Mahara Wayman [00:00:49]:
He has been a badass boss since before she could drive. Yep, you heard me right. Mackenzie Morris launched her first business at just 12 years old. And let's be real, she hasn't stopped building since. She hasn't stopped dreaming or slaying everything that she puts her mind to. In high school, she wasn't just running a business. She was also captain of a 90 girl drill team and juggling three jobs, not one, but three. Most adults can't even handle one full time gig without complaining.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:20]:
And she was out here making it look easy. Now today, she's the force behind a successful professional wedding, brand and strategy mindset coach, helping other entrepreneurs build their empires without burning out. She's got grit, grace, and a whole lot of get it done energy. And today she's going to spill the truth on what it really takes to rise. Let's welcome Mackenzie Morris to the art of badassery. And trust me, you're going to want to take notes.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:48]:
Hey, Mackenzie.
Mahara Wayman [00:01:49]:
Good morning. Good morning. And thank you so much for joining us today. Hello.
Mackenzie Morris [00:01:53]:
Good morning. I am so excited to be here. Thank you for the incredible freaking electric intro. I loved it, man. I love hearing all of that. It's so funny because we don't think about the things we've done in the past like so far and long ago. And that's just so cool to hear back.
Mahara Wayman [00:02:14]:
Well, I gotta laugh because, you know, I'm gonna be 60 this year. So for you to say in the past, so far and long ago, we, when it wasn't nearly as long ago for you as, you know, for me, it's pretty interesting. But you bring up a really good point. It's one of the biggest things that I notice in the work that I do today is our propensity, our being, you know, in general, people to forget all of the great things and focus on the negative things. But we definitely want to talk about that today. But I want to go back to 12 years old. What on earth think? Did you want something to buy something? And you thought, I gotta get a job so I can earn the money? Like, what was the impetus behind?
Mackenzie Morris [00:02:57]:
Oh, I. I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit. And when I was that young, I didn't know what that was. I didn't know that that was the feeling that was inside my body, right. I didn't have the awareness to identify it. I wasn't in a family of entrepreneurs. I was the crazy one out of everybody, right? I was the visionary, the person that always had ideas, that was always insp. Inspired by life and dreaming and seeing the bigger picture of things.
Mackenzie Morris [00:03:25]:
So whenever I was 12, I had this whole idea for this company. It was called Grana Bites. And I am a big snacker to this day. I love to snack. I would rather snack than meal, right? Like, if that makes sense. But I am not like, a big, like, chip person or, like, processed food person. I'm just not. So the idea was I wanted to make a healthy grab and go snack for younger people that we could go, kind of like goldfish, but healthy.
Mackenzie Morris [00:03:56]:
So I literally spent my days after school chopping up bananas, dehydrating them myself, homemaking peanut butter, because I was really did not want Jif to get royalties, because that's what I was worried about at 12 is royalties from just peanut butter. And I was taking the banana chip and peanut butter and topping it with different things like jelly and granola or honey and coconut or whatever it was, and just making these little grana granola Grana Bites and packaging them and then selling them to my friends at school. And then from there I was like, you know what? Of course I was proactive, right? Like you had said, I've always been a hard worker. I had a lot of jobs. I was in clubs and drill teams and all of those things. But at that point, I was a little bit younger, and I would spend my time researching. I'm like, okay, I have this idea. This is great.
Mackenzie Morris [00:04:46]:
I'm selling it. People are buying it. How do I grow it? So I did some research on how to get manufacturing or find someone to help me. I was almost looking for what had I had the knowledge. I was looking for a business coach, but that didn't really exist, at least in my world, at 12 back then. So I ended up finding this company called Davidson Industries, and they help inventors and makers turn their product or idea into a physical thing. So you could go and apply and submit your idea. And then if they chose Your idea, they were going to help you take it off the ground and they ended up choosing mine and it got chosen and that was incredible.
Mackenzie Morris [00:05:30]:
And then the dream kind of died there because of course we had to pay for manufacturing all that stuff is like $12,000. And at that point my parents were not going to give a 12 year old $12,000. Like they, they didn't have the drive. They couldn't do any of it. They didn't have any of it. They didn't understand it. So it really all kind of died there. Flash forward to almost present day and then we're gonna back up another eight years.
Mackenzie Morris [00:05:54]:
We did find my product on the shelf at Sprouts, but it was not mine. So that was the thing. And I did get an apology text message from my mom saying, oh my God, we should have listened to you.
