As the hosts of Stories in Life, Mark Wolak and Joe Boyle take time to reflect on the journey so far. Stories In Life - On the Radio with Mark and Joe has reached over 525 downloads across 15 countries and 125 cities and towns at the halfway marker of this first season! We reflect on our original purpose and plan and assess how we are doing so far. We invite your suggestions for future topics and are eager to see what catches your interest!
In this episode, we share an original poem by Mark Wolak, entitled 'Step Off your Dock.' Crafted on the picturesque shores of Lake Superior, this thought-provoking piece is a love letter to the adventurer that resides within us all. The poem artfully expresses the power of taking that leap into the unknown and embracing the experiences that you weave as a result.
So, come along, untether your dock lines, and join us as we continue to uncover stories that celebrate the courage, commitment, and vision of everyday people. Our journey so far has been rewarding, and we're excited to continue this adventure with you, our wonderful listeners!
As the hosts of Stories in Life, Mark Wolak and Joe Boyle take time to reflect on the journey so far. Stories In Life - On the Radio with Mark and Joe has reached over 525 downloads across 15 countries and 125 cities and towns at the halfway marker of this first season! We reflect on our original purpose and plan and assess how we are doing so far. We invite your suggestions for future topics and are eager to see what catches your interest!
In this episode, we share an original poem by Mark Wolak, entitled 'Step Off your Dock.' Crafted on the picturesque shores of Lake Superior, this thought-provoking piece is a love letter to the adventurer that resides within us all. The poem artfully expresses the power of taking that leap into the unknown and embracing the experiences that you weave as a result.
So, come along, untether your dock lines, and join us as we continue to uncover stories that celebrate the courage, commitment, and vision of everyday people. Our journey so far has been rewarding, and we're excited to continue this adventure with you, our wonderful listeners!
Welcome to Stories in Life. You're on the radio with Mark and Joe. We share stories that affirm your belief in the goodwill, courage, determination, commitment and vision of everyday people.
Mark Wolak:
Our goal is that through another person's story you may find connection. No matter your place in life. The stories we select will be inspiring and maybe help you laugh, cry, think or change your mind about something important in your life.
Joe Boyle:
Join us for this episode of Stories in Life.
Mark Wolak:
Hey, Joe, thought it would be good for us to have a mid-season update for our listeners.
Joe Boyle:
We've been doing this for a few months now and we keep checking our numbers and they're starting to look pretty good.
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, we've got over 525 downloads across 15 countries and 130 cities and towns in the United States. Not bad for a couple months.
Joe Boyle:
Not bad at all. We are on six continents!
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, so some of the countries. That United States, of course, is a big listening audience, but we also have listeners in Canada. We have some listeners in the Netherlands. We have some listeners in Asia. A couple listeners down under.
Joe Boyle:
Kenya, Thailand, Germany and even Japan.
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, so it's fun, it's fun to see. We're getting some people who are enjoying our show. We have some listeners, actually, that they must have us on their phone alerts, because we have some listeners who have followed every episode. Now, as soon as we push one out, they listen to them and we appreciate the feedback too.
Joe Boyle:
It's fun to listen to those comments and we encourage you to keep those coming.
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, so I think we've hit about 50% of our targets in terms of the topics we wanted to cover. We're missing a couple because of different reasons, but pretty much we're trying to state a theme, to be a broad storytelling effort, not get too narrow. Yet we have some ideas about upcoming episodes.
Joe Boyle:
Some of them on travel, education, friendships, male friendships.
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, that's kind of intriguing to me. And then we're playing around with some other ideas. We've got some generational stories, that thinking, going back to some of our history and trying to tell a little bit more of that story along with contemporary stories of today.
Joe Boyle:
And we're almost to 10 episodes. And we've been doing it. What three, four months?
Mark Wolak:
Not bad. Yeah, I think we're finding our little sweet spot here, so we encourage people to connect with us on our website and send us an email If you have a topic you think we should pursue. What's that email address so people can reach us at storiesinlifepodcast@ gmail. com
Joe Boyle:
And that's on our website at storiesinlife. buzzsprout. com
Mark Wolak:
You know, we should mention too how much fun we're having and how you know there's been a lot of work involved in figuring things out, but how much fun and creativity we're finding in doing these stories on behalf of people we know, or our own stories, and how they contribute to our life. So, you know, I think we should let people know that we're having some fun with this.
Joe Boyle:
Well, there were some initial push-ups and investment, and there's a lot of time and effort put into this on one hand, but on the other hand, it's been so rewarding and fun and we're creating a platform that'll be here long after we're gone.
Mark Wolak:
Yeah, I think that's the thing I keep coming back to is there's so many great stories out there of just everyday people and we want to be part of telling those stories. So we're still delivering on our vision. Thank you!
Joe Boyle:
And now it's time for Stories in Life. Art from the Heart, Deep Thoughts from the Shallow End. Each episode, we bring you a poem, a song or a reading just for you. Today, you'll be hearing an original poem by none other than our own Mark Wolak, and it's very appropriate for this particular episode, and the name of the poem is "Step Off your Dock."
Mark Wolak:
I wrote this poem on August 7th at Taconite Harbor on the shores of Lake Superior. The title comes from the challenge of every sailor to step off the dock and go on a journey, whether you're prepared or not for everything that's going to happen to you. So here we go: Step off your dock. Platforms to which you attach safety and protection. You are safe to go now. You have all the gear, you have prepared for this journey. You are ready, step off. This is the challenge for the sailor in us. Trials along the way.
Mark Wolak:
Some, which lessen courage, tell the heart to quiet. Waiting still too long, waiting for just the right time, waiting to be an adventurer and feel alive in your heart again. We are born adventurers, no question. Our hearts are not afraid. Hearts go places, to see people, to feel the earth, the sky and the wilderness. Are you waiting for just the right time? In decision will lay regret like a web over the heart. Perhaps your heart has wounds that frighten the mind, believing that adventures are not for you. Whatever the ailment, stepping off the dock is the ointment. The dock is only there for storms coming through. I sit in this beautiful place now on the water. No regrets. My heart sings with the gulls on this warm summer morning, my warm place in the sun, finding gratitude in the giant rocks that protect me. Untether your dock lines. Seek joy for your heart. Be the adventurer it asks you to. You will not regret the stories that you will make as you travel to new places. This is the best of life.
Joe Boyle:
That was really powerful, Mark, great message, just beautiful. Thank you very much.
Mark Wolak:
Thanks, Joe. I'm looking forward to our work together. This is our mid-season episode. I'm looking forward to the shows we're going to do in the next few months. It's great to have this time with you and I'm having a lot of fun doing this with you.
Joe Boyle:
I'm having a blast man! We hope you enjoyed this episode. Please join us again next time on Stories in Life -- On the Radio with Mark and Joe, and visit our website at storiesinlife. buzzsprout. com. That's storiesinlife. buzzsprout. com.