Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Timothy McNeil, Sr.
Hi Dr. McNeil, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Wow. The “wow” is an intentional initial reply due to the fact that attempting to summarize how I got where I am today would likely take much longer than we have time for. However, I’ll do my best to make it a downloadable version. My story is comprised of a plethora of mistakes, mishaps, misjudgments, and missteps. The greatest appreciation I have for being “here” is that I’m actually “here” and not “there” wherever that could have left me. Growing up in an East Texas town like Longview, back in my day, the grand old eighties, was a blessed curse. It was a town that good, wholesome, basic values in life were bestowed upon you. E.g., general etiquette in communication such as eye contact and firmness of the handshake, respect for God, faith, elders, and each other. On the other hand, it was quite a multi-dichotomized place that socioeconomic margins were clear, and then within my own community, there were even further distinctions. Laughingly I think now how we were all on the south side of the town, we just had some uppity south siders and some “hood” south siders. At any rate, the choices of the chosen ones, and not being a part of that clique helped me to create a healthy self-esteem, where at an early age I decided to make myself a legend in my own mind. I was very fortunate to have wins early enough in life to where winning was transfused into my DNA and transformed my mindset to conclude that I can’t be defeated in whatever I put my mind to. It was from those pre-teen years that I began to tap into the blessing of a natural gift to analyze, assess, process, implement and operate at a pretty fast pace. I often found myself in some sort of disciplinary trouble as a result of (what I know now was) boredom from a curriculum that didn’t challenge me to maintain engagement. So, naturally, being a “PK” (preacher’s kid) with all those unrealistic pressures of purity and probity, I found myself following a pattern of mischief. I’m not sure if that was adolescence or rebellion, or a combination of both, but I know it landed me a lot of licks from a paddle and swats from a switch. There is so much more to the story of the journey getting to where I am and why I’m still traveling. But, let’s fast forward it. After my mischief caused me to find myself in enough trouble to where I would have to leave school early and obtain a GED, I reset my focus and began to veer back onto the road of redemption. The issue for me, although in theory, it was very clear what, when, and how I should be doing life at this point. But the practical application escaped me. I was caught in a very unexplainable portal of being naturally intelligent enough to “figure things out”, but not really knowing how to execute those things. Not to mention the expectation of me that others had by concluding I actually knew. This was such a long, lonely, and disheartening path for me for many years. As a result, I was learning life “on the job” with little to no nesting period to guide my takeoffs and landings. So, although I was blessed to receive full scholarships to colleges and universities, attended an international travel academy, and began working and traveling the world, I was still prone to hit brick walls and run over cliffs. As I think about your question, I really have to say that I have arrived to this point and place in life by God’s grace and blind faith. There are many people who have the proclivity to look at a product and not reference nor respect the process. If I could’ve talked to me from the future, I’m sure I would’ve done many things differently, however, the pathway of every struggle has led to my strength., The reality of every pain (and I have scars to validate it) has produced in me an inexplicable power and resolve to pursue and recover all that was potentially lost within me and build the best of the rest of life God gives me.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If I’d known this was the next question, I could have parlayed some of the previous remarks right here. But, thank you for this question, because I believe that anyone who says or even suggests that personal or professional success is achievable without obstacles and struggles is either in denial or delusional. Quite simply, NO! It has not been a smooth road. For clarity, it definitely could have been less rocky. My personal struggles rocked the road for me, and in turn, the road became rocky. So, I had to figure out what type of tires I would put on the my vehicle of life in order to keep moving forward. As a result, I have lived everywhere from in my truck (homeless) to a 6-bedroom home complete with pool, hot tub, spa, and other luxurious accoutrements. My struggles along the way were relationally, associatively, financially, and emotionally. Throughout these years I had to keep pushing through reconciliations of my historical mistakes and prevent myself from becoming the curator of my own Smithsonian Institute of sorrows. I had to press through the self-imposed burden of being accepted, respected, and appreciated by others. I had to formulate an equation that would calculate acceptance, respect, and appreciation for myself and internally build an undeniable constitution that would help me navigate the terrain of doubt, fear, depression, and anxiety until I could arrive a resting place to revive, refresh and reinvigorate myself to continue moving forward. In 2020 I contracted COVID during the time it was running rampant throughout the world. I could hardly stand to watch the news during that time, as I was suffering significantly from the effects of the virus. Each night I would lay down with little to no expectation of awaking the next day, only to receive a tremendous epiphany. I recall saying to myself, “Hey, instead of thinking about dying, how about making a new commitment to live!” Not just beyond this virus, but LIVE…the rest of your life. At that moment I realized that a life that identifies purpose is one that will produce the tenacity and capacity to live on purpose. Therefore, the struggles of failed relationships, marriages, business models, and any other you could figuratively name all became the foundation upon which I would build my life and spend the rest of it working and serving to build others through personal development, emotional intelligence, and empowerment facilitation.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about McNeil Enterprises, LLC?