Mahara Wayman [00:06:07]:
Wow, okay. Such badassery at such a young age. I keep, as you're talking, something that you did that I keep hearing loud and clear in my head is captain of a drill team. Because to me that's so badass. What was it that you learned about yourself at that age, teenager, that allowed you to really take control that way? Because you know that's not, that's not your average leadership demonstration in high school. Tell us about that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:06:41]:
Yeah, my gosh. In that drill team experience is probably something that shaped me to be the literal badass, hard worker, do not take no for an answer, get shit done type of person that I am now. I remember going into orientation with the coach and it was a. She gave us a binder, a full on binder of all the rules. And she was one of the typical old school coaches that you would see like the movies, like yelling, don't cry, you got to throw up. Keep running, don't stop. You're that type of coach. And I loved every minute of it.
Mackenzie Morris [00:07:17]:
I loved it. I love to be held firmly because she know, knew our potential, she knew what we could be and she knew how to pull that out of us. So I learned how to do that for other people from her doing it to me. But I also learned that your skills do not necessarily make you the competent leader that you need to be. So for me, whenever I was going up through the ranks, because I started out as first lieutenant and whenever we applied, oh my God, I have a, I have my little drill team journal of what I had to do to apply and I have it somewhere in this office because I looked back on it because it was just so cool. But you know, it says, why do you think that you are the person to take this role? Why do you think you are the one I should appoint to this. To this role on the drill team? And everything in my binder was about helping people reach their full potential. Knowing that communication is key, knowing that it's all about camaraderie and being able to push past the limits and really just, like, own in on that and double down on that piece of it.
Mackenzie Morris [00:08:31]:
And it's so cool going back to that place, because that's what I'm all about now. So being on that drill team really pulled out a bunch of that stuff. But as I was the captain, I was also not the best dancer. And that was something that I was really struggling with whenever I was applying, because whenever I applied for captain, I actually submitted that we should be co captains because I wanted the other captain who was the better dancer, but I was the better leader. And that's exactly what I proposed to her. And that's how we both got to be captains at the same time, because she had the dance skill, and people respected her for that. But people came to me for everything else, and that's why we were a perfect team. So even since then, I've been collaborating, I've been communicating, I've been helping find the strengths in other people and then helping maximize that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:09:21]:
And that's just been who. Who I am. So really learning that about myself has been a big key to. To who I am now and all the success that I've had.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:32]:
Such a good understanding of leadership. And I just got to share the story. I think. I hope you'll appreciate it. As you. That's your background. I'm in Canada, and in high school. My high school in Canada didn't have a cheerleading team.
Mackenzie Morris [00:09:47]:
Oh, wow.
Mahara Wayman [00:09:48]:
One together. My girlfriend, my best friend and I. Five girls together. We got the school to approve that we would do this. And they paid for some uniforms. We ordered them from a catalog in the States. We were so excited, and we taught ourselves a cheer. One of our first experiences was going down across the border because I live near the.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:07]:
The American border to. With our football team to be there. Cheerleading, Right. So away we go. This is grade nine. I would have been, I don't know, 13. I'm just guessing here. Maybe maybe 12 or 13.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:20]:
I was a little bit younger than everyone else. So anyway, we go down to the States on the school bus. We're so excited. We've got our green and white pom poms and our little cheerleading skirt with all the, you know, the Whatever. Well, I brought the wrong shoe, so I had two left shoes instead of a pair. First off, we get off the bus and I've got, oh, my God, where's my other shoe? So we felt a little foolish. Then we saw the opposing team's chair team, and it was a drill team. They, like, there was 25, 30 of them.
Mahara Wayman [00:10:53]:
They marched out on the field, did all of this gymnastic stuff, and we're just looking at each other going, what the fuck do we get ourselves into? Then we did our cheer. And the first part of it was a letter where you spell the name of the school. I was so nervous I said the wrong letter. So, I mean, it was just a disaster from beginning to end. But the best part was we were such good friends that we just rolled on the floor laughing, right? We just laughed the whole time. But that's my little story about sharing and the difference between Canada and the United states, you know, 40 years ago. 40, 45 years ago.
Mackenzie Morris [00:11:28]:
So, gosh, that's a crazy story. Like, I don't think I grew. I grew up in Texas. So we were like, drill team capital world, you know, that was who we are and what we did. Our team was a competitive team. Like, we won nationals multiple times. So it was just a completely different reality. That is so crazy to me.
Mackenzie Morris [00:11:48]:
I didn't even think that schools probably didn't have cheerleaders. That blows my mind.
Mahara Wayman [00:11:52]:
Actually, we didn't have cheerleaders. We had a great time for three years. Right. I don't even think they continued after that. But anyway, I digress. All right, so fast forward to today. You've had multiple. Well, first of all, answer this.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:07]:
How long have you had your current business?
Mackenzie Morris [00:12:10]:
So I have had. I have been a strategist and a coach officially for about three years.
Mahara Wayman [00:12:17]:
Okay.
