Join us for the first Christian Relationship Roundtable & Mixer!!!

Join us at the Christian Relationship Roundtable presented by Mark Anthony McCray of Live BIG! Die Empty. on Friday, December 2 from 6PM to 8PM at Java Hut.  The theme for the event will be "10 Things a Woman Must Consider About a Man Before Becoming Seriously Involved" and will be an evening of great fellowship, fun and refreshments!

After countless hours of prayer and planning and advertising, I am excited to say that we are ready!!!! It is going to be an incredible evening with some of the most incredible people in the Houston area!  The Crystal Monae will also be there sharing her words of wisdom.

We are going to have music, awesome food and drink, fun and learn a lot as we:

1 - Provide opportunities for unmarried adults to meet and fellowship with other Christians
2 - Address issues that are pertinent and unique to Christian Singles
3 - To edify the saints so they are healed, blessed and ready for relationship success

All single adults (never married, divorced, widowed) are welcomed and encouraged to attend!  Trust me.  You won't want to miss this, guys and ladies.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! Please be in prayer for those attending and those participating in the event. May God Be Glorified and may people be healed and blessed!  Be sure to check out our Facebook sites for more information about this and future events:

https://www.facebook.com/LiveBigDieEmpty
https://www.facebook.com/HeWhoFindsAWife
https://www.facebook.com/BeWorthFinding

Capacity is limited.  Be sure to save your space by registering TODAY!!

http://christianrelationshipevents.eventbrite.com/

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Too Many *!@#$^& Friends!!!

Is it time to clean up your "Friends" list?

It was for me. I finally got to the point where Facebook was stopping me from "liking" any more pages, accepting any more friends. Basically, I was in social media jail! If you can't even join YOUR OWN new page, you've got too many connections! If were to Unlike my favorite page for any reason, I couldn't add it back. It was time for me to clean house. Maybe it is for you, too? Here's how I approached it!

The first thing I chose to do is eliminate business, ministry and "cause" pages so that I'm focused more on relating to actual people. You'll be surprised how many untended pages you might be connected to. Also, when you go through your list you'll see a lot of people have duplicate profiles. Housecleaning was much needed for me! I had sent Friend Requests to so many people with cute faces that I would never meet, wasn't interested in meeting and often didn't even speak English.

I went through a phase where I "friended" and accepted requests from almost ANYBODY. I guess I felt like I was getting my name out there. You may have done the same. The funny thing is this: my connections with real people have exploded over the last several days after doing a little bit of housecleaning. That means I was probably missing some real connections in the cluttler of my newsfeed and pages.

There are studies out there that say we can only truly manage 150 online relationships anyway. Therefore, the focus should be on building the best, most fruitful, most fulfilling 150 we can!! That's my new goal...wonderful relationships with more of the right people!

Blessings!

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Walking Funny: "Encourage My Brothers" Version

I was out looking at real estate recently. The agent was walking me to look at condos but she had a funny way of walking. As I followed behind her, I found her extremely difficult to follow because she kind of stopped and started and even swung her legs in a way that it looked like she was about to change directions. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement!  I am a naturally fast walker. I almost ran over her at least twice!  She had said the unit was towards the back of the property but didn't tell me where. I wasn't sure where we were going or I might have gone ahead or walked in front.

Imagine trying to follow or even walk with someone when you aren't sure what direction they're going even moment to moment? I'm still mad thinking about it. I never called her back if I'm honest about it. I really don't want to deal with that stress.  Maybe I'm making too much of it, but you weren't there!

Anyway, here's the point to my true story: do the people around you - those relying upon you for direction - know what direction you're going?  Do you look like you're going one way and then swing back the other at the last second?  As men, it's time to stop limping between two opinions, two ways of thinking about ourselves and our God, two ways of thinking about our visions.  We have to get off the fence because there are people counting on us for direction.  There are people who would help us if they only knew where we needed help.  I believe setting direction and casting vision are unique responsibilities of men and in line with the way the Lord has designed us at our core.  Let's not be afraid of that.  Let's take courage and make more decisions.  There is so much power in the simple statement: I'm going this way!  

Do people even know your intended destination?  If not, they might be feeling pretty frustrated right now.  Those who love us are waiting on some of us to have an "...as for me and my house" moment!  I'm sure they love you, so they aren't mad at you.  They might even want to help you get there.  But they have a hard time when you're walking funny instead of walking straight.

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Walking Funny

I was out looking at real estate recently. The agent was walking me to look at condos but she had a funny way of walking. As I followed behind her, I found her extremely difficult to follow because she kind of stopped and started and even swung her legs in a way that it looked like she was about to change directions. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement!  I am a naturally fast walker. I almost ran over her at least twice!  She had said the unit was towards the back of the property but didn't tell me where. I wasn't sure where we were going or I might have gone ahead or walked in front.

Imagine trying to follow or even walk with someone when you aren't sure what direction they're going even moment to moment? I'm still mad thinking about it. I never called her back if I'm honest about it. I really don't want to deal with that stress.  Maybe I'm making too much of it, but you weren't there!

