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Beyond Writing: My Obsession with Food

February 13, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Writing is not the only thing I’m passionate about. I also love food. Good food. The kind that makes you go back for a second helping even though you know you shouldn’t. And I truly believe that we are what we eat.

Family Dinner

I grew up on a diet of meat and potatoes. And leftovers. Sunday dinners were either roast beef, turkey, ham or roast pork. Turkey, which I can’t stand now, was the worst because it was then recycled for the next five or six days. Turkey sandwiches. And turkey hash. Oh, don’t forget about turkey soup. Turkey anything. It was an economical way to feed a family, but it turned me off a lot of foods.

My mother wasn’t a bad cook, but I grew tired of that staid menu of meat and potatoes. So, one day she said to me, “If you don’t like it, learn to cook.” Challenge accepted.

By the fourth grade, I was preparing the family meal (my mother had returned to work by that point and my father was still working nights). Going into junior high and high school, I came home and watched The Learning Channel (TLC). Biba Caggiano and her show, Biba’s Italian Kitchen, taught me how to make delicious pasta recipes from scratch. Caprial Pence (Caprial’s Café) gave me a foundation in cooking and baking, along with Martha Stewart and Julia Child.

Family Inspiration

I took a lot of inspiration, too, from my grandmothers, who were fabulous cooks (we all fought over my grandmother’s homemade bread). That’s why, no matter how busy or tired I am, I make dinner from scratch. (All right, most of the time; I’m allowed a cheat day now and then.) But there are a lot of prepackaged or prepared foods that I stay away from. Have you ever checked the sodium content on a frozen meal or in a can of soup? Half a serving of Celentano’s eggplant parmigiana contains 285 mg of sodium. (I think most people are like my partner, who eat the whole thing.) One cup of Italian-Style Wedding Ready-to-Serve soup, by President’s Choice, contains 292 mg of sodium. Everything in moderation, I guess, but nothing beats the aroma of homemade bread baking in the oven or that bolognese sauce simmering on the stove.

I’m often asked if I have a favourite type of food I like to make. I love gnocchi and putting a twist on in — sweet potato, braised cabbage, arugula. Cooking is another creative outlet for me. It doesn’t have to be long and involved (although most of the time it is, especially the twelve hours it too me once to make croissants!). but there are simple dishes that are quick to make, taste great, and are healthier for us.

Food as Inspiration

Sometimes when I’m struggling to develop a character, figure out a plot twist, or flesh out a story’s theme, creating in the kitchen is a great release. It allows me to step back, and when I least expect it an answer or insight comes. And at the end of a long day, there’s nothing better than sitting down with my partner to a homemade meal.

Do you like to cook? Or do you just like to eat good food? What’s one of your favourite dishes? Click Reply to let me know. I love hearing from you!

Take Stock

January 30, 2020 by Marcus 1 Comment

Welcome to the end of January (it’s only a couple of days away!).

As many of you know, I’m staying off the grid this year, and in the early days of this journey I want to share how it’s going so far.

What’s going well

Writing. A twelve-day staycation allowed me to finish the first round of editing to the sequel to Broken Man Broke. Despite a hectic schedule, I’m being consistent with my blog and newsletter. And I’m having fun working on a new book. You can read a sneak peek here (and I’d love to know what you think!).

Running. Winter in Toronto can be bitterly cold, but January hasn’t been that bad. Once I get going, running outside when it’s -21 C doesn’t feel so bad … if you’re dressed properly. And even though the stomach flu put me out of commission for about five days, I ran more than 220 km (a small increase over January 2019).

Social Media. My presence on social media has been minimal. Not having the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram apps on my phone helps me to stay disconnected.

New experiences. I bought a pasta maker and made homemade, goose-filled ravioli. They were delicious. I also attended a Beef Hind Quarter Class offered by my favourite local butcher. They showed us how to break down the beef hip and loin sections to produce popular cuts like striploin, tenderloin, rib eye, top sirloin, inside round, eye of round, outside round, and sirloin tip. It was fun.

Challenges

Sleepwalking. Not in the way it sounds. Even rising at 3:00 am, it didn’t feel like I spent a lot of time doing focused work. Small tasks that needed to be done stole a lot of time, as if I’d sleepwalked through the day. I didn’t feel as if I’d accomplished much, or made the progress I’d hoped for. My goal is to get back to a place where I can get in four to five hours of focused work daily.

Podcast. In 2019, I produced twenty episodes for my podcast, Black Sweater Talk. I was hoping to launch Season 2 this month, but it would have meant stretching myself even thinner. I’m grateful that people are still following the podcast and hope to produce new episodes soon.

Training. Last October, I signed up for an online training course for authors. I know online training is all the rage, but I struggle with the format — someone just speaking at me without any interaction. It’s the same thing that made university a challenge for me. I’d rather read a book and take notes than watch a video or be in a large classroom with others. My goal was to finish the course this month. It didn’t happen.