Mackenzie Morris [00:12:18]:
But I started playing around with that, not knowing again, I. I have a title thing. I don't like to be boxed in with a title. I really don't like it. So I was doing this type of work while I was building my wedding company. People would reach out to me, be like, oh, my God, can you help me do xyz? Or I'm having a hard time doing this. And then we. That.
Mackenzie Morris [00:12:41]:
And then I would go and help them and they would pay me. And that's kind of how I kind of got into it, because people were watching my journey and watching me build my businesses, and they wanted those same types of results. So then they came to me. So that's kind of how it started. So I formally been A coach and strategist for about three years. But I've been doing it a little bit prior to that as well. Probably about two years prior to that to five years.
Mahara Wayman [00:13:06]:
Okay, so again, you're still quite young. Yeah, your kids are quite young. So this was around the same time that you were having starting your family. Yeah, you get the energy. Because I remember what it was like being a young mom and there's not a hope in frickin hell I could have done. Even though I would have been so much younger than, you know, today. I know what it takes to do this. But where did that energy come from?
Mackenzie Morris [00:13:35]:
I really think it's a predisposition. Like my dad, my biological father, he is the most incredible, positive, uplifting person I have ever met. Like there is not a negative thought that crosses his mind and it's just who he is and his care for people is what I know to be the reason why he excelled so far in his business. He worked at dell for like 20 years and then he went to VMware which is their like software competitor. Worked there as an executive forever. And then for the past, I don't know, two, three years maybe he worked as the senior vice president of sales for Google down in Austin. And now he just retired and is starting a business down, down at the lake, you know, so he and I were having a conversation, we were just down there and he was telling me that that that trait of his was the thing that has really taken him to the next level. Just that overarching sense of positivity and energy.
Mackenzie Morris [00:14:42]:
So I really think it's a predisposition. But even if we take genetics aside, I have the energy and I am inspired by life like in general, I can pull a life lesson literally out of anything and I love it. And if you're constantly inspired like that or being educated by the environment around you, it fills you up, at least for me. Right. I feel the energy of oh my God, that's such a quality of, you know, you know. And I'm overcome with more energy. But outside of that as well is it gives me a sense of identity for myself. I have never been the type of woman that's wanted to stay home and just be a stay at home mom and only do that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:15:25]:
And I don't want to say just because I don't believe in just either. I'm actually writing a whole book about that exact topic. But I am multi dimensional, I am multifaceted, I am multi passionate, I am multi, multi everything. So for me, having my own Business, in my own way, to contribute to the world outside of my family, gives me a sense of individuality and allows me to stay me and keep that my own identity. So then that's also really energetically like pleasing and kind of helps me keep my energy up.
Mahara Wayman [00:16:02]:
Yes. Hello. So much juiciness in what you've just shared. And a couple things popped into my head, which I know that some of my clients struggle with. And I've certainly struggled with it at various times in my life, which is the ability to be present. Because we are present, then we're aware of what's going on around us. Not only what's going on out there, but what's going on in here in our heart. And it sounds to me what I'm picking up from you here is that, wow, first of all, you really fucking know yourself.
Mackenzie Morris [00:16:29]:
Yeah.
Mahara Wayman [00:16:30]:
And you'll give yourself permission to exist and be present. And that's something that a lot of, a lot of us struggle with because we, for various reasons, fall into the trap of, oh, I should be doing this. Oh, I should be doing that. And it doesn't sound like perhaps that has been a big issue for you, but what I want to know is, is that true? Have there been times in your business career or any time actually where you went, this don't feel so good?
Mackenzie Morris [00:17:00]:
Yeah. Yes. Oh my God. So many. So many. That's the whole point of entrepreneurship. It's uncomfortable 100 of the time. It is generally not free floating all the time, but a few times I have absolutely felt it.
Mackenzie Morris [00:17:18]:
That is our worth sharing are. Whenever I was building my wedding company and I had sales coming in from brides and from wholesalers. I sold B2C and B2B and that was coming in. But that was a lot of outward outreach. So it was a lot of work attached to the money that was coming in. So on the outside, I looked successful because I was bringing in money. They were reorders. It was great.
Mackenzie Morris [00:17:43]:
It was bulk. But my God, it was a lot of freaking work and it was draining the life out of me. It literally was. I was so resentful. I didn't like my business anymore because it was just not fine. And I didn't give a about PJs. To this day, I really don't care about PJs. But that's not what the business was about.
Mackenzie Morris [00:18:03]:
It was about making people feel comfortable in their skin as who they are on that day. That's what the mission was. That was the movement. And that's what I gave A shit about. I didn't care how I portrayed that message to the world. And if I. Now that I'm saying this out loud, that's the underarching theme of everything that I've ever done in my whole entire life. It doesn't matter the product or the business or the service or the offer that I've shared.
