the beneficiary of people who were committed to doing that right, no matter what it was and, and I say whether they built businesses that that. You know employed lots of people and provided security and the ability to do all the things that they wanted to do and that’s when I work with CEOs i’m always coaching them and saying look just understand that if you did not do anything for charity, that if you run a business that provides a lot of people with the ability to live a financially successful life, then you’ve made one heck of a contribution. Now there’s obviously many other ways we can do it one of my best friends, is the executive director of a wonderful not for profit and she’s built this fantastic organization in the twin cities. But so she’s does it in a different way, but we, but we all, if we look at ourselves as hey i’m my little bit matters right yeah as. One of the people I quote in the book says, you know, on Planet Earth on spaceship earth, there are no passengers only crew right, so you know that everyone on the planet is crew, whether we know it or not, but we are.

Cindra Kamphoff: that’s powerful and i’m curious as you kind of think about David, the people who are listening and it, you know, I think, maybe that’s it’s hard to keep in mind every day. That your little bit matters and maybe you’re what you’re saying is comparison, but we can compare ourselves to other people are we can think you know do. This my there’s my little part as being new crew really matter, so how would you encourage people to keep that in mind, or live with that idea every day.

David McNally: Well, I big by becoming aware right consciously raise your level with a level of awareness so that when you start your day. You start you know, one of the disciplines that I’ve had for 40 years is making sure that I have at least a half an hour in the morning to reflect and think about my day before I get into the day. Because what that that is a way of what moving away the cobwebs of negativity and looking at to the possibility of that particular day, that is an very important discipline and then I as a part of that is I say David be aware. And so, when I go out into the day i’m endeavoring to make sure again i’m coming back a little bit is that I realized that that whoever I meet wherever I go is an opportunity to make a connection right and, in some way, whether we realize it or not, we can make a person’s day million merely by smiling at them and so it’s awful in the simplest X, because what we don’t know is how that person is possibly struggling. You know I do this only because of my own children whose work their way through college being waiters and waitresses and being stiffed on tips so often. Right and you can say oh my God that I worked for this table for 12 and for three hours and he gave me $1 an hour something like that, and so what I do today is I don’t care whether the service is bad or whether you know, whatever it is, I never ship less than 20% only because I can afford to do it. And if that person is working in that way, then I know that that makes a huge difference to them So yes, so many things we can do.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah you’re absolutely right, one of the things I also liked about your book David is when you’re talking about as a team finding purpose as a team, and you were talking about I think you said all winning teams are aligned behind a common purpose so. How would you proceed if you’re working with a team or for us, who might work with the team, how could we find our common purpose.

David McNally: It begins with understanding the difference between cooperation and collaboration so as though they’re kind of synonyms in the English language. In the business world, I think that we have learned to distinguish the difference, so you can have a really good working climate where everyone’s cooperating. But they may not be collaborating in the way that they could be collaborating and let me explain what I mean by that so you know purpose always asked the question why are we here that’s what it’s asking why are we here, so the team has to come up with the answer that question, we are here to our purpose is to whatever it might be so that is common and that can take that can take a lot of wrestling. I mean we’ve been mornings, at least, sometimes a day or so with a team coming up with a common purpose statement because you’re shifting people’s perspective. Because people are so oriented towards what are our goals right well goes following purpose, because if we are fulfilling our purpose. Then we will be achieving our goals you know we have a better chance to achieve our goals, so you have your common purpose and everyone agrees that is our purpose, then collaboration is then identifying how each member of the team can best contribute to that so you know, knowing exactly what the individual strengths and weaknesses are of each team Member so, then you make sure that each team Member comes from a place of strength, so you know if you do a sporting analogy of your sports psychologist. Is that right, yes, yes, yes, supposed to colleges so you’ve got a team out there, well, if you they’re playing in their possession, the best positions, whatever that may be, what if you shift in them around into positions that are not their strengths, you have a very weak team. And so you know if you have a you have a group of people who have a lot of strengths, but they’re not they’re not collaborating in the way that they need to be collaborating so you have to move people into their position of strength and that’s how you get an aligned team working well together that’s at least the beginning of it.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah that sounds wonderful I could imagine that it takes teams a while to write their common purpose statement. And I appreciate the question that you just gave us is, why are we here and helping us answer that as a team.

