Milestones

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step

There is an ebb and flow, a cadence, to building something, whatever that may be. Building and creating your life’s work, a family, a nonprofit mission, or your own home, writing novels, songs, or poetry, or creatively inventing new ways to do things better, easier. It all takes time, dedication, passion, energy, and commitment, but it also means digging and excavating, both figuratively and sometimes literally. The bigger the ditch, the bigger the building. If you’re building a skyscraper, its foundation will need to be deep before you see what it will become when completed. This has been one of the many lessons of my life.

As a Type A personality with a lot of energy, waiting has never been a virtue for me, as I like to get things done, and I like them to be done quickly. The saying, “If you want something to be done, ask a busy person to do it,” rings pretty true. That has been an asset in helping me accomplish many things, but it has its downside. The waiting game is what I’ve come to know up close and personal these past eighteen years while creating and building this magazine. I thought that after the first eight years, we should have been further along in our growth. Two more years after that, I thought we would summit. I was getting weary after my goals were not realized and seriously contemplated closing VIE. Since this idea was God-given and I knew that the only way we got this far to begin with was because of that, out of respect to my Maker, I prayed about it and asked Him if I could close the doors and move on to something different. The answer was “no.”

Jordan Staggs and Lisa Marie Burwell on set recording VIE Speaks Episode 100, now streaming!

I clearly heard the answer and did not look back, and that was over ten years ago. This has been the hardest time of my life, as I didn’t want to plow so hard anymore, but I have a built-in kill switch that won’t let me quit once I agree to do something, and I did agree. My passion for making this magazine never waned, but when things get really hard, we sometimes try to talk ourselves into letting go and moving on to something else. I found new passion and energy in growing this endeavor with everything I had, putting even more effort, faith, time, and passion into building VIE. I became so accustomed to things being hard. At times, it was nearly impossible to figure out how I would fund this, but I just got stronger. When I realized that I was growing, maturing, and forging ahead with what I believed I was supposed to do, I could see the work made me a better person. My faith skyrocketed, and we kept growing, evolving, and maturing as a brand, too. I am proud we didn’t quit. We all need mile markers to whisper in our ears that we are still on the right path, and, without thinking much about it for the last few years, this year has delivered some telltale signs that all is well.

We just released the 100th episode of our podcast, VIE Speaks: Conversations with Heart & Soul, that I host, and have 16 episodes of VIE Book Club, which our editor, Jordan Stags, hosts (she filled in for me on VIE Speaks a few times). What started as an idea to combat the COVID pandemic has now led us to look back on what we grew during that time of reinvention or reimagination. Please listen on your favorite podcast platform or visit YouTube.com/@VIEtelevision to watch Episode 100 as Jordan and I take a walk down memory lane along with my husband and partner, Gerald Burwell. This added layer of storytelling was important to maintaining our ethos across a wide array of topics, all guided by authentic, engaging conversations with our guests.

We were recently featured for the second time in the Top 100 Luxury Media in the World by the World Luxury Chamber of Commerce, and we consider this a great achievement, as we are in good company among our fellow winners, which you can find at WorldLuxuryChamber.com/top-luxury-media-of-the-world-2026. We didn’t apply or pay for this honor, and we are so grateful to have made the cut for the second time in three years.

In addition to 157 issues of VIE, our boutique publishing company, The Idea Boutique, has published four books over the last six years, including our luxury coffee-table cookbook, COOK: Cocktails. Cuisine. Culture. by VIE; a celebration of homes and architecture, HOME: Inspirations for Home & Life by VIE; The Seaside Style, the story of the brand and merchants of Seaside, Florida, as told through the eyes of its cofounder Daryl Rose Davis; and a debut romantic thriller novel by author Suzy Accola, Janie Blue.

Since our mission was always to build a global storytelling brand, I knew we needed to find a platform that could help us reach a wider audience, attract more advertisers, and grow our fanbase. To that end, we recently launched VIE on Substack, sharing good, interesting news about all things lovely and beautiful. Please check us out at Substack.com/@viemagazine, where we will share thoughts and behind-the-scenes content you won’t find in the magazine.

Thank you for reading VIE! Thank you to our advertising partners and our creative staff of extraordinary people who bring this magazine to you every thirty days. I can’t say where we will end up on our journey, but it sure has been a ride so far.

To Life!

— V —