Mackenzie Morris [00:18:26]:
It all comes down to that one thing. So a key to things feeling aligned is as long as it's all created around a core value that is true to you, it'll all be kind of working for you, I guess. But that was definitely a time where it felt hard and it was not a great time, or the time where I custom designed an entire outfit set and I had it manufactured overseas. I hired designers, I had a trademark for my company. I was going to do this big launch and sell it to my wholesalers. I had been launching a, like a campaign to get new people on my email list for years. This is all probably a two year process. And it finally came down to like, okay, y' all have watched the build you've gotten on the email list.
Mackenzie Morris [00:19:17]:
You say you want this thing. It is time here to buy. 17 weeks of emails fleshed out. Hit the buy now button, you're ready to go. Not one sale. Not one sale out of the multiple, multiple thousands of people that I got onto this list. And it turns out that it was a protection, but that was one of the biggest reasons why not reasons, but biggest things that really caused the hindrance to me and my girls.
Mahara Wayman [00:19:54]:
Did you just say that you designed? You were a fashion designer? I did two years to launch a particular outfit? Yep. No sales?
Mackenzie Morris [00:20:06]:
No.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:07]:
Ever?
Mackenzie Morris [00:20:09]:
No. So I had, I had four total lifetime for this product. They were all from friends and people that were doing it for promo. So no organic cold sales from all the lead generation that I did.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:24]:
Okay, thank you for sharing those stories, by the way. But I guess the real question, and this is what comes. You know what being a badass is all about, is what you say to yourself in that moment to get yourself right. Because that's what being a badass is about. To your point. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. It's always a lesson one every day. There's something to learn.
Mahara Wayman [00:20:47]:
But I think, I think our audience wants to know how you manage to navigate that. Because even my reaction to hearing you say it was like, holy shit, that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:20:56]:
Was a deep trench. That was a deep trench that I went in for probably about three months. I. It broke me to my core. It really, really Did I was the weekend prior to. Well, no, it wasn't a weekend. It was a few months prior. I had gone on a little mini mind retreat with one of my best girlfriends.
Mackenzie Morris [00:21:19]:
We rented an Airbnb and I said, I was like, by the end of this weekend, I want to have all my launch emails done for this product because it's going to pop off. And I spent that whole weekend trying to do that. But I spent most of the weekend in full blown tears listening to the song Last Man Standing by Livingston. If y' all haven't heard it, definitely listen to it. It's an incredible song, but it talks about how you don't have to be the king, you just have to be the last one standing. And it spoke so deeply to me because I was telling my friend, I said I felt like I have been climbing this mountain, hiking this mountain for years. And now this product launch, it's the culmination of everything that I did right. I was selling products, I was selling services, the wedding business.
Mackenzie Morris [00:22:11]:
And now I created something on my own, taking everything that I learned, all the problems from products that I was selling, I fixed them in this other product and I'm ready to debut something entirely new that is going to create a new industry. And I did something. Like I really did something. And by the time that I climbed this fountain, you're going to get up there and look at the view and see everything that you work so hard for. And at that moment, it was all going to be worth it. And my biggest fear was I was going to do all of this, get to the top of the mountain and there's going to be nothing to see. And that's exactly what happened. That is exactly what fucking happened.
Mackenzie Morris [00:22:55]:
And it was hard. It was really hard. People do not talk about the zero dollar launches that you essentially wasted two years of your life doing. But none of it was a waste because I learned a lot and I have knowledge that no one else will ever have. But being at that low place, I really had to very, very clear about, okay, why did this not work? Because statistically and logistically I should have had a sale. Out of the thousands of people that rose their hand over the years and said they wanted this thing, why did it not sell one from this cold audience? That doesn't make sense. Because I know as a strategist that for if you have an ad, you want a 10% click rate and you'll have a 1 to 3% conversion rate for sales. That is what a success campaign would look like.
Mackenzie Morris [00:23:47]:
So something was really wrong. Really wrong, Right. But I did everything right on paper. There were funnels, there were emails, there was warm leads, all of the things. So the lesson I learned from it was I was out of alignment. That is the lesson. You can do all of the things that you want to do, but if you are out of alignment or you're hiding from what you're actually supposed to be doing, the universe is going to tell you. And that's what I learned.
Mackenzie Morris [00:24:15]:
Because later, probably about a week after that failed launch, my manufacturer that was going to manufacture all of these thousands of sales that I was anticipating backed out. They said it wasn't a fit. So had I had sold 10,000 of them, I would have been really SOL because now I would have had to refund all of it. Then that would have looked even worse right on the back end. People that don't know me don't know that it was a failed launch. They have no clue. It's not their business either, by the way, but they don't know. So I had to get real.
Mackenzie Morris [00:24:51]:
In those three months, I stopped working. I quit. I had money coming in automatically right from the business that I built. I stopped and I baked a lot of sourdough with my kids, and I learned how to have fun new present. And I said, I am just. Just doing this. I am going to use. Just being a mom is the thing that I'm doing right now.