David McNally: So it’s very important.

Cindra Kamphoff: yeah um and tell us about why you see the importance or tell us a bit more about that David.

David McNally: Well, unless we unless we know what we are supposed to contribute to the company or the business, for example, then, then we were going off and doing our thing our own thing, so one of the common problems in businesses that we know is what they call being siloed. Right businesses are siloed everyone’s in their own area doing their own thing very little communication between each of the each of the divisions, or the groups that are supporting each other so there’s siloed. Now why that causes problems is because, again they don’t know how what they do impacts their teammates in another group or in another division so. I, for example, work with a group that were in the finance financial develop division and the man in charge of that was called the controller right he was called the controller. And what he saw as his job was to control the money. Right, he was controlling the money because he wanted to make sure none of the sales people you know got out of control and spend too much money or any of some of these other managers and these other to read i’m going to control everything. Well um what that did was that made it set up a DEMO and a situation, it was them against us and rather than him realizing no you’re not about controlling the money you’re about helping people understand. Why, we need to make a profit and why we need to control our expenses to help. Make that profit but it’s not about coming down hard on others because they’re spending too much money it’s educating and teaching So when I come from that place of Okay, this is my contribution it changes the whole dynamics from a lemon astral way. Does that make sense yeah.

Cindra Kamphoff: That makes complete sense yeah. yeah focus more on we instead of these individual silos and were able to come together and work together towards a common goal once we’ve decided what that purpose is, and I also could see then you feel more like you contribute to the main mission right, you can see your individual contribution really mattering.

David McNally: Well, and what is really critical about that also is that when each team Member has identified what they want their contribution to be then what you have within an organization is that you have and we started at the very beginning. Talking about inspiration well now you’re getting to people who are starting to feel a sense of engagement they’re starting to feel oh Okay, so what I do every day does matter. I mean if I don’t do this well that impacts this person and that impacts that person, and you have that chain effect, but if I do my job well, I have the opposite and i’m making an impact, but and that ripple effect is as a positive impact, so and that then people get inspired they get engaged and you have again, as I said at the beginning a whole new level of creativity and innovation yeah.

Cindra Kamphoff: Wonderful you know there’s also a part in your book where you’re talking about the past and you said. You know the past contains two primary benefits good memories and wisdom and I, I really love the wisdom piece that i’m thinking about how you have so much wisdom and David. But you know so many people kind of beat themselves up for the past. And I think that kind of gets in the way of living with purpose and contribution and connection and i’m curious you know what wisdom, would you have to help us each channel our own wisdom that we have to help us leave a mark.

David McNally: Well, the as I did, as you mentioned. We have to reconcile that we can’t do anything about the past. A Stat to. If we have harm people to do our best to make amends, but we cannot undo it so and so reconciling that and it’s not necessarily easy, and it can take some time. But unless we do it then we’re carrying a backpack of unnecessarily regret and we’re going into the future, with a heavy load right So what we have to do with everything with line is then. The mistakes we’ve made or how we failed is to then say all right, let me now do an inventory of what I have learned and that learning is the wisdom. That i’m carrying forward, and unfortunately most wisdom isn’t passed on, it is earned we earn our wisdom by mistakes that we that we make in life. So what i’m sharing with you and your audience today is simply the result of living, having lived you know, a fairly good length of time on this planet so we all have even. You know I don’t Let me give you a classic example of what’s happening to me right at the moment right. So I did share a little bit before we got online here. Three years ago, when I was in the spring of 2018 and I was doing an inventory of my life, because one of the things that we do with our clients, is that we put them through and when we’re. Working with them i’m visioning the future we tried to personalize it and just say Okay, all of us have a one day i’m gonna list. For example, people come up to me and they say oh you grew up in Australia, and I say yeah I did they said oh one day i’m going to go to Australia. So I so it’s that sort of list whatever is one day i’m going to skydive well one day i’m going to write a book or whatever it might be so I was thinking to myself wow okay what’s on the top of your list, and I said. One day i’m going to go to college.  I hadn’t spent a day in college I paid for college for my children, but I never been to college myself, and I said well you’re going to be 72. And a couple of months you better get going, so I did everything I needed to do and I enrolled at the University of Minnesota. And I became a freshman I think i’m going to be the longest freshman in history it’s going to take me five years to get the credits, I need before i’m a sophomore but that’s another story. But, but so i’m coming right back to wisdom so i’m in a class right now, believe it or not, is my second writing class, even though I’ve written books. I love to do these writing classes and so 20 of those students are somewhere between 18 and 22 they’re freshmen to seniors. And every week, we have to write an essay and then we give feedback to each other on the essays so now just thinking about this you’ve got 18 to 22 year old’s and people would say, well, what wisdom do they have. Well, these are personal essays so we’re learning about each other from reading these essays I cinder am blown away by what people are writing. These young people the lives that they live. What they’re sharing and the beauty of how they’ve evolved and survived some of these most challenging situations, so no matter where we are, we have wisdom and we can share that with others.

