Authentically Me: How I Faced My Fears at the Inc. 5000 Conference

By Mackey McNeill, Founder and CEO of MACKEY

Authentically me. These are the words I chose to guide me through 2022. Little did I know, back in January, what this year would bring.

Selecting guide words is part of one of my favorite annual exercises: The Take Back Your Time Workshop. It’s an exercise that provides the opportunity to reflect, reset, and intentionally move forward in leading your business.

So, this year, I promised myself to be “authentically me” — that I’d celebrate and listen to my inner wisdom. At the time, I had no idea how far that might take me.

Back in January, I didn’t know that MACKEY would be named an Inc. 5000 honoree (number 2,745, thank you very much!).

Back in January, I didn’t know that I’d be invited to share the stage at the annual Inc. 5000 conference with household names like Daymond John, Wayne Brady, Steve Chase, and Elizabeth Cutler.

And back in January, I didn’t know that five words into delivering the biggest speech of my life I’d forget what I was going to say.

To say I was nervous is an understatement. In fact, I almost backed out when I learned that not only would I be speaking at the conference, but that I’d kick off the conference.

I had just completed two years of training through Heroic Public Speaking, so I knew I was ready. But there’s a difference between taking swimming lessons and jumping into the deep end on your own.

I decided to work through my fears and press on.

But when I got on stage, all of the words I had so carefully planned left my mind. There I was, standing on the biggest stage of my life, in front of countless entrepreneurs whom I admired, and I couldn’t remember a single word I’d written.

I knew there was a teleprompter below me, but I had promised myself I wouldn’t use it — talk about a surefire way to not connect with your audience!

As I searched for the words, I quickly realized my pause could no longer be interpreted as an intentionally pregnant one.

So, I laughed and announced to the audience, “Wow! Who knew I was going to forget everything I planned to say?”

To my surprise, the audience erupted with laughter and applause. The words came back to me. I took a deep breath and resumed my story.

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. People approached me throughout the day raving about my speech. I was glowing as they congratulated me for staying true to myself. But it wasn’t just the contents of the speech that left an impression, it was my blunder that also stuck with them.

“That was the best recovery I’ve ever seen, Mackey!”

“We were with you, in your corner, as you struggled to find the words.”

It turns out that by being authentically me — flaws and all — I was able to leave a lasting impression.

And in all those little conversations in between the workshops and keynote speeches, I learned my greatest takeaway from this year’s conference: Being authentically human is the most powerful thing you can be.

Another important takeaway? Stretching yourself is never a bad thing.

Was I afraid to speak in front of such an impressive audience? Absolutely. But did I let that stop me? Not at all. Instead, I listened to my inner guide and leaned into the fear.

And, interestingly enough, this very lesson even surfaces in my speech, too: Don’t be afraid to stay true to yourself. Listen to and follow your inner guide — it knows the way.

Want to hear my origin story? Check out my speech.

More of a reader? Here’s a written version for you to peruse:

Flashback to 2004: After tossing and turning all night, I crawl out of bed — exhausted — for one of the most important days of my professional life. Today, I fire my largest client, shrinking my business by a third, and I put another third on the market for sale.

I awake as the CEO of one of the largest CPA firms in my city. And I’ll go to sleep tonight having taken myself off that list — intentionally.

It all began with one question, one answer, and no possibility for unknowing.

My largest client is padding the pocket of a local bank president. On paper, it’s all legal, but it smells as bad as fresh skunk roadkill.

I am a single mother and I cannot afford for my business to fail. But I have searched my soul and I cannot find it within me to rebuild a CPA firm I never had the passion for in the first place.

You see, growing up, I watched my dad lose his life dream, going bankrupt as an entrepreneur.

And I had to know why.

So, when someone said, ‘accounting is the language of business.’ I said, ‘sign me up! I will become a CPA, and I will help business owners thrive and prosper.’

And as I hung out my own shingle, that was my intent. But with bills to pay and mouths to feed, I fall back and I do what most CPAs do — I count beans.

I’ve worked with thousands of business owners, and I see a common playbook: Work hard, grow sales, and the bottom line will follow. But this playbook rarely works. And when it does, it comes with an enormous price tag — friends, fun, family, your health.

Why not create a new playbook? A Prosperity Playbook.

Tightening my belt and living on the proceeds from my partial practice sale, I did just that: Iterating; trying new things; integrating seemingly unrelated disciplines like spirituality, psychology, and strategic planning with accounting and finance.

So how does this story end?

That client I fired — remember him? Well, after we parted, he flew by legal funny money into full blown fraud: 34 million dollars, 40 companies, 40 banks, and 25 years in jail.

As for me, I created Prosper for Business. A life changing system for helping clients achieve the three freedoms of prosperity: time, mind, and money Freedom. Transforming clients’ lives — clients who told their friends, creating a tsunami of growth.

Mackey McNeill, Founder, MACKEY, 2,745 on this year’s Inc. 5000.