Anyway, here's the point to my true story: do the people around you - those relying upon you for direction - know what direction you're going?  Do you look like you're going one way and then swing back the other at the last second? Do people even know your intended destination?  If not, they might be feeling pretty frustrated right now. I'm sure they love you, so they aren't mad. They might even want to help you get there.  But they have a hard time when you're walking funny instead of walking straight.

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My Motivation

Here's part of my own motivation. I talk a lot about what I believe to be God's calling and imprint on our lives...mine included. However, let me live up to what I tweeted recently and be even more honest and transparent. I want my children to know me as a man who always did the most he could with what he had. I don't want them to feel like I wasted opportunity or money or life. Further, I want them to see me as a living example - an epistle, if you will - to which they can aspire.

I chose an entrepreneurial path because I wanted them to see that as an option for their own lives. That motivated me to launch out when my oldest daughter was around four years old. I didn't want my daughters to have any recollection of their father doing anything except diligently maximizing his time and opportunities - for better or worse. That's pretty much the bottom line.

Entrepreneurship isn't for everyone. Much of it may not be for me! Still, I never wanted them to know me as a man who gave up or settled. No settling! Not ever! I have often felt like I've failed my girls as a man and father. Perhaps other parents have felt the same way? It probably comes with the territory. I don't know. What I do know is I want them to know me as a man who gave all he had - every day.

That's my motivation.

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How am I doing? Honestly?

One of the things that amazes me the most is how people don't allow me to have moods, bad days or even be angry about anything. Nothing! I love social media and engaging people. I don't consider myself a very private person and don't mind sharing what's on my mind. What's funny, however, is how people react (over-react?) whenever I post a Status Update that says anything except "I'm happy, happy, happy, happy, happy!"

Come on, folks.

I'm kind of pissed about it really. If I say anything about having a hard day, being mad about something, being tired or stressed, people freak out. Some even say stuff like "You're better than that!" or something else that suggests that I'm not supposed to be human or a common man. Some people get mad at me. They tend to forget that 99% of the time I reveal something negative, I'm also saying I'm taking it to God in prayer. They say things like "How am I supposed to make it through the day when you aren't encouraging me?!"

People! Christ is there for you and He neither sleeps nor slumbers. I do. Mr. "Live BIG! Die Empty." needs some zzzz's right now.

This is part of the pressure that makes public figures feel like retreating into sex, drugs and deviant behavior. Don't worry. I'm not going that direction. But I see how some of these things happen. People feel pressure to be perfect and if/when they're not, people come down on them HARD!

This is the same stuff that hinders people from getting real deliverance from their problems. You ask someone how they're doing and - especially if they're a Christian - they're supposed to say "I'm blessed and highly favored of the Lord!!" all the time, every time, no exceptions! They are slow to say, "Hey, would you pray for me when you think of it. This is a tough season." You don't want to sound unspiritual.

So...how am I doing? I'm great. Not in a happy talk way. I'm doing fine. I'm tired, however. It's been a long week. I feel like I've been in a boxing match physically and emotionally. It's probably time for a vacation and certainly time for a breakthrough in some areas. I need to take some courageous chances. Look for that from me. I'll be sticking my neck out there even more over the next several weeks.

Pray for me. E-mail me your prayer request, too. I'd be glad to pray for you! I'm going to get a cup of coffee and dive into my e-mails now. Thanks for the therapy session. I'm done complaining. I'm blessed and highly favored!!

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7 Ways to Make Social Media Work Harder for You

1. First of all, you want to make sure you've created and updated profiles on all of the most popular social media sites. If you have, you want to connect to well-connected people so the power of their networks will begin to work for you. The most popular, of course, is Facebook...by far. But there's also LinkedIn, Twitter and the fast-growing Google+. Here are links to connect with me. I'd be proud to know you and I share tips and resources all the time!

Mark Anthony McCray on Facebook
Mark Anthony McCray on Twitter
Mark Anthony McCray on LinkedIn
Mark Anthony McCray on Google+

2. You will want to create a page for your business if you don't have one. It's easy. Facebook shows you how. Then invite your current contacts to connect with you. You can email all of your non-Facebook contacts and invite them to "Like" your Facebook fan or business page! Here's how:

1. Click on "Edit Page" to the upper right once you are on your business page.
2. On the left, you will see a menu of options. Click on "Resources"
3. You will see a few more options to the right. Click on "Tell Your Fans"
4. You will see options to contact your Yahoo!, Comcast, AOL and other address books there.
5. You can also contact up to 5000 people from your Outlook Address Book if you choose "Other Tools" and upload your Outlook address book. LinkedIn is one of your options, as well!

Good luck! This should help your social media marketing be more successful if you can reconnect with people who you've known and done business with outside of Facebook!

3. Once you have reached 25 connections on your Facebook page, Facebook allows you to shorten the domain to something more attractive. Use this link to shorten your web domains on Facebook: http://facebook.com/username and be selective. You can only do this once.

4. You can use a site like Fiverr.com to have some graphics made for you such as logos and product mock-ups. There are dozens of artists and other regular people who will do all kinds of neat things for you for only $5. I've used it myself several times with great results!

