How Will the People You Love Remember the REAL You?

How Will the People You Love Remember the Real You?

As I write this, my husband Jeff is going through his third round of chemo treatments, and currently, the mirror reflects a reality he wasn't quite prepared to see. So many questions rise to the surface when life gets tender, like: what is my highest purpose, does it change from season to season, what lasts after we are gone? How will we be remembered?

Here is what I keep coming back to. Why not tell them exactly who we are, in our own words, while we still can?

Achievement Is Not the Same as Legacy

Instead of aiming only at what you want to achieve, ask who you want to be, because that is what people actually remember. You can chase every goal on your list and still leave people uncertain about what and who mattered to you. Then, how do people KNOW you? How do people actually remember the real you when you are gone?

Why I Feel Called to Help People Write Their Stories

I lost my father when I was 19, and he was 44. Three grandparents died before I was out of elementary school. I understood mortality early in life, and I wonder if that's why I feel called to help people document their lives, stories, and creativity in books. I protect journals that my grandmother wrote for me. I save letters.

The Power of a Legacy Book

The written word leaves no room for confusion. Books are powerful. They do something nothing else can do. A book captures your voice, your reasoning, your stories, and your convictions in a form your grandchildren can hold in their hands long after you are gone. Because my grandmother, Wimmie, wrote journals, I KNOW her, even though she died when I was five years old.

A Diagnosis, a Crisis, or a Miracle Will Clarify Everything

A diagnosis, crisis, birth, or miracle can narrow the view of your life, often clarifying exactly what's important. Jeff and I feel that particularly this week. Making room and time for what matters and who matters is a choice. Deciding what deserves a permanent place in the written record is a legacy decision. So many people intend to write, but most of them procrastinate for years and never actually put pen to paper. What a tragedy.

Stop right now and think of a family member you adore. What would you give to read his or her stories? Don't you think someone will feel that way about you someday?

Your First Step Toward Writing Your Life Story

If you have been thinking about writing your book and you just don't know how to make time or where to start, we need to talk. A Publishing Pathway Call is fifteen minutes, completely free, and Desiree or I will give you a clear picture of what your path to publishing actually looks like. You will leave knowing your next step.

Don't let this be one more thing you intend to do someday. Wimmie left me something I still hold onto, decades after she was gone. You can do that for someone who loves you.

Schedule a Publishing Pathway Call with Jody or Desiree

Books live forever!

Jody Dyer
Founder and CEO, Crippled Beagle Publishing and Story Mountain Media