What better way to launch a new year of blog posts but with three success stories?
My three writing coach clients-turned-authors have several things in common. They’re all in the financial field. A couple of them overcame sizeable challenges that could have prevented them from publishing at all. They’re all writing books to help promote their business. And the books are unexpectedly personal and entertaining. Captivating, even.
But that’s where the similarities stop.
Here’s a sneak peek into the second of the three books, due to be published in the next few weeks.
Derek Reed wanted to share the insights he’s gained into how best to navigate retirement while honoring his swordfisherman father, Captain Charlie Reed, who skippered the Andrea Gail until just weeks before it went down in the Perfect Storm. He decided to meld the two goals, using his father’s expertise and adventures–along with stories of his own and his clients–to bring financial lessons to life.
Not surprisingly, The Imperfect Storm: Successfully Navigating the Seas of Retirement is not your ordinary book about finance. Chapter One’s opening tells you that:
The North Atlantic winds lashed front, back, and sideways across a violent sea, crashing against every square foot of stainless steel and triple-reinforced marine glass the boat possessed. The chain links attached to the outriggers clamoring against the 100-pound steel pole had rendered conversation inside the pilothouse impossible, even if there had been someone there to talk to. Captain Charlie was alone, as he had been for the better part of the previous three days, chain-smoking cigarettes and pounding caffeine from endless pots of coffee as he struggled to keep the bow straight into the towering greenish-gray waves. Up they went, climbing the equivalent of a three-story building only to plummet back down and rise again and again and again.
The Andrea Gail and its crew of five experienced, grizzled longliners (called that because they routinely handled up to 40 miles of fishing line) had already been out swordfishing for three weeks in the late summer of 1989. The 17,000 pounds of prized North Atlantic swordfish in the hold, packed neatly on ice to protect the meat and keep it as fresh as possible, testified to a productive trip. With just the right amount of diesel fuel left, Captain Charlie, who only eight years before had traded steady fish warehouse work for the risky yet potentially lucrative work of swordfishing, had opted to turn back toward his home port of Gloucester, Massachusetts…
They had turned for home as soon as all the huge fish they had caught had been secured. As usual, the crew had done what they could to ready the vessel for the next outing, all the while dreaming about what the price at the dock would be for their bounty upon their return.
Two days into the steam home, Hurricane Gabrielle violently greeted them on the course Captain Charlie had charted for Gloucester. He knew the storm was coming north from the Carolinas and figured they would miss the brunt of it as it passed by ahead of him by hundreds of miles and finally dissipated. But the storm stalled along the coast of Nova Scotia, putting the Andrea Gail smack in the middle of its path. They couldn’t run away from the storm. Traveling only 10 knots a day instead of 100-plus has a way of consuming the precious and limited fuel reserved for the trip home, and most of the 20,000 gallons had already been used during the trip out and the harvest. Besides, as a seasoned captain, Dad knew full well that he had to head right into the teeth of the storm so that the 72-foot-long boat with its 20-foot beam would ride up and down the crests and troughs of the waves, not allowing the storm to run into the stern and overtake the open area working deck.
With no option except to stay on the carefully plotted course, Captain Charlie fought the wheel of the Andrea Gail. His stomach churned with every 30-foot drop as if on an endless roller coaster. Seas that huge have a way of getting and keeping your constant attention, regardless of how safe, big, and durable you think your 100-ton steel vessel is.
See what I mean? Not exactly how most books about retirement start out. But The Imperfect Storm doesn’t just provide a multi-layered story of true grit, coupled with unparalleled insights into life and work aboard the Andrea Gail. You come away with information about how to accumulate meaningful assets for a defined purpose and then avoid losing them, which is paramount. Along the way, Derek’s priorities and values will leave you feeling positively inspired. Especially when you learn what he had to overcome to finish his book.
Covid wasn’t easy for any of us, but it was harder for some. Derek fell into that category. He got nailed in February 2020 just as the pandemic was revving up. He wound up with post-viral POTS, a circulatory problem that out of nowhere would cause a temporary drop in blood flow to the brain, causing him to pass out and drop to the ground. That wasn’t the only problem. After 45 minutes to an hour, he’d have to lie down and raise his legs to get the blood back up to his heart and head.
Half of all U.S. POTS sufferers are on disability; the other 50 percent struggle to recover, a process that takes three to five years or more. And they’re not trying to write a book. But despite describing himself as the “reluctant writer,” Derek was determined to do whatever it took to regain his life and to publish the book that would help retirees while spotlighting his hero–his dad, Captain Charlie.
“Insightful, informative, and practical, this is a book I wish I’d had access to years ago because countless people I know would have benefitted from it,” writes Sandro Forte, president of the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation. “In fact, as I consider what lies ahead for me, this will be my go-to guide! An absolute must-read.”
That’s what I call a success story!