What’s ahead for February?

Staying true. Even without social media, there are so many demands on our time, so much noise coming at us. And amidst it all, I lose track of why I’m doing what I do and what’s important to me. That’s the moment that doubt sneaks in and steals the show.

That’s why staying true is so important for me. When I stay focused on my ‘why,’ I can sit down at my desk and write across the finish line. On that bitterly cold morning, I can eagerly brave the cold to run. When negativity explodes at my day job, I can stay positive and not let it bring me down. Staying true, I can make healthy meal choices, take time to recharge and rejuvenate, and seek balance.

Specifically for February, my goals are: 1) finish the online training course; 2) begin and complete fifty percent of the second round of editing on the Broken Man Broke sequel; and 3) increase my focused work time by ten percent.

Like I always try to do, I’ll take it all one day at a time.

How was your January? What are you planning for February? Click Reply to let me know. I love hearing from you!

Writing Sober: Two Years On

January 16, 2020 by Marcus Leave a Comment

This week marks an important milestone for me because two years ago, on 17 January 2020, I stopped drinking. Cold turkey. No weaning myself off it. No crisis forcing me to. Just a desire to change my life.

Then, as now, choosing sobriety is a part of my journey to become the best version of myself. In her book, The Wisdom of Sundays, Oprah Winfrey writes: “All of us are seeking the same thing. We share the desire to fulfill the highest, truest expression of ourselves as human beings.”[note]Oprah Winfrey, The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations, Flatiron Books, 2017, p. 8.[/note] That’s why I’m choosing to stay sober. I want to live my best life. [Read more…] about Writing Sober: Two Years On

Going Dark

November 27, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

Crossing the finish line of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2019.

This year has been about living my best life — doing what I love and staying focused on what matters. It challenged me to push myself beyond what I thought I was capable of and step outside of my comfort zone, when going dark and off the grid was what I often craved.

The Struggle and the Prize

It wasn’t always easy. There were times when writing Broken Man Broke almost ‘broke’ me. Training for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, I didn’t always feel like running — especially when it rained or when the temperatures soared to 40°C. Some days, trying to be the best version of myself meant fending off the doubt and negativity that battled for dominion. But I didn’t give up, wouldn’t be beaten. I kept my eye on the prize and pushed on to live the life I imagined for myself. [Read more…] about Going Dark

The Homestretch

November 20, 2019 by Marcus Leave a Comment

Temperatures dip consistently below zero. Black Friday sales ads dominate the airwaves. The sun rises later and sets earlier. And soon, if you haven’t heard them already, Christmas songs will bombard us everywhere we go. Sure signs that we’re in the homestretch as 2019 winds down.

The Beginning

At the beginning of 2019, I started off pumped. This would be a year of transformation and personal growth. I took it seriously, too. Devoured books on productivity, leadership and high performance (High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard; Company of One by Paul Jarvis; Free to Focus by Michael Hyatt; The Latte Factor by David Bach … to name a few). Set goals — actually wrote them down and reviewed them daily. Enrolled in online training and attended webinars. Published a book. Trained for, and completed, a marathon.

It’s mid-November, and I’m still pumped. I’ve pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. I’m not the same man I was when the year began. I have been transformed. And that has me asking several questions. One in particular…

Am I Headed in the Right Direction?

homestretch As the year draws to a close, something about my accomplishments feels hollow. Don’t get me wrong… Running a marathon and publishing a book are huge accomplishments. Instead of just talking about doing something, I showed up daily to do the work — even when I didn’t feel like it. Looking back on this journey, I realized that I was, in part, chasing someone else’s dream. I was no longer certain that I was headed in the right direction.

After reading so many books and completing various training courses, processing so much information on how to become more efficient and productive overwhelmed. I devoted too much, perhaps, time to figuring out the processes and hacks that would potentially make me more productive — elevate me to that realm of high achiever — than actually doing the work I love. Even more time spent watching and helping others realize their dreams than building my own. As they entered the homestretch, I still hovered around first base. I knew something had to change.

The Homestretch

In these final weeks of 2019, I’ve turned my focus back to the things I love to do: writing, running, cooking/baking, reading, visiting museums, et. al. I’m showing up to be present in all that I do instead of being overly concerned about how to do these things more efficiently. Really, who was I kidding? Trying to become more productive is like binge watching Amazon Prime. Watching every episode of Jack Ryan (John Krasinski and Wendell Pierce excel in this series if you haven’t checked it) is just another way to put off doing the work.

We each have our own rhythms and processes that energize us in the homestretch. What works for one person may not work for you or me. And I’m okay with crossing the finish line at my own pace and in my own time. Because it’s all about the journey.

And now I know I’m headed in the right direction.

Do you spend too much time planning than working on your goals? Are you happy with what you’ve achieved so far this year? What can you do differently in the next six weeks to ensure your continued success? Click Reply to let me know. I love hearing from you!