Snippets

This page contains the resources that I have found useful in my personal and professional life. Admittedly, it is an eclectic list. It contains everything from quotes and books that I like to podcasts, videos, and slideshows.

If you don’t want to scroll through the entire list, you can click on one of the links below and filter the resources by specific category.

I will update this list as I discover new resources. If you have a resource you think I should add, please email me.

Plan B.

I recently returned from a multi-day high school retreat as the event speaker. There’s nothing quite like having your “A” game fine tuned when preparing to engage with a large number of energetic teens. Several weeks of planning, preparation, and prayer was about to unfold before my very eyes.

On the first day, I looked out into a sea of young engaged eyes hanging onto every word I spoke, at which time I noticed a large number of international students looking on as if present, but not necessarily engaged. The first impression that came to mind was that this is going to be a tough crowd to influence, yet I couldn’t help but be reminded that life has a way of offering opportunities masked as challenges.

Rather than continue on with my plan, I went to the only place where I knew I would gain right perspective: on my knees in prayer. I quickly received peace about communicating my sermons in smaller chunks that would help my teen audience reinforce the importance of loving God, themselves, and their neighbors. My Plan B included appropriate human touch and connection: hugs, smiles, and looking one another in the eyes.

As a result, something transformational happened to these students and faculty during these interactive exercises this week that is difficult to explain. Language, cultural, and social barriers were superseded by hugs, smiles, and a demonstration of the greatest command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

I wonder what life would look like if people took responsibility for being less entitled to dominate others in the world thru hate, and more compassion about genuinely loving God and one another? I choose the latter.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

I speak to hundreds of thousands of young adults, men, women, and couples annually on leadership, decision making, and relationships. Sometimes life has a way of being the antidote to life itself. If you’d like more information on this topic or how to bring me in as a speaker for your next event, please contact me. Thanks to Capistrano Valley Christian School for inviting me to be your 2014 annual retreat speaker and inspiring this story!

In the meantime, I encourage you to subscribe to my Tribe/Newsletter on my homepage. Post your comment below, Share my blogs with your friends on social media, and visit my website often for daily inspiration.

Egypt McKee

Evangelist | Speaker | Author | TV Host

What’s Up with That?

While running errands, I noticed a group of young adult men hanging around talking to one another. On the surface, there wasn’t anything distinguishing about them except for the fact that they were constantly trying to “one up” each other in a verbally dangerous game of teasing with “Yo Mama” jokes.

I wanted to find out quickly who the leader was, so I said, “What’s up fellas?”, and they quickly gave me a subtle head nod of greeting. I quickly cut to the chase and asked, “Which one of you would speak to your momma the way you’re describing her right now?” If there were ever a time to cue the crickets sound effects, it was now. You could hear a pin drop.

Surely, they must have thought, “Who is this guy?”, yet the looks on their collective faces seem to say, “Not me!” I went on to say, “You know, it’s yo momma that carried you in her belly for 9-months without quitting, she gave you love, changed your diapers, wiped your snotty little noses, fed you, and I think she deserves a lot more respect than you’re giving her and other mothers that you don’t even know.”

Then I looked at them all in their eyes and concluded, “Whoever the leader is in your group has the responsibility to do what’s right and influence others to do what’s right, unless that person doesn’t know what’s right. Considering that not one of these young men grew up with their father present in their homes, it would surprise no one that their outlet for affirmation is spent in tearing one other down.

LEADERSHIP without RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY is just another way of saying, “I choose to be lazy and mooch off the rest of the world, so I’m going to have my cake and eat it too!”

You are better than that, and you have a responsibility to your Creator, yourself, and others. Now let’s get to the dirty work of humbling ourselves and living our purpose in life. Share your comments below! Id’ love to hear from you.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Evangelist | Speaker | Author | TV Host

Three’s a Crowd

There’s nothing quite as annoying as trying to carry on a conversation with someone over the phone, and they repeatedly drop in and out of your conversation with a mystery third party. The more we seem to advance as people, the more dependent we become on multifunctional skills we neither developed nor have the capacity to master.

How did we ever make it in life back in the old days? Simple, we offered one another a mutual respect, our undivided attention, and we held a conversation as if the other person mattered. I encourage you to do the unthinkable today by turning off your cell phone for a single day, and learn to communicate with others the old fashion way—IN PERSON.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

The Clown Bell.

