Date: 2026 01 01
HAPPY NEW YEAR
In this time of reflection and redirection, I want to express utmost gratitude to all those following this APOK journey. I am truly honored. Thanks for taking a chance on me and my stories. Wishing everyone a fantastic 2026!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Gripping Action Thriller You Won’t Want to Put Down…APOK by Michael Walton is an outstanding action thriller that grips you from the first page and never lets you go…”
Thank you, Erik – Posted on Amazon Canada
UNLOCKING THE POWER OF A NEW YEAR
Unlocking the power of New Years Resolutions, isn’t some magic spell, or hack that speeds up the process, its work, plain and simple, but there is absolute value in it. Here is a little history lesson on how I was able to unlock the power. Rolling back the clock 15 years ago, this day meant very little to me, as did New Year’s Resolutions. For years I had seen many people make New Years Resolutions and never follow through, or start and never finish. At that time, I believed if someone really wanted to do something they wouldn’t wait until the new year to start it. Little did I know how New Year’s Resolutions function.
The calendar had just flipped to January 2011, and I was knee deep in an international investigation with huge stakes. As I went to retrieve something off the printer, I overheard a group of people at the office discussing their New Year’s Resolutions. Not giving them much attention, I grabbed my document and was asked what my New Years Resolution was. Caught off guard, I laughed at the question and mocked the notion still stuck in my own head space. While walking back to my office one of the persons shouted a question that slapped me across the face, “What? You’ve done everything you’ve ever wanted to do in your life?”
Months earlier, this question would have landed flat, I would have simply ignored it, or laughed at it; funny how life works and how timing is everything. At that particular time, I was struggling to keep forward momentum in that case that was exhausting me due to political challenges (in reality I wasn’t knee deep in the case, I was in fact drowning). Returning to my office, that question swirled around in my mind like a tornado resurrecting my life’s hopes and dreams back to the forefront. One by one, they flashed before my eyes as I quickly contemplated the possibilities until a story that I had been suppressing for years once again rose from the darkness. In that moment, I made a decision (a quiet New Year’s Resolution) to start writing the story in my spare time.
Unlike others, my New Year’s Resolution didn’t get written down, nor was it verbalized to anyone else. I wanted to avoid the added pressure of being asked about my progress, and I suppose I was afraid. I was afraid of not following through. This was a personal journey and I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like or if I was going to be successful.
Once I started writing, the feeling of relief was instantaneous. Regardless what was happening in the real world, the world that I was creating was mine and no one could tell me what to say or do. Owning that space was liberating. Re-arranging my use of time, I squeezed in more writing after work, between family and rest. While work was still a struggle, my mood was changing for the better. The stress and anger were lifting. Day after day I wrote, some days were better than others but even if I was only able to write ONE word, I was making progress. In a period of about 7 months, I had written 5 chapters.
Then, on a beautiful sunny hot summer day, while bicycling, I was struck by a car. Broken and unable to do much, I purchased a small laptop and continued writing my story. My recovery was painfully slow and barely recognizable. Doctors weren’t sure if I was ever going to recover and began asking me if I had an alternative plan as returning to policing didn’t seem feasible. That comment was as hard as being hit by another car. The prospect of not recovering or ever being a police officer was difficult to accept, how was I going to support myself, my family? Having an honest conversation with myself about what I was able to do given my current condition, the options were limited to say the least, and again from the shadows my novel proclaimed its importance.
From the point of impact, to the final word in the novel was 5 months, all before a new New Year’s Resolution was to be made.
In the last 15 years, I have completed many new resolutions, and in doing so, have published 3 novels. Each novel starts the same, with a decision to write it, but the reality is; it is a slow process taken day by day. Some days the cursor will blink blankly more times than the written words on the page, and that is okay. The real magic lies in not giving up and doing the do regardless of the potential excuses that come up in life. Managing and setting the time aside to get things done is the key to unlock the potential of that New Year’s Resolution.
I finally understand that a New Year’s Resolution is special because at this crazy time of the year, we have an opportunity to reflect, and redirect where we want our hearts and minds to be. Did we like what we just experienced, and if not, what if anything would we like to change? Making a New Year’s Resolution is special because it is generally where we want to be, the difficulty is not the Resolution, the difficulty is following through. Be patient, be honest and make meaningful steps towards your goal even if they are baby steps, unsure, unsteady and off-balance, because eventually like a baby we learn how to run.
Happy New Year. Wishing everyone a fantastic 2026!
Mike