A Little Bit at a Time.......

Hello and good day!

Well, it looks like I can cross writing a book off my bucket list.

On Friday of last week, I wrote the last page of the book that I'll have coming out early next year.I've been working on it every day for the last 6 months.

I haven't missed a day.

I set a daily word quota for myself and I am proud to say that I only came up short one day during the entire 6 months.

For my entire adult life, I've been either an accountant or a salesman, or both simultaneously. I never wrote anything for anybody to read until roughly March 2020 when I started writing this daily email for chocolate customers.

The wonderful gentleman who agreed to publish the book is a guy named Matt Holt. He is the owner of Matt Holt Books and I'd definitely recommend taking a look at his website if you are interested in the business book genre.

Matt usually has several books on the bestseller lists at any given time. As you can imagine, I was very humbled and honored that somebody of Matt's caliber would take a chance on a guy like me.

Hopefully I won't let him down! After the contract was signed, I asked Matt if he had any advice about  writing a book.He said that the key to writing a book is writing it a little bit at a time.

Little by little, over time, and it all adds up.

This is sage advice and of course it applies to any long term project. It always has to be done little by little. There is no other way. As far as I can tell, this fact is both a great blessing and the reason why long term projects are so daunting.

On the one hand, only having to do a little bit at a time makes things easy. You just chip away at it day by day. That is doable. Anybody can do a little bit of something.

But the hard part is when you are half way done and you realize that you still have so long to go! That little bit at a time advice really served me. Because when I felt like I was going to get overwhelmed, I just focused on the day's work.

One day at a time, over six months, and now the writing is done.

What is left is an editing job. I honestly don't remember what I wrote six months ago. I have an idea, but I don't exactly recall the specifics. I need to go back and make sure the whole thing is cohesive and entertaining from beginning to end.

I really want the people who read this book to have a fun and exciting adventure.

I'm hoping that readers will feel like they are right there with me and my dad and my brother as we built our chocolate business from nothing to something.

I hope they'll be able to hear the swoosh of a machete cutting through the air and thwapping into the thick husk of a cacao pod, cracking it open.

I hope that you'll be able to feel the oppressive, humid, jungle heat and see the lush country side where cacao grows and where farmers look tiny and delicate compared to the vast, powerful, sweep of nature.

Anyhow, when I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth this morning, I almost broke down sobbing. Something that has been with me for a while and that I have been working hard on and that I really care about is now gone.

It's done. And there is a void. Isn't that strange?

You'd think that being free from a hard job would be a relief.

But it is almost the opposite.

Probably something like becoming an empty nester. You've worked hard bringing your kids up and during that time you've yearned for just one night without having to straighten up the disaster that is your home.

And then they're gone. And the house is quiet and clean. And you are alone.

Just you and your thoughts and your spouse, if you two have managed to stay together through the madness.

I suppose that this is one of the very satisfying aspects of having a business or a job you love. The work is always there. It doesn't end.

A book ends. Childhood ends. But you can always work. The world can always be improved in some way.

There is no such thing as perfection. There will always be imperfections that need to be addressed, and while that is the case, there will always be work to do.

There is comfort and satisfaction in that because I am convinced that a big part of what makes humans happy is purpose. And imperfections requiring work and effort are the stuff of purpose.

Anyhow, thank you so much for your time today and I apologize if this message verged on morose. Thankfully, I got to write this email and I get to visit our chocolate shops in the afternoon to serve hot chocolate and marshmallows.

If I didn't have a bunch of work to do, I would probably be down all day.

Don't forget Matt's advice.

Little by little is the way to achieve just about every long term goal.

I hope that you have a truly blessed day!

 Adam

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