5. Did you know you can download a copy of everything you've ever posted on Facebook? I just did and I have a file of all my Status Updates, etc since 2008! This is a great things because I am going to be able to go back and capture some of the best stuff for use in my blogs and other writings! If you click on "Account Settings" on your Home page, you'll see an option to "Download a copy" of your Facebook data. Just follow the instructions and you'll receive an email with a backup copy of all your photos, messages, status updates and more shortly.

6. I may be the last person to discover this, but if you add Klout for Google Chrome to your browser (assuming you use Chrome, as I do) it shows you everyone's Klout score as you Tweet. Your's too! Klout at the Chrome Webstore I like it because watching my score touches my competitive side and, more importantly, keeps me accountable to stay engaged with my contacts.

7. FINALLY....Join my Facebook Experts Group....If you are a writer, speaker, coach, trainer, author or ANYTHING that fits into the "Expert" market space, you need to be a part of this group! Nothing against motivational quotes and scriptures, but that's not what this group is for. This group is all about "shop talk" and exchanging tips, resources, etc. that will HELP YOU BUILD YOUR BUSINESS.

Join us and please add someone else who you think will be a great resource and/or recipient! The philosophy of this page is simple...if you know where the water is, point it out to other thirsty folks!!!

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Marketing for BIG Impact with small Dollars

I've been keeping a small file of marketing ideas especially for entrepreneurs and small business owners for years. Many I've used myself and some I've either seen other business owners use. All are effective and all require you to actually DO SOMETHING!! But they don't necessarily cost a lot of money. You might be surprised at how much impact you can generate for a few bucks.

Before we get going, you might want to read some of my previous blogs on marketing so you know where I'm coming from. One is called "The Ten Commandments of Marketing Yourself, Your Product or Your Services" and it will give you a baseline understanding of my philosophies regarding marketing.

Another that you'll want to check out is called "The Nine Most Powerful Words You Can Utter" and I've also written an article about using social media effectively called "Mark's 10 Be's of Social Media" and I'd love your feedback on any of them! I think there's helpful information for you. My heart goes out to the entrepreneur. Believe me. I understand the challenges of generating business from scratch!

Here's a list of some cheap, cheap tactics you can use now!

1. If you are targeting local businesses or offices, go to a cookie place and buy one of those HUGE cookies. Have them paint your name and number on the cookie using icing. Deliver it in person. Everyone will be talking about you for days! It's important NOT TO USE SMALL COOKIES. You want to use a big cookie because they are too big for one person to eat alone...forcing at least a few conversations about you and your company!

2. Hold a contest. A simple contest or questionnaire will work even without a prize...or much of a prize. For example, email or use social media to ask people what you should call your company. Tell them your top three choices for names or logos. Ask for their feedback. People are always glad to share their opinions and, in the process, you will have an opportunity to tell them all about your practice. It works!

3. It's an overlooked tactic because it takes a little work, but make some cheap flyers and pass them out door-to-door. If you want to turn it up a notch, approach other companies and offer to deliver their flyers for them! If you can get just a few to say "yes" it will pay for your own flyers right away. Want to turn it up another notch? Get some neighborhood kids to hang them on doors for you. Just don't litter! I don't want any calls from jail. I've done this one before. It works really well if you need to move some feet to your business location.

4. Hire an artist (Craigslist will do just fine.) to use chalk to draw your company name and logo on a busy street downtown with directions to your shop or to your website. People will think it's neat. They will remember. Take a bunch of pictures for your social media site. Tweet it. Fun is memorable! It's cheap, too. You can always find a local college student who will be willing to the job for you.

5. I like to call T-Shirts walking billboards because they are cheap and always tell a story. Give some away. Make it a big deal or some kind of contest. You only need a dozen or two and that few can be had for not much at all. People like free things. Plus they have what I call "trophy value" if you do a contest. People will be glad to tell others how they won it every time. It's a win for you. Just be sure to include your website in the design.

Got any ideas you want to add? Please email mark@livebigdieempty.com and I can include them in a future blog or update! The bottom line is you can't be afraid to do something different. Getting people to talk about you is part of the point! Marketing Outrageously by Jon Spoelstra is an excellent and fun read to help you break out of the normal ways of thinking about marketing.

Of course, I have to make one more mention. I wrote an EBook called "10 Ultimate No B.S. #MonsterTips to Help You Sell More and Earn More Money NOW!" and it's important because you have to know how to close the business once people start calling you. Please purchase a copy if you need more business!



Mark Anthony McCray helps people live on PURPOSE, achieve higher PERFORMANCE and experience true PROSPERITY.  Be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a thing and forward this to a friend if you found it helpful. All material © Copyright, Mark Anthony McCray unless otherwise noted!

He can be reached in the following ways:
Mark@LiveBIGDieEmpty.com
Phone: 281-846-5720
Twitter: @LiveBIGDieEmpty
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LiveBIGDieEmpty
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/markanthonymccray/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/103149858138414160703/posts
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/markanthonymccray

For more information on Mark as a speaker or presenter check out http://www.gigsalad.com/mark_anthony_mccray_houston

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