Mackenzie Morris [00:25:10]:
That is what I'm going to be doing while I'm thinking, while I'm trying to figure out where this lack of alignment was. So that's. That's what I learned.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:19]:
Oh, my gosh, I'm in awe because I've cried the blues over a zero launch that didn't cost me anything because I didn't put any money into it. Just all sorts of. What an amazing lesson that you've chosen that you chose for yourself at that time. Totally badass. That you didn't fall into a hole and just say, you know, apply for a job at Starbucks. Yeah, anything wrong with working at Starbucks, people? I'm not. That's not the story at all. But as an entrepreneur, I can.
Mahara Wayman [00:25:49]:
I can relate to this fear. Oh, my God. If it doesn't work out, if it doesn't work out, I think I have to get a job. I actually said that a couple of years ago, and I remember it was excruciating to say it out loud. I actually cried talking to a friend who's a coach. I'm like, I think I need to get a job. And she's like, what? You need a job? And I'm like, I think I need to get a job because it's just not as reliable as I was expecting it to be or hoping it to be. And then the.
Mahara Wayman [00:26:18]:
The funniest part was I said this to my. My husband, and he's all for it. Like, right. He was panicked as well, I think. Not that he would ever say it, but he said, you know what? I think you would be great. Why don't you apply to work at a bank? And all of a sudden, my stomach just, you know, roiled, and I'm like, I'm not getting a job. There's no way I'm going to figure this out. I am going to figure this out.
Mahara Wayman [00:26:39]:
Because A J O, B. Can you imagine after working from home for so long and. And doing what I want. So scary times. But that's when we learn our biggest lessons, is when we are faced with really questioning everything. So speaking of badassery and superpowers, what is your superpower, my friend? What's your superpower, my sweet? Let's talk about that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:27:06]:
I feel like I have the super power of vision where I think I can see the future in the sense of you can tell me an idea or what you're trying to build or the vision that you have for yourself. And I can see the highest potential of it. And whether that's just a skill that I have or something that I've built because of all the learning and the research that I've done to learn how big things can get just in my job, I would say that's my superpower, is being able to see the highest potential for you and your business of, like, who is it that you are and what is it that you're trying to do and how can we blow it up as big as you want it to be. I had a friend who came up to me after I spoke at an event, and she and I got to talking, and she was telling me about her business, and I was like, oh, so you're gonna franchise? She's like, oh, no, I'm not gonna do that. That's like, blah, blah. So fast forward two years now. She called me the other week, and she's like, mackenzie, you knew before I did that I was gonna be franchising my business. I said, girl, it was franchisable.
Mackenzie Morris [00:28:15]:
It was absolutely franchisable. And now that's exactly what she's doing. So I think that that's my superpower.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:21]:
So it's interesting that you say that. Because as you were talking, I got this vision of. And you brought up, you brought up both points. One is you have such experience because you've been doing business since you were 12, right? So, yeah, you have the knowledge. And our brain is predictive in so much as it takes all the knowledge that we've gathered and it. In a millisecond or slow or faster, it's. It creates something. Right.
Mahara Wayman [00:28:45]:
Because it's. But the other thing that I want to touch on is, is it possible? Granted, you have the experience, but you also are really connected to something bigger than yourself. So, yeah, there's a dimension out there where this possibility already exists and you are just on that superhighway. Yeah. It comes back to this idea of being so present. Right. I talk about this a lot with my, with in the work that I do because I'm a success alchemist. I help successful women tune into their.
Mahara Wayman [00:29:18]:
Tune into themselves and recognize that they are so much more than whatever the name on the plate, the plate name on the door is for their business or whatever. So I'm wondering, would you say is this a 50, 50 experience? 50. Tuning into the energy of something bigger than who you are. And 50%, this is just my knowledge, or do you think one is a little bit weightier than the other?
Mackenzie Morris [00:29:44]:
Oh, it's so much weightier than my, My vision and my intuition and. And all of thatness that is absolutely leading the way. There's always so much knowledge out there. There's only so much strategy. That's what I tell people. I'm a strategist because I've learned the strategies, but there's not that many. Like, yes, of course, course you can go create your own thing and go create your own strategy, of course. But there, the basics are the basics.
Mackenzie Morris [00:30:11]:
There are ways to do business that are proven and then there are wrong ways to do it, and that's it. But whenever you tap into all of that other juiciness of what life could be, and we're talking quantum leaping and energetics and universe and all of that, that stuff, that absolutely leads the way. And it also depends on how you perceive the world. And I definitely view the world from like a lens of La La Land. Like, people are like, mackenzie, do you work ever or what? I'm like, you know what? Yeah, like, I do, but it's really fun. Like, if you look at my general day to day, it does not seem like a normal thing. Like, I'll go out paddleboarding, I can still work on my paddle board. Like the way I've set everything up.