McNeil Enterprises, LLC offers a variety of training solutions for team building, leadership, management development, personal development, diversity, and sales performance workshops, programs, and seminars to help you succeed in the area(s) of your need. In essence, we strive to be the best outsourced human resource and business development entity available. Our performance and personal improvement programs are facilitated by spaced repetition learning, which offers subject-focused instruction in small increments over an extended period of time. As well, as our Power WORKshops and T.I.M.enars, which are transformational, informative, and motivational speaking sessions that guarantee impact.
I am also a pastor and have served in ministry for over 30 years. This has become my dominant passion as I live to be a change agent to any and everyone, I meet. I consider myself an inspiVation voice that inspires and motivates transformation for anyone at any level and from any walk of life. I have been fortunate to speak for Fortune 500 companies, international ministries, non-profit organizations, and institutions of higher learning throughout the country and world. Brand wise, I am most proud (two-fold) of being a man of faith and serving as pastor of the Community Fellowship Church for 5 years. I am also proud and honored to serve as the Grand Chaplain for the Most Worshipful Universal Grand Lodge #1 for the state of Texas and to be member of the Masonic brotherhood.
My corporate and business offerings are business development and strategic planning services as well as non-profit sustainability consultation focusing on community and economic development. I also specialize in crisis management and communications along with organizational revitalization consultation. Lastly, I am an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, intervention and education, at-risk youth mentoring, and human trafficking prevention.
Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Publius Terntius Afer a.k.a. Terence wrote, “fortune favors the brave”. I 100%, absolutely, unequivocally, and categorically believe this. Because I believe it then my answer is obviously YES! I have, do, and will continue to take risks. I categorize risks in three ways, calculated, chaotic or catastrophic. Full disclosure, as a man of faith my risks are often calculated because I attach an intrinsic and intangible resilience to it called belief. Any and every risk I have, do, and will take will always be based on what I believe. I want to be clear that I am saying what I believe, not necessarily what I know. Anyone who desires to stand out from the crowd has to be a person willing to do what others won’t or wouldn’t dare try. It takes courage to walk ahead of the curve, and it is definitely lonely. My sister, Alicia, often shakes her head at me, and with a quiet, eye-squinting disposition she’ll be the one that stands on the shore to cheer me on as she watches me jump into the ocean of the unknown and await my emergence. I also have an irrefutable secret sauce and that is an incessantly praying mother. I recall traveling to Hyderabad, India, on a mission to plant churches and although I had contacts in place, I’d never been there, let alone, met them. I traveled to Mangalagiri in the back of an SUV in the middle of night unbeknownst to me on a 6-hour ride. It happened to have been the same night of the Cricket world championship match and India won. Keep in mind, I had no clue how popular that sport was and therefore had even a lesser understanding of the thousands of people out in the middle of the night setting off fireworks and all throughout the streets. I was eyes wide open the whole way. The conclusion of the matter was upon my arrival at my destination I was met with an array of flower petals thrown upon me and a gracious family to receive me. As a result of the risk I took off of my belief, I was able to plant six churches in South Asia and although it was literally a foreign land and language, the reward was that I accomplished more than I could have imagined. Risks are necessary. The saying is true. The greater the risk, the greater reward. One fail-safe piece of advice I would offer is that with every risk you take, make the reward beneficial for someone or others as much as for yourself. That calculation will always add up in your favor.
Contact Info:
- Email: drtimothymcneil@gmail.
com - Website: www.
mcneilenterprises.net - Instagram: @drtimothymcneil
- Facebook: @
drtimothymcneilpublic - Twitter: @drtimothymcneil
- Youtube: TIMpleTalkTV
- Other: www.cfcvirtual.org
Image Credits
ALove Money$hot Photography
