We had the good fortune of connecting with Mary Rogers McMaster and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mary Rogers, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I found myself on the Q train platform in New York City headed out for a somewhat mundane errand and my mind was racing. As I stood there, letting my thoughts wash over me, it felt like I was slowly sinking into a bath of worry. I felt the all too familiar anxiety invite me to sink lower and lower until my head was barely above the water. Normally, I would attach to the feelings and sink lower. Habitually, I would agree with my mental circumstances that, yes, there was reason to worry and reason to be stressed and I would adopt those beliefs and act accordingly. However in this moment, on this train platform, with strangers all around and no danger to be seen, I asked myself a question: Did something terrible just happen? No. Am I safe? Yes.

I realized then that I had a bad habit taking me over. I had a bad habit of creating intensity out of something mundane. Similar to an adrenaline junkie, I was a worry junkie hoping that stress would make me feel more purposeful.

On that platform, through inquiry, with the uneventful backdrop of public transportation, I found the false belief driving my actions: I believe that things have to be intense in order to be important. Furthermore, I believe that I have to be intense in order to be important.

Neither are true.

There my growth began.

For the first time, I was able to snap out of the trance of worry. I was able to see my thoughts happening in front of my eyes, and I was able to disassociate from them. I was able to get out of the bath of worry! I was able to break my false belief!

Ever since then, I have been building tools for peace that can be repeated and learned with practice. I have created a coaching platform that helps people identify their false beliefs so that they may move beyond those limits and jump on a path to peace, sustainably and on their own time.

In our sessions, we identify the box we’ve put ourselves in, and gently make our way out of it, increasing our capacity for love, patience, peace and joy.

I am thankful for that day on the train platform. . . it was my time to snap out of the trance of worry, and I have dedicated myself to helping you do the same.

It’s never too late to re-write your story, to re-discover your purpose, or to fall in love with life again.

All it takes, it a little practice.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am an artist through and through. To me, being an artist means being malleable, expressive and interested in new ways of being. I grew up in a political arena in the south, meaning I was exposed to all types of people right from the get go. I remember watching the different ways party guests would position themselves to talk to certain people. I’d watch the way they moved throughout the room and how they changed their posture based on who they were talking to. At age 5 I was already interested in everyone’s story of ‘how do I get what I want?’

I used this fascination with people as a springboard to the stage. On stage, I could play limitless characters , I could constantly research – and I did!

I lived in New York City for a total of seven years, Los Angeles for three. There, I continued my ‘people’ research by working numerous jobs, pushing hard for an acting career I didn’t know how to make into a ‘business’, and making incredible friends from all over the world.

Through my travels, one thing always remained: I was the one you could come to when you had a problem. I was always the one my friends called when they felt they had no way out of their stress. Even strangers tended to flock to me when they felt backed into a corner.

I am proud that I have lived fearlessly, worked tremendously, and gained insight into other worlds so that I can best serve my clients today. I am thankful that I have the capacity to piece my life phases together in a way that serves others and hopefully I can do my part to make the world a better place.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I travel, I like to live like a local. That means coffee shop hangs, city walks, nature trails, and breweries!

My favorite spots in the city: Columbia, SC

For coffee: Drip On Saluda’s
Brewery Hang: Savage in West Columbia
Best Nature Trail: The Riverbank Zoo access.
City Walk: Main Street, Divine Street and State Street (West Columbia)

A trip to South Carolina can mean hanging at the beach too!

We have so many beaches, with all different flavors:

Pawleys Island, SC (my personal favorite)
Litchfield Beach
Sullivans Island
Folly Beach
Isle of Palms
Wild Dunes

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been so blessed to have a path littered with amazing teachers, all who have shaped who I am today and have informed my style of teaching. Being an actor for 25 years has allowed me to sit front row to some of the most creative, intelligent and joyful teachers this profession has to offer. I continue to access those teachings, and strive to bring the very best of those methods into my work every day.

Specifically, I want to thank my husband, Sam Herskovitz, for believing in this company and for recognizing my potential, especially when my faith has been tested. His support is foundational, aspirational and absolutely unwavering, he is my rock. To my dad, Governor Henry McMaster, for helping me to fall in love with storytelling from a very early age. Dad has always encouraged me to ‘sing my song’, and I do. Lastly, a tremendous thank you to Dr. Stephen Cohen (Acupuncturist, NYC) and Kathleen Schafer who both offered such precise and expansive perspectives. You both have contributed greatly to my foundational understanding of the mind.

Thank you all.

Website: https://thegoodhabit.work/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thegoodhabit/

Other: My Google My Business Page https://www.google.com/search?q=TheGoodHabit&ludocid=1317912298568956518&ibp=gwp;0,7&source=g.page.m.is

Image Credits
Mary Rogers McMaster

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.