Cindra Kamphoff: Thank you for sharing that and I think also personally you keep growing and learning right which is you said is one of the attributes of somebody who is fulfilled. So, David, this is the way I want to close, there was this powerful statement in your book that I love for you to talk about so you said. It is the outcome of realizing the enormous potential that exists within you the belief that there is a special purpose for your existence. The awareness that you share responsibility for what happens in our world and the commitment to fully utilizing your gifts and talents to create a rich and rewarding life I put a couple stars by that and highlighted it tell us a little bit more about that statement as we close.

David McNally: Well, what I discovered was that gem. We don’t set out to make a mark making a mark in the world as a result. And so, all of the things that you just mentioned. How we do make a mark is by living our purpose finding a purpose and living it out it’s about taking the time to really look at okay what am I what am I attributes. You know what am I good at what do I find easy to do what is one of my spiritual abilities, by taking the time to do an inventory of that and then. Taking responsibility for what happens in our world it is, it is that recognition that my actions as we talk so much about in this interview make a difference, they truly do they make the big difference in the in the in that mass of humanity. My father passed away several years ago was his birthday yesterday and my morning journal was just writing about my dad if you’ve never heard on most people on the planet hasn’t heard of. But he had he left a legacy with me and he left a legacy with my two brothers and the tribute to him on Facebook, a man who’d been gone eight years well amazing so, which is very important not to diminish what we bring to the world.

Cindra Kamphoff: Thank you, David You delivered a very powerful message for each one of us today I most appreciate here’s some of the things I wrote down as a way to summarize, I appreciate that you said you know the people that report feeling most fulfilled, are the ones that keep growing and learning and they contribute to the world, you asked us. To think about how our own actions, make a difference and you asked to think about what we want to current contribute to the world. You have you share with us a little bit about our brand and helping us think about how every action matters even the grocery store interactions or the interactions we have with her the mail the mail people drop off our mail. And then you talked a little bit about teams and how we can each come together with thinking about why we’re here so for those of us who are joining live, I want to thank you for joining us live and Tina has a question about where can we find your books and where can we order them.

David McNally: Well, thank you for that well, first of all adds that that that great warehouse in the sky code Amazon. As always, the way you can get any of my books. And that’s actually the best place, I mean you could send me an email if you wanted an autographed copy you could send me an email to info at David mcnally.com and I’ll be happy to ship one to you from there, but yeah both places, you can get the books and all of my books, except one is on audible so that says, if you love to listen to books they’re all on audible and that’s a great way to really learn.

Cindra Kamphoff: Wonderful and the book, we talked about today is mark of an eagle how your life changes the world Thank you so much, David McNally i’m really grateful that you spent the time with us today, and I appreciate all that you do in the world and helping us understand, the more we leave so grateful for you and I appreciate you joining us today.

David McNally: Thanks a lot my pleasure, and thank you too bye bye now.