As the oldest of five to a single mother, I have a deep appreciation and admiration for mothers, and their unenviable task of maintaining order in an often-chaotic household. Witnessing a mother wear multiple hats forged in steel on the battlefield of childrearing, midnight feedings, sleep deprivation, and menstrual cycles is nothing short of miraculous.

Somehow lost in the cadence of screaming children, dogs barking, and the television playing in the background, offers that rare moment when your children are actually quiet, content, and most of all—preoccupied.

How could letting your guard down be so tempting? In just the blink of an eye, the phone rings, and you’re convinced you can actually carry on a conversation with a friend in peace. No sooner than it takes for you to pick up the phone and begin your discussion; it’s as if Ringling Brothers hit the idiot bell and summoned your children to a new level of noise production while demanding your undivided attention, and simultaneously leveraging your body as a jungle gym.

The good news is these days are few in the span of parenting, and I encourage you to enjoy them as much as possible. Leveraging your village to provide your children a healthy outlet while maintaining and strengthening your relationships is a critical part of your life’s balance.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

In plain sight.

Far too often, parents of young adults in their 20’s tell me they’re losing trust in their relationships with their children to drugs, alcohol, lies, and deceit. Up unto this point, the combination of skills required for successful parenting would be surpassed by the all-elusive skill as an advisor, counselor, and listener.

On the other side of the argument, rests a twenty-something year old young adult feverishly testing the laws of the sum total of all they’ve learned in life. Unfortunately, there is no plan-B embedded within the idea that once you’re of age—you’re on your own.

Life is hard enough, even with minimal challenges. Everyone needs a mentor and someone to mentor in life. Sadly, most people have neither, and they wander in plain sight without an honorable person to listen, lean upon, or lift up. I want to encourage you to find a quiet place today and take an honest look at your life, and consider who you’d trust to invite into your life as a mentor, and also the person who needs you to be their mentor.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

Momma’s Boy.

Back in the day, the phrase “Momma’s boy” implied a young man was somewhat less of a man because of his willingness and desire to be pampered by his mothers overreaching favor and control. In many ways, I cannot help but think we were all a little envious of that brand of special attention from mothers.

Sadly, the hopes of developing a child with the character of personal responsibility, humility, generosity, hard work, and moral standards has produced the opposite effects.

Today, boys trade in reality for a virtual existence through video games, smart phones, mobile devices, computers, and television.

It’s a miracle their thumbs don’t grow longer from hours of text messaging and gaming! It’s bad enough that many young boys know how to survive a virtual military shootout in a video game, but don’t know the importance of being generous, hospitable, or serving the poor and impoverished.

Although fathers are key in guiding, training, and mentoring their sons to think and behave as honorable men, it’s moms that have the daily tactical advantage of influencing character as a result of proximity.

If you’re a mom, I want to encourage you to unplug your electronic world and do what you do best, and that’s rally your family to connect as a family today. Maybe that means pulling out the board games …. you remember Operation, Monopoly, and Battleship? Maybe it’s time to build a jigsaw puzzle as a family, but rest assured it will require something none of you may have exercised in quite sometime: Brain Cells.

Trust me, no child, especially boys, should be sitting around for countless hours learning to kill people on virtual battlefields when the battefield most worth winning is best known as your home. I encourage you to give it a try and see how your perspective in life influences those most precious around you.

Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

Have you seen my …?

Is there anything quite as frustrating as looking for your keys or wallet when it’s sitting right under your nose? Far too often we skip over all the obvious details to go about solving life’s challenges the best way we know how: on our own.

The one thing that seems to elude us is the one thing that would help us find the obvious more importantly, give us the ability to engage with our families and others appropriately.

Perspective. Can you say the word with the conviction that you not only have it, but practice it as well? Considering the fact that we live in a world where drama queens and kings receive all the attention, the unqualified lead the masses, and bizarre behavior is worshipped with relentless passion. Right perspective is needed more than ever.

As a husband and father, I realize there is a clear distinction between being a father and a daddy, and furthermore the reality of being present versus engaged. No one ever cares how hard you work, but they do care about how you engage in their lives.

At the end of the day, you’ve got to give up something of value to get something of greater value. Everything rises and falls on leadership. Think about it and share your comments below with me.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

Get Over It.

Just when you thought getting through the adolescent and teenage years was difficult; welcome to the big leagues of parenthood. One of the last things you’ll want to do is lose your focus because of a few strikeouts.

Considering everyone’s journey to parenthood involved numerous mistakes, miscues, and errors; there is nothing quite as lethal as leading from behind.

