iCan. iWill.

As the news of Steve Jobs' death became widespread recently, so did the reflection and subsequent comments about the impact he had on people’s lives.
Jobs changed this world as much as anybody I could think of. His products have impacted so many lives and become so prevalent in our world. It is almost mind boggling to think about how monumental his impact was.
And it made me wonder why can’t we all do that?
We’re all not going create something like the iPhone, the iPad or the iPod. His creativity, his search for something new, his knowledge and understanding of technology and his business savvy all led to his success and makes it hard for any and everybody to match the kind of success or impact he had.
But can’t we try?
Wouldn’t it be great if when any of us pass away, the world can look back on our lives and chronicle the amazing impact we each had, how we shaped and improved mankind or how we made life better for the people around us?
It is a lofty goal but one that can be achieved. A little creativity, some desire to do good, some forward thinking and a yearning for positive change can make a difference.
The problem with much of this world these days is that nobody wants to make a difference. People might want to do what is best for them. We’re very much a me-first society. Our politicians, our athletes the people in power around us are often more concerned with their own existences and protecting their own assets than doing what is best for everyone.
There's too much focus on blaming people for why things don’t happen then trying to make things happen. My belief has always been, if you don’t like life, change it. If you're unhappy, find ways to be happy. If the world around you needs help, help it. It is easier said than done. But it can still be done.
We can all do that. Sometimes it just takes little steps or small actions that can do it. But it is often too easy to do nothing.
There’s a Simpson’s episode in which Lisa is convinced she’s losing her smarts and that she’ll become more like her father or brother, who sit around and watch shows calls “When Buildings Collapse” or “Real Life Surgery Mistakes”. She subsequently discovers that while the males in her family like to sport cooking pots on their head and ram into each other head-first, the women have become doctors and business women who have done something with their lives.
In this day and age it is so easy to fall into that lowest common denominator, where minds become numb from the brainwashing of popular culture. Everyone follows everyone else because that’s what people do. People go along to get along and nothing really changes.
People like Steve Jobs don’t settle for the norm. They look at the world, use their knowledge and see what can come of it. Sure, he made millions. But he also made a difference. It doesn’t take inventive products. It takes creativity and a want to do something different. It takes us looking and finding ways we can change things and have an impact.
The Steve Jobs of the world can change things in the large scale but it can be all our jobs to make a difference in whatever we can.
Jobs legacy shouldn’t be just in words like iPod, iPad or iTunes. It should be iCan and iWill.

Walking the Breakwater

I took a walk on the Breakwater the other day.
Every trip over the mile-long stretch of granite blocks that lead to the lighthouse in the middle of Rockland Harbor is a journey for me. This one was different and even more memorable.
My new novel Breakwater is named for this granite barrier that protects Rockland Harbor. You’ll have to read the book to find out why the title is what it is.
One of the last chapters of the book though features a character walking the Breakwater and visiting the lighthouse on the last day it is open for the season. Since I finished proofing my novel on Saturday and sent a batch of final corrections to my publisher, it seemed like a fitting way to recognize the milestone. So on Monday, I took that walk on the Breakwater and visited the lighthouse on the final day it is open for the season.
It was a wonderful fall (almost summer-like) day. On the walk out I had a man with his dog following behind me. He let the dog off his leash and Fido scampered up ahead of me and spent much of the trip running before and after me, sniffing out every sent he could find. It was a beautiful golden retriever, the kind my dad would have loved to have had but never did in his lifetime.
I made me think of the time my father stumbled by stepping into an open crevice between stones on the Breakwater. As he fell, a golden retriever, one not too different from the one walking along with me Monday, raced to his side and gave him a quick lick of the face to see if he was okay.
As the dog and I walked further and further out on the Breakwater, I couldn’t help but remember that story and feel like my father was following along with me that day. It seemed appropriate since my father was a great influence and provided me a great amount of information that helped me in the writing of Breakwater. I didn’t “borrow” one of his sermons (actually maybe I did) like I did in my first novel Sons and Daughters of the Ocean but I was aided greatly by his own memoirs, which gave me great insight to his surroundings and life growing up.
When I reached the lighthouse I did my usual routine. I checked out the merchandise in the lighthouse. Being the diligent and determined writer/marketer, I inquired about the possibilities of having Breakwater made available to visitors of the lighthouse next year. I showed the volunteer “lighthouse keeper” the cover of the book. He loved it and said it would seem likely they’d want to stock it next year. So, maybe Breakwater will be available for purchase at the Breakwater. How cool is that!!!
Then I went up to the keeper’s quarters and looked at the photos on the wall. I noticed the shiny new floor. But I was more intent on finding the photo of my grandfather. Albert D. Mills was an assistant keeper at the Breakwater at one time.
My novel Breakwater is greatly influenced by the life of my grandfather. He was a man who faced great trials and tribulations in his life, yet he always persevered. I shaped the story of Hal Miller and his experiences after my grandfather.

After exiting the lighthouse, I enjoyed a seat on the back deck and enjoyed the sunshine and the cool breeze. I was sitting there waiting for the ferry to come by. I wanted to wave to a very special girl onboard. Her influence on my novel Breakwater was great as well.
I had always envisioned a follow-up to Sons and Daughters. It was part of a three-book plan that included a story about the privateering age (which will be my novel Sea of Liberty), Sons and Daughters of the Ocean and the final installment, based on the life of my grandfather and his sons.
As I began writing Sea of Liberty, I actually began contemplating the idea of not bothering with the third book. But this girl introduced me to an amazing woman. When I talked to her about my book writing, she vehemently told me that my grandfather wanted his story told. It was a story that I needed to write – and she also happened to mention how successful it would be when I did it. Within an hour of leaving her office, Breakwater was forming in my mind.
Whenever I’ve walked the Breakwater in the past, it would always connect me with my grandfather. I hardly knew him as a kid. I have only a handful of memories of him. He died when I was just five.
The Breakwater always seemed to be my pilgrimage to the memory of my grandfather. I’d walk out there and be reminded of him and the legacy of him. I used that in the book as I detailed the impact the fictitious Hal Miller had on his grandson Clark Miller.
Now when I walk the Breakwater, it feels like a piece of my history. It is as though my grandfather has passed the torch to me. It was always a special journey out there for me, but now it takes on greater meaning.
That’s why I wanted to take that walk Monday. It was a symbolic trip but one that honored the path I followed in writing this book. What made it even special was that I got to share it, in some way, with the people that helped me shape the work. The novel and I were greatly enriched by their influence. It is a book that wouldn’t be what it is without them.