Milestones are important for all of us.  In fact, I've begun to look at life in general as a series of milestones, rather than trying to imagine some sort of finish line. If anything, I've learned that there is no finish line, only the next milestone ahead...

This will mark the 27th episode of The Captain's Log, and it represents a solid 6 months of progress. I consider that a respectable milestone, and one that I'm happy to celebrate. It also helps me to visualize the next 6 months ahead, and gives me another milestone to look forward to.

As I've mentioned before, I started this blog as a way to offer something of value to our audience.  Most of you reading these blogs have either worked with our team in some capacity, or perhaps were introduced to us by a friend or acquaintance.  Either way, my objective has always been to include you on our journey through the use of storytelling - because everyone appreciates a good story!

In all honesty, I thoroughly enjoy the process of writing. It makes for a fabulous mental exercise and it forces me to sit down and finish the task every single week, without fail.  Deadlines are priceless, and without them - we all have the tendency to put things off and procrastinate.  But with a deadline looming over your head, there are no excuses and eventually you just have to accept the task, sit your butt down, and get to work.  Stephen King often talks about writing as a discipline. He is committed to writing 1,000 words per day, and will not leave his desk until he has completed that minimum requirement. Being disciplined alleviates much of the pressure, and makes writing less about being "creative" and more about being "productive". As one of my writing mentors often says, "Creativity is for the birds!”

However, as much as I enjoy the process - I'd be lying if I didn't admit how difficult it can be sometimes.  There are some weeks when a great idea will come to me effortlessly, or an event happens within my personal life or our business, which offers me the perfect topic to write about. But there are also weeks where I'm at a loss, and I have a hard time coming up with a worthwhile subject or topic of discussion. Luckily, this is where my team comes in!

This week is a perfect example of how teamwork applies to the lonely writer (we're actually not all that lonely ;-).  If you read last week's log, you'll recall that I was away with my wife and kids at a cottage on a lake up north.  It can be tough getting back into your regular routine after a week away, and this was precisely the case this week.  I had nothing.

But my sister Catherine sent me a link to a blog she had read written by a young writer who goes by the name "Radical". She's a 30-something year old professional who started a blog about achieving financial independence and planning for an early retirement.  She just reached her 6-month blogging milestone and reflected on her progress thus far. It was a great read! And it also acted as inspiration for my log entry this week – having reached the same milestone myself.

So I certainly don't get all the credit here. My writing process often involves valuable input and ideas from my team members, and both Catherine and Libby serve as my proofreaders and editors.  During the first few months, I had a hard time with the amount of editing that seemed to be required. Sometimes almost half of what I'd written would end up getting re-worked or cut out of the post entirely (the horror!) I still cringe whenever I see the red pen-marks all over my pages... but I've gotten much better at accepting the process.  I have a lot more "creative freedom" when I write my personal blog (The Chopping Block), but on that platform, I'm only representing myself.  On the Captain's Log... I'm representing an entire team made up of multiple personalities, yet guided by the same philosophies and principles.  It's a bit of a tightrope to walk, and often requires delicate balance and finesse.  This of course makes writing this blog that much more challenging, yet rewarding at the same time.

 The one thing I enjoy the most about writing however, is the engagement with our audience. Sometimes I wonder if anyone would ever bother reading one of these logs - especially considering how busy we all are these days.  But I'm both amazed and grateful every time we receive a reply or a comment from one of our readers.  I feel especially good when someone tells us that something I wrote inspired them, or made them think of a similar experience in their lives. Stories are like bridges between lives. They connect us and allow us to share each other's triumphs and failures. They remind us that we're all human, and that we all make mistakes sometimes. I'd actually like to give a special tip of the hat to Shelagh Webster - who has been one of our most encouraging supporters and avid readers. Shelagh, we truly appreciate all of your feedback and enthusiasm!

So thank you all for tuning in week after week. The fact that you haven’t unsubscribed yet is motivation in itself.  I’m proud of how the Captain’s Log has evolved over the past 6 months, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding and fun experience so far. Now on to the next milestone…

Signing off,

Capt’n Mark