Good morning, beautiful people.

Today is this newsletter's half-birthday! HOORAY!

That might sound like a nothing to you—you have cheese in your fridge that's older than this newsletter—but to me it feels like an occasion to celebrate!

I launched this newsletter six months ago for two reasons: (1) I wanted a way to connect directly with all of you, and (2) I wanted to make something.

I spend a lot of time managing people and projects. What I craved was something I could do myself, feel in my own hands. Something I could freely knead and slap around and bake. And I could bake it into a kooky shape, if I wanted to.

What I was missing was something I could create as a kind of amateur—rooted in love, with zero agenda other than to share ideas and insights about my three interests with likeminded others (you).

The result was Total Annarchy (T.A.). Its gooey center is infused with fun, love, and quirky.

I got into this business because I love publishing. I love serving audiences.

I've loved both since I was a child: I delivered my own neighborhood newsletter on my bike, peddling house to house. (I placed my mimeographed sheets straight into my neighbors' mailboxes, before I knew that was a felony.)

When I joined founder Allen Weiss at MarketingProfs in 2002, I was the sole person in charge of all the content. I edited the articles. I hunted for graphics. I crafted the newsletter teasers, wrote the subject line, penned the letter from the editor (me, again!).

I published the newsletter. I pushed the button.

Now we have a small team of people to produce the MarketingProfs newsletter.

I write sometimes. But I don't edit. I don't format. I don't upload.

I no longer push the button.

* * *

That's supposed to be a good thing. That's the way success works, right? You hire other people to push the buttons.

But it comes at a cost. The farther you get from pushing the buttons, the farther you get from the making.

You start to lose some muscle tone that comes from creating stuff. And maybe you aren't as clued in to the nuances of some technology. Or maybe you lose touch with the people you love to talk to.

Or maybe—if you're like me—you miss the raw thrill of the writing. The scramble to hit a deadline (even a self-imposed one). The rush of pushing the damn button. (Shoutout to my friend Brian Fanzo for that last line!)

And you even kinda miss the face-palm when less-than-perfect slips by.

There's a joy in making. But there's a humility and vulnerability in it, too.

And that's why I'm here. And that's what I hope you think about, too... not just for your career, but for your life:

Is six months something to celebrate? Is a half-year really such a big deal?

Not really, I suppose. Except when it is.

Above, I used the dinkus. A dinkus is a line of three asterisks (* * *) used in text as a section break. How great is this word? How complete is your life now that you know it?

In high school I won a local newspaper's essay contest. What followed was Fame (my picture was in the newspaper, my mom hung it on the fridge) and Fortune (I won an Instamatic camera, which broke).

That same glory could be yours: but waaaaay better. Enter to win a scholarship to MarketingProfs Marketing Writing Bootcamp, our biggest online event of the year! I'm teaching the kickoff class, and we're gonna have some fun. Enter by July 9. Rules and such here.

I'm not a huge fan of templates for writing. I worry that lazy marketers will just cut and paste and call it a day. What's the fun of coloring inside the lines?

BUT. BUT. BUT. You aren't lazy. And templates can be useful as scaffolding to give your writing a little initial structure. And they can be helpful to jump-start a cold content engine that just refuses to turn over.

This package of 45+ email content templates is among the most comprehensive I've seen. It's from my friends at AWeber. (I'm a customer!) The 45 templates + companion guide are free, but you gotta fork over your email address for them. Access the templates here.

Heidi Cohen, Randy Frisch, and Jacob Warwick (with Meagan DeMenna) are leading three free sessions at next Friday's Content Marketing Virtual Conference over at MarketingProfs. They'll help you level-up your Content Marketing programs.

You're busy that day? No sweat. Register and access it for 90 days on demand. At 150% free, you can't afford not to buy it.

Three handy tools for content & marketing folks:

Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World by Rand Fishkin

An honest, generous look at founding and keeping a company going. Warts and all.

One passage I dog-eared (of many): "Great ideas and products are often born from mediocre ones. The keys are time...humility...and survival."

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen

My daughter Caroline gave me this book for Mother's Day. It's a fast, easy read that will inspire you, or the important girls and women in your life. I love the international approach, especially the story of Khutulan, the Mongol leader known for wrestling men and winning all their horses.

One passage I dog-eared: "You are never too old, too small, or too late to live the life you're meant to lead."

It's funny because it's true. Read the other 9.