Legacy Writing - 19 Questions to Help You Put Your Life on Paper

There are more than six billion people on the planet and I am a firm believer that every one of us has a story to tell. We all do the best we can with what we've got, spend most of our lives trying to determine what is most important, face huge obstacles, and learn from our worst mistakes. So how strange is it that on a planet with so many stories, every one of them is so important? I'm not implying that every one of those stories is important to everyone. My point is that every one of those stories is important to someone. To the person whose story is being told. And probably to those closest to that person: their family.

Also called memoir writing, legacy writing is probably the most important writing we do in life. Legacy writing is the taking of wisdom and spinning it onto the page in a way that leads the reader down the path to a conclusion by letting them live in the shoes of the storyteller. Legacy writing is the taking of what has been most profound in any one person's existence and bringing it to life on the page so that future generations can intimately experience it. What could be worth more?

Have you thought of what it would be like to get to know one of your relatives and see the world through their eyes? What it would be like to know someone who is now lost to you? To have pages and pages of their life at your fingertips to revisit in a moment? This is the power of a memoir, of legacy writing.

I can think of no better gift than the gift of immortality. And that is what legacy writing is. Your memoir is a chance for your grandchildren to get to know you. For your sisters and brothers to see into your soul. For your friends to cherish you now and after you are gone. Legacy writing is your opportunity to let others share in your journey.

So whether you pen your legacy writing yourself, or hire someone to help you put your memoir into words, the experience of getting your story down in writing delivers a life transformation — a rare opportunity to relive your most profound moments, all the joy and all the pain. Good legacy writing must capture the roller coaster ride of life. A good memoir must capture an individual's truth, from our greatest successes to our most heartbreaking failures.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself when thinking of writing your own memoir:

1. What was one thing your mother or father did that really pissed you off when you were a teenager?

2. What was your most profound moment in romantic love?

3. When was the first time you saw a parent cry?

4. What was your greatest success in your career?

5. What did you do with your first big paycheck?

6. What was your most memorable moment of family love?

7. What do you feel was the biggest sacrifice you ever made?

8. Have you ever felt like a hero?

9. What have you been most embarrassed about?

10. Do you remember your wildest party?

11. Name a time you fell flat on your face.

12. Name a time you were on top of the world.

13. What is one habit you have that no one knows about?

14. What did you want to do with your life when you were only 5?

15. How did you lose your virginity?

16. Who was your favorite childhood playmate?

17. What did you get in trouble for as a child?

18. Have you ever stolen anything?

19. With whom did you share your first kiss?

The answers to these questions are what your loved ones would love to know about you. These are the moments that define you, that bring you to life, that humanize you. So put your truth on the page. There is no better way to rebirth yourself than through legacy writing. The catharsis that comes from laying out your history frees you to look differently at your future. To truly live again.

Put your life in writing. Write your legacy. Write your memoir.

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