How About This presents Bruce MacNaughton

The PEI based entrepreneur and writer answers a few questions for us

Nov 07, 2022

Welcome to Atlantic Canada Mondays, a regular feature of How About This where we interview interesting residents of the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bruce MacNaughton is the writer and publisher of A Bunch of Good Things, an electronic newsletter/blog published regularly from Warren Grove, Prince Edward Island. The former entrepreneur has turned his attention to writing and other pursuits and he agreed to answer some questions for us.

Here’s Bruce!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I loved playing sports, so I wanted to be a golf pro. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out, so from there, I bounced around between different jobs and attempted to gain a higher education through college, which didn’t pan out, either, so my education came from experiencing life through trial and error.

Music appears to be one of your interests. Do you play any instruments?

I love music of all kinds; the artist's creativity is inspiring. But, unfortunately, I do not play any instruments. I know there is music in me, but I have yet to try hard enough to find the musical instrument to devote time and energy to learning.

Much of your professional life seems devoted to the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company. How did that get started?

While being a food waiter in the late 70s on Prince Edward Island, I had been asked by many visitors if I could suggest an item that they could take home that would remind them of the excellent food they experienced here. All I could think of was a can of frozen lobster or a bag of potatoes.
Then, one lucky day, while visiting a friend, her mother was cooking, and the smell of strawberry jam pulled me into the kitchen to see what she was doing. I found it intriguing, and the next day, while visiting again, her Mom gave me a jar. While it sat in my hand, the lightbulb went on in technicolour, and the dream of becoming a bottler of fresh fruit was born.
Over 35-plus years, we established a well-regarded destination for Islanders and visitors with the help of nearly 100 staff. It was a great team of people who deserved new leaders, as it was our time to let go. Shirley and I graduated from entrepreneurship on March 31, 2022. We continue with our non-profit Respite Cottage located on the Island, where individuals or families who struggle with life-threatening illnesses stay at no cost.

It seems now that you are a freelance writer. How did you make the transition to that career?

At this point, I am unsure if I would call myself a “freelance” or even a “writer”; I aspire to write. Taking the time to read about writing and reading fiction and non-fiction books helps to increase my knowledge. I curate what interests me and share it with others through my blog, A Bunch of Good Things.

What is your blog's story (A Bunch of Good Things)? Do you have a long-term plan or goal for the blog and your general writing?

Writing is not a natural skill, but my appreciation and love for writing grew as I wrote our company's blog. Beginning to blog every Saturday morning in 2014 became a habit. Managing to expand the company list to over 30,000 people and with a few thousand reading Bruce’s Muses every Saturday morning encouraged me to continue writing. Before leaving the company, I started the A Bunch of Good Things blog to share content that inspires or encourages.

Would you recommend Prince Edward Island as a great place to live? Pros? Cons?

Prince Edward Island is an incredible place to live.
We have four seasons.
The Island is a caring community.
We have a national theatre and art gallery and a vibrant arts community.
The beaches are within minutes of almost anywhere.
There are tip-to-tip hiking and biking trails.
There is a great local food scene.
If you like to golf, there are great courses.
It is also a sailors' paradise.
And we have more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in Canada.
I can’t think of any cons.

Do pen and paper play a role in your creative process?

I like mechanical pencils and pens and started a nice little collection. I appreciate top-quality journals and papers. But do I use them in the creative process? Not yet. I am a keyboard guy at the moment. I want to experiment with voice-to-type, allowing a stream of consciousness to come to paper without a filter, then edit it from there. I guess it may be a lazy man's way of doing “morning pages,” as suggested by writer Julia Cameron. AI in the writing world seems to be the up-and-coming thing. Not sure what I think about it yet.

Do you have any favourite authors?

I have yet to land on a favourite author, but James Clear wrote a great book titled Atomic Habits, and his newsletter is well worth the time. I also like the clarity that emanates from Greg Mckeown’s writings. His book, The Essentialist, is a favourite.

Do you have any thoughts about social media that you'd like to share?

I am watching Elon Musk's control of Twitter. Free speech should have guard rails. If they have zero rules, I will drop the platform. I rarely comment on Twitter or use Facebook to promote myself.

Pretend you wake up one morning and the Internet is destroyed. What's the first thing that you do?

The first thing would be the same thing I do every morning, have a cup of tea with Shirley and give thanks for a new day. Then, I’d grab a book or magazine. Then, maybe start a healthy habit, like going for a long walk. (I shouldn’t wait for the internet to be destroyed!)

Thanks to Bruce for agreeing to be interviewed!