Your greatest assets, being your children, have grown to be a liability over the years because your leadership is a reflection of your fear to guide, counsel, correct, and discipline them in the areas where you have personally made repeated mistakes, miscues, and errors.

Get over it. Get over yourself, and lead. Feeling good about making right decisions is not a prerequisite of Parenting or leading. It takes a village to raise a young man or woman of character and integrity.

Listen, train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. This doesn’t mean your child won’t make mistakes, but it does mean they will have a conviction of truth in them to return to the only place they know there is peace.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

True Lies

One of the greatest frustrations that parents ask for my help is with how they should deal with their lying teen. I’m honored to facilitate Leadership & Parenting Workshops for Moms, Dads, Single Parents, and Guardians throughout the country on a regular basis.

Long before I recommend a specific strategy, I begin by asking them to describe their relationship with their teen son or daughter. More often than not, their perspective is ripe with animated testimonies of foul language, mistrust, poor decisions, and irresponsibility. Sound familiar?

No parent ever wants to hear that they are somehow partly responsible for their child’s dysfunctional behavior. It’s in these moments of truth where true leadership is brought to bear. Listen–what you value, you do. Lying, for a young person, is generally a means to an end. Once they study your behavior, and practice what they’ve learned, “Why should there be any cause for concern?”

How many times has your phone rang, and you’ve instructed your child to tell the caller you weren’t home or unavailable? How many times have you complained or gossiped about someone, and later told them everything was great? How many times have you lied about your age, and your child had a front row seat to witness the mastery of your conviction?

The sum total of what appears to be little “white lies” will grow up to become your greatest nightmare. I have never met a person who ever wanted to have their child grown up to be world famous for lying. Sadly, our culture is filled with varying levels of deceptions and lies. If you want your child to speak truth or display integrity, then you will be required to model character that’s taught, learned, and demonstrated in your teens life. Rules without relationships always lead to rebellion.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach

I Told You So.

I recently saw a news broadcast regarding the increasing lack of jobs available among young people this Summer. The nationally recognized journalist delivered a convincing narrative that more money should be immediately invested into the government sector in an effort to create more jobs for young people. At about this time, I began listening with the effectiveness of and adult reprisal of Charlie Brown.

Sadly, the journalist was likely focused upon reading through the teleprompter with precision rather than contemplating the brevity of the subject matter. How is it possible that we as people contend to advance in education, yet fail to enlist it in an effort to explore and ask the right questions? On the surface, it’s easy to discount the popularity or coolness factor for discussing jobs among young people, yet there is a real component here that far exceeds cause and effect.

How exactly are we as Fathers, Mothers, Guardians, and Concerned Citizens of the United States modeling appropriate behavior to young people, particularly in a down market? Sadly, we have generated such an entitlement attitude of arrogance, laziness, and selfishness that to undo this callous character trend would be invasive at the least. Young people all agree that their dreams are huge, even unrealistic, yet they own them and will generally find more accomplishment in “thinking about it” or “tweeting about it” rather than preparing for it and actually doing what it takes to accomplish it.

Fathers and Mothers have always been the appointed and preferred first line of defense and offense with regard to instilling and developing good character in their children. I’ve always said, “it takes a village to raise a man and woman of character”, and far too many young people have escaped invaluable life lessons, which are required for effective leadership.

Rather than wait around by passing up perceived “menial jobs” because they lack glamour or excessive salaries, we as a nation would much farther advance in character and prosperity if we would consider promoting ownership and creativity rather than borrowing money from foreign governments to finance ineffective social programs.

The economy, regardless of its ranking on the stock market, will always influence purchasing power, however hard work, creativity, and focus is not easily affected by such market conditions. What does the person who has no money think about? Money, of course. Years ago as a young teenager, I remember learning many of life’s domestic skills from my grandfather and grandmother. I learned early on how to be creative by knocking on doors and asking my neighbors if I could cut their grass, wash cars, wash windows, run errands, rake leaves, shovel snow, or do whatever I could to earn my own money with integrity.

We are certainly all responsible for ripping off the next generation by giving them everything they want and not requiring them to get up off their butts to work for it, plan for it, commit to it, serve many years in it, and excel in it. We are robbing the next generation of a fundamental truth that is required of a society based upon freedom: Hard work, Ownership, Sweat Equity, Sacrifice, Generosity, and Humility. My name is Egypt McKee, and I approve this message.

Until next time, Be encouraged.

Egypt McKee

Speaker | Author | TV Host | Life Coach