Mackenzie Morris [00:30:59]:
This allows me to live like this, this crazy La La land, like delusional looking life.
Mahara Wayman [00:31:05]:
I so love it. And you know, just looking at your background, you've got your, your logo behind you and I know that it's not, I don't think it's turned on right now or maybe it is just I see a little bit of. No, but your, your ceiling lamp is making it look like it's flashing and I'm like, it's freaking 8 o' clock in the morning peeps while it's 8:30 my time. But this is, look at this girl. Like this girl is living an energetic and totally tuned in life. Just that you can tell. So thank you for that, thank you for that to the world because I, I would love to see more people, women especially, embrace that part of themselves. What's the biggest lesson that you've learned though? And it may be from your zero launch, but is there anything else that you would say, not specifically to entrepreneurs, but just to women in general about what it takes to get up off the floor?
Mackenzie Morris [00:31:58]:
Oh gosh, it takes a lot. And it takes the ability to be flexible and fluid and to not judge yourself for any direction that you go. Because any decision that you make, I truly believe it's the right decision for you. Whether it's a wrong decision, you're going to learn something from it and then that's going to get you closer. So I don't believe in failures. I only believe in lessons. And that is, that's the thing. But the biggest lesson that I always tell people is that misalignment lesson is that if you are misaligned and you are hiding from something, whether you think that you are or not.
Mackenzie Morris [00:32:34]:
And for me, I didn't know that I was. I did not know that I was. It will come up. And it came up for me in the zero dollar launch. And then I finally came to the moment where I was like, okay, this didn't work. I'm resenting my wedding business. This is not fun. I don't love it.
Mackenzie Morris [00:32:53]:
I don't want to do this anymore. I'm closing it down. So I shut it down. And then over that exact weekend, I signed four new one on one clients. And then in the last two months of the year, I doubled my total yearly revenue. Doubled it from changing the alignment.
Mahara Wayman [00:33:13]:
Okay, I know what that means because I'm in. I'm a coach as well, so I know what that means. But what I, what I would ask of you is to tell us a little bit more about this word alignment, because you and I know what it means. But I, I, there may be some people listening that are like, what the fuck are you talking about?
Mackenzie Morris [00:33:30]:
Yes, let's get into it. Alignment was really hard. That was something that I didn't really ever understand either. And I love that you brought this up for us to talk about it because it is such a, a jargony word that people, normal people, don't really understand. And for me, over the years, I have learned that alignment means to be doing the thing that you're meant to be doing and really boiling it down. That's what it is. So your heart, passion, your calling, what you're supposed to be doing in the world is your alignment. And I want to be very clear that that's not the thing or the product or the service that you're offering.
Mackenzie Morris [00:34:09]:
That is not alignment. So you've got to figure out your purpose on the planet. And of course, that's the life lesson. That is the lesson and the challenge of life. Life. Right? For me, I have found mine. People come to me for my energy and they tell me all the time, oh, my God, you're so inspiring. So I, I have learned over the years that my mission on the planet is to inspire and empower other people by leading by example.
Mackenzie Morris [00:34:36]:
That is it. I have always said since I was 12, that I want to be as big as Coke, and Coke has a big impact on the world. That is the vision for me. I want to inspire, inspire and empower other people. I'm going to do that by leading by example, by going through the fear, by sharing my vulnerabilities, by sharing what works and what doesn't. I'm going to go first. And by doing everything from that lens, it doesn't matter what it is that I'm doing. I could be selling popsicles on the side of the street and I could be selling, giving little fortune cookie notes out with them, inspiring and empowering people.
Mackenzie Morris [00:35:11]:
And I would still be fulfilling my purpose and my mission. Right? I would just be the means in which I'm doing. It would be different. But if I was trying to do something else that wasn't inspiring and empowering others, but it was outside of that purpose, that would be misalignment. So I can't even come up with an example of what that would be, but that would be my definition.
Mahara Wayman [00:35:33]:
Thank you. I think you explained it really, really well. And you know, this idea of purpose can feel really heavy. Like how the do I know what my purpose is? I just want to get through the day. There are many times in. In our lives when our purpose feels very focused. My purpose, people, it's just to pay the bill. That's my purpose.
Mahara Wayman [00:35:53]:
Right? Can't go bigger than that. And that's okay, right? I speak to all the time, and it's like, that's okay. But what I always say, and you actually mentioned this earlier, something that you do, which is to get curious. So if anybody out there is wondering, oh, my God, how do I figure out my purpose? Just get curious. What makes you happy? What do you want more of in your life? What do you want less of? And try to take the dollar figure out of it. Because we are so conditioned to value with our bank account that we can we get sucked into a false narrative about what is and what. Why we should feel better, which is why I do the work that I do, because I was very successful and realized that I wasn't that happy or as happy as I wanted to be. So when it comes to purpose, by invitation to all of you guys, listening is ask yourself, what really matters to me.
