Your life story is your greatest gift to the world

Don’t sell your life story. Give it away!

The value of your life can be measured in terms of thousands of people who will have a life of their own because of you and the decisions you made. That’s how powerful and important you are.

I’ll give you an example from my own family history.

My grandfather was born in Dublin and moved to England alone to find work, sending money back to support his wife and four children in Ireland. He worked 12-hour night shifts, seven days a week, and slept in a bed that was occupied by another Irish migrant working day shifts. He eventually saved enough money to rent a small house and move his family, including my father, to England. That’s where I was born.

My wife has a different but related story. Her parents emigrated from Portugal to Canada during the 1970s to escape a dictatorship and secure a better life for themselves. My wife was born in Canada and studied in Australia as an international student, where she met me. I moved to Canada, we got married, and we now have three children.

My children owe their life stories to the decisions made by their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. I can offer them the benefits of this family history because I took the time to get it from my father before that window closes forever.

I never got the chance to ask my mother about her life and her childhood. I was barely out of my teenage years when she suddenly passed away. Her memories went with her that day, along with many parts of her life that I would have loved to know through her own words.

Many adult children will not ask their parents what they want to know for two main reasons: they don’t know how to do this, and they’re too afraid of upsetting them. Therefore, many vast life stories fade into obscurity as a result.

The answer is simple: life story interviews that become ghostwritten private autobiographies.

You currently hold the keys to an invaluable gift: the origin story for your children, grandchildren, and countless generations to follow. Your life story is your greatest gift to the world. Preserve it, share it, and leave your legacy.