Mark it off the list.

The most intimidating geography on the planet for a writer is Barnes & Noble. Look at all those books! Someone actually toiled over each and every one of those. There must be 100,000 separate titles in the average Barnes & Noble book store. Intimidating.

Why, then, would a simple guy like me decide write a book? Simple: I decided I had something to say; to memorialize. And it was on my Bucket List; something I'd always wanted to do. So I did it.

It seems trite to my way of thinking to 'motivate' someone to work on their Bucket List. Just as it's futile to try and motivate an employee to do better. Motivation comes from within not from without. As Master Yoda said, "do or not do. There is no try". So, I tried and did. But it was not without trials.

The first trial in setting out to write a book is subject matter. Fiction? Non-Fiction? Business book? Where to start? My book actually describes how I came about the idea (about 15 years ago) but I didn't do anything about it until about 7 years ago. Sit down and write, then put it down and forget about it while life's business consumed me for four months. On it went. And on and on.

Finally, when I thought I had every thought down on paper and relatively organized, I let my wife read it. And I edited, and edited, and edited until it was done.

Maybe no one will care. At least, I hope no one gets hacked off. That would be good. But my stories and recollections were intended to lift and edify; to portray my gratitude to each and every one of them. So, what can it be? We'll see where God leads. In the meantime, check back here to see what see my thoughts on living a life of gratitude.