Mahara Wayman [00:36:42]:
Mackenzie, you talked about values earlier. Like, do you value family? Do you value laughter? Not that I don't know if laughter is actually a value, but you know what I mean. Like, do you value. Do you value what's going to make the world a better place? Do you value what do you value respect and honesty? So whatever your values are, because there's no wrong answer here. If you feel it, you feel it. But ask yourself, is everything that I'm doing a reflection of that? And when we open the lens to purpose, it actually can become very, very simple. Because point, it's not. It's not the thing.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:17]:
It's what's underneath it. Like what energy that's driving your action? And for many of my clients, and even for myself, full disclosure, fear was driving me up until fairly recently. You know, fear of. Fear of not doing enough, being enough, you know, saving enough, paying the bills fast enough. All of that stuff really drove. And when we can recognize that, then we can acknowledge it, work with it, and let it go. You mentioned letting go earlier. And letting go is powerful.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:48]:
Letting go of the need to make this. This launch, the thing.
Mackenzie Morris [00:37:52]:
Right.
Mahara Wayman [00:37:52]:
Yeah. Hard lesson, hard lesson. Okay, where are you at today? You. Are you doing both, or do you consider your business, the wedding brand, business and mindset strategy coach, or is it one over the other?
Mackenzie Morris [00:38:07]:
No, the wedding business is done. When I said I closed it, I closed it. I shut it down. Nope, I shut it down. And I rode that wave. And I've been been a coach ever since. I'm a speaker. I'm currently writing a book.
Mackenzie Morris [00:38:23]:
I want to be on more podcast. I have the power of voice and energy, right? And that's why people come to me and that is the way that I can share my message, inspire and empower other people on a large scale.
Mahara Wayman [00:38:38]:
So, so good. All right. I want to know about the book, what's it called? How do you have a name for it yet?
Mackenzie Morris [00:38:45]:
I have a working title. I will not share it here. But it's all about the concept of multi dimensionality in the entrepreneur space specifically. But in life in general, our society is not built or set up or created to support people who are multi dimensional. Everything in our world is always telling us to pick a thing. Your job title, what you do, the types of offers that you have, what you like to do. It's really hard to be like an emo raver girl and be a business coach, which is what I am like. I love to go to raves and concerts and I was up until 3am last night, like it's just who I am.
Mackenzie Morris [00:39:27]:
And it's hard to be that I'm the little emo kid as a business space and that's okay. But the world likes to tell us to pick one. And kind of going back to something you were talking about earlier that I talk about in this book that also one of my near and dear friends and I have been talking about as well is especially in the entrepreneur space, we are told that we need to pick one. That if you are not all in on your business and only full time doing your business, that you are not successful. That if you have another job, you get a job or anything like that while you're running your business, that it's not worth it, that you're not doing a good job. And I don't agree with that really at all. Because I know people who go and get jobs to support their business. They can bring in additional money and remove that layer of stress that kind of can come with that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:40:17]:
But it's this whole idea of allowing ourselves to have permission to explore all the types, all the types of things that we love to do and the things that make us us, our unique oneness, our units, right? You're one in a billion ness things that no one else can replicate, right? Your little cosmic fingerprint and figure out how you can take all of those parts of you and infuse it into your life to where you can live this little la La Land life. Like. Like I've created the life where I can be in a boardroom with hot pink hair and no one's judging me because they asked me to be there for me. Right. I don't have to be worried about anyone's perception. Me, one, because I know who I am. But two, it's respected, right? And a lot of times what you're putting out in the world is a mirror for other people and be like, wow, I wish I was more like that. Wow.
Mackenzie Morris [00:41:10]:
She stays LA and she goes out. She goes to all these concerts and she's running businesses. She can do all. Do all of that while raising babies and manufacturing stuff. Oh, my God. I can do that too. But it only comes from the ability to give yourself permission to be able to be multifaceted and to embrace all of those different parts of us. So that's what the book is about.
Mahara Wayman [00:41:32]:
Well, we cannot wait. Sounds amazing. And really definitely something that's needed as far as for sure in the entrepreneurial world. Right. I was told the same thing. When you niche down, niche down, do one thing, stick to it. But I'm having fun doing multiple things because I'm also a writer. Of course I have the podcast.
Mahara Wayman [00:41:50]:
I'm a high performance coach for the company growth, and I also have my own coaching clients with my own program. Creativity is everything. But, oh my God, Mackenzie, this has been such a breath of fresh air. Pink. Love the energy and I love the honesty that it doesn't always feel the way that we expect it to feel. And I'm life, right? I'm not talking just being an entrepreneur. All I ever wanted was to be a mom. There were many, many times where I thought, this sucks.
