Today we’d like to introduce you to Craig.
Hi Craig, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My professional life is the direct result of how I grew up. I was taught simple lessons that stood the test of time. Learning of any kind was supported and cheered on. Helping to make things better through honest efforts, no matter the size, was the example set daily. Fighting through adversity was as normal as breathing. My father would echo sentiments like: “make it easy for people to help you”, “leave it better than you found it”, and ” I love you.” This led me to become a comedian as a teen and eventually a soldier, teacher, and earn two degrees, along with several certifications. My father’s example and my mother’s ardent support told me I could do anything. I chose to be dutiful, of all the things I could have been. The soldier gig got me a deployment to Iraq in 2004. When I came back to Texas in 2005 the world looked different because my eyes had changed. It was years before I found the help I needed. In the years between, I turned to cooking and painting to keep it together the best I could. After finding a good therapist and knowing the impact, I felt a tug to be dutiful once again. A mentor of mine, Eric Collier, steered me to coaching. That is when I became a Certified Relational Trauma Coach (CRTC). Shortly after earning that credential, I created 8th Frame LLC. I have started telling my story in my cookbook “Cooking Memories & Serving Love,” available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Even though I learned how to pave roads while in the Army I have not seen too many smooth roads unless I helped pave them. Trying to start a business while raising a family, giving time and energy to support the community, grow my network, and breathe has been and still is quite the journey. Being strong and vulnerable is a tough balance. It’s tough to transition between two lenses with all that is required, whether the requirement is known or unknown. Relationships require time, and so does standing up a business, as well as maintaining a presence in the community. I will say my family is first, and I juggle the rest. Time and energy investment are a struggle, but a worthy struggle.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a trauma coach, I have to know how to deal with my own trauma. I find that painting is cathartic for me, and I encourage others to try and find a creative outlet to feel, process, and release emotions. I like that others get stimulated cognitively and emotionally by my paintings. They have done their job when that happens, and it helps, even if they don’t like what I’ve created. When you can create something that is a corridor or a mirror, it reveals a bit of the self to someone else. We are all mirrors in a way. Reflecting our surroundings to be reflected by others. The hope is to evoke a question or a new point of view. What sets me apart is how my mind deciphers and catalogs information to synthesize things from complex structures to easily digestible chunks.
What matters most to you?
People matter the most. They matter the most because people are why all this is around us. “Civilization” evolves and devolves because of people. It is why I choose to be dutiful over being wealthy. Money is a tool, while relationships with people are the legacy of a life well-lived. I think relationships are how we can all leave it better than we found it. It is why trauma is what I chose as my focus. Trauma impacts relationships and weakens the positive effect one might have. When we grow in our capacity to deal with and recover from trauma, we can help the world evolve into a better place, one relationship at a time.
Pricing:
- $34.00 Cooking Memories & Serving Love, available on Amazon
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.8thframecoaching.com
- Instagram: 8thFrameCoaching
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-mcnary-m-ed-coach-speaker-b47852147/
Image Credits
Darrias Thomas at LeagueCreative ( Book Release shots, yellow shirt shot)
Aaron Spivey-Sorrells at TSJN-4 Vision (Polo Headshots)