Mahara Wayman [00:42:20]:
This doesn't feel good, this hurts, this feels heavy. But to your point, when we can give ourselves permission to be honest about what we're feeling, whether it's good, bad or ugly, that's the lesson, right? That's totally the lesson. What are some things that you do just to tie this up in a bow? What are some things that you do regularly to help you maintain this level of energy and badassery? Got any tips for us?
Mackenzie Morris [00:42:47]:
Yeah. I allow myself to think a lot. And a lot of people are so scared of that because if you sit and think, things are going to come up and you are going to have to work through it. And I love nothing more. They have feeling something emotional come up with me and be like, oh, wait, what is that? Why am I feeling that right now and coaching myself through it. I do a lot of that. A lot of introspection, introspectiveness. I don't know how to say that, but either way, I do a lot of that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:43:22]:
I love to diagnose things. I love to pick it apart. I love to just have dynamic conversations that are deep and real. I have no place for small talk in my life. I can't fake it. I. I don't know what to say. I will sit in silence before I can do any type of small talk, But I want to get real and get deep, and I allow myself to do that a lot.
Mackenzie Morris [00:43:44]:
Plant medicines. Huge part of my life. It really is. So if y' all are into that, highly recommend. Researching that completely changed my life and my viewpoint for almost everything in my life. So that has also been a really big part of my life and helping me stabilize and get really clear and learn how to see the world in a different way.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:10]:
Oh, my good curiosity led you to plant medicine, which is. That's another. Obviously, folks, we're gonna have to have her back on the show and we'll talk about that because that. That was a surprise to me. I didn't know that.
Mackenzie Morris [00:44:22]:
Oh, yeah, look at me. I've got my little mushy flower pixie girl right here on my arm. Tattoo to my arm.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:30]:
I have tree of life tattooed on my arm. Mackenzie, I want to thank you again for sharing your story with us. And I'm just so energized myself just from listening to you. I'm like, okay, what am I going to do today? Today's my day off of. Of coaching. But I feel like I. I feel very energized to just really. To sit and think.
Mahara Wayman [00:44:48]:
So I want to thank for that. Really appreciate that. So, Mackenzie, how can our listeners connect with you?
Mackenzie Morris [00:44:55]:
Yeah, they can connect me on all socials. You should be able to type in Mackenzie Morris, and I will pop up. You can find me on Instagram @ It's Max. Its M A C K X and a new account that I have not even posted one thing on. But you can follow me at Mac Baddie. M A C B A D D I with four E's after that. Yeah, you can find me on all the socials. I've got a YouTube channel.
Mackenzie Morris [00:45:21]:
We have a twitch channel. You can find me literally everywhere doing a bunch of different types of. Of things.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:28]:
Sounds good. So, guys, check her out. No, obviously, if you've listened to this podcast, you're going. If you're anything like me, I gotta. I gotta get me some of this. I gotta get me some of this. So please check the show notes. Check out Mackenzie Morris.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:41]:
Your life will never be the same, folks. Check out the show notes because everything that you need to know about my guest will be in the show notes. We are both wishing you an amazing week ahead and I'll see you next week. Week on the art of badassery. Take care. Thanks again, Mackenzie.
Mackenzie Morris [00:45:57]:
Thank you.
Mahara Wayman [00:45:59]:
If this episode lit a fire in your soul or smacked you with some needed truth, don't keep it to yourself. Like comment and share it with another badass who's ready to rise. And if you're done second guessing your intuition and want some clarity that cuts through the noise, book your free intuitive strategy. Reading with me now. No fluff, I promise. No bs, just soul deep insight to help you move forward with power. The link is in the show notes. Until next time, stay bold, stay brilliant, and for the love of God, stay badass.
Mahara Wayman [00:46:34]:
So Mackenzie, how can our listeners connect with you?
Mackenzie Morris [00:46:39]:
Yeah, they can connect with me on all socials. You should be able to type in McKenzie Morris and I will pop up. You can find me on Instagram at IT Max. Its M A C K X and a new account that I have not even posted one thing on. But you can follow me at Mac Baddie. M A C B A D D I with four E's after that. Yeah, you can find me on all the socials. I've got a YouTube channel, we have a twitch channel.
Mackenzie Morris [00:47:08]:
You can find me literally everywhere doing a bunch of different types of things.
Mahara Wayman [00:47:13]:
Sounds good. So guys, check her out. No. Obviously if you've listened to this podcast, you're going. If you're anything like me, I got it. I got to get me some of this. I got to get me some of this. So please check the show notes.
Mahara Wayman [00:47:25]:
Check out Mackenzie Morris. Your life will never be the same. All right, thanks again, guys.
