How to Write Your Life Story

by AnnA Rushton



Your life story can be put into motion in just one hour with a very simple technique. No matter how long you have lived, or how action-packed your life, you can start to write your life story in the time it takes to watch your favourite TV drama.



Being overwhelmed is a common feeling when starting to write your life story, after all there are years of experience, anecdotes, and memories packed in there. By talking to lots of people about what has held them back, it seemed to me that knowing where to even start was a huge obstacle.



Well, it doesn't have to be, just put aside an hour of your time in a quiet place with no interruptions. Settle down somewhere comfortable with a large notepad and a pen - and no matter how computer literate you are, this process needs to start with you physically writing stuff down. The Irish novelist Edna O'Brian said that there was an emotional connection between the hand and the heart, and it's your heart that is going to give you all the material you need to start writing your life story.

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Don't worry, it is going to be transferred to a computer later and that's when you will be using the more 'business like' side of your brain, but right now you want to access those emotions and feelings in the most elemental way - connecting your hand and your heart through your pen.

The Fast Start Method: This initial stage is all about spontaneity, and what you are going to do is just sit down and brainstorm onto your pad in a random fashion a rough outline of your life so far. Don't worry about it being correct or in order, but start to make notes of the important events in your life by putting each one on a separate line and leaving a couple of lines space between each one.



It will be all over the place, but you can tidy it up later so right now take a look at the list you have made and start to add a line by each one to remind you of that event or time in your life. Just keep the pen flowing over the paper and don't force it, just relax and write down what comes to mind. When you have added a rough note to remind you of the event, it could look like this:



1953 - born St Judes Hospital
1958 - primary school
19?? - family emigrated - check Dad for date
1963 - first school in Australia - julie my best friend
1974 - first job at Ashworths - horrible boss!
1966 - sister born - home or hospital?
1959 - found out I was left handed



As you can see, the list can be a random mix of dates, events, and memories, so jot down everything as it comes into your head - you can discard or edit later.



Please, don't worry about missing things out, or the order they are in for the moment. Just write them down as they come to you and when you feel you have 'run dry' then put the pad aside to come back to later.



Even if you are not aware of it, you are now starting to access memories by the very process of starting to think about your life so that you will find yourself recalling things that you thought were long forgotten. When something occurs to you, write it down in a brief note form, on your list if you are near it, or on anything else handy so that you can transfer the memory onto the list on your pad later.



This one hour session gives you the essentials for the 'data bank' you need to access for the actual writing and I suggest you plan to have at least one or two more like it to keep jogging your memory and remembering things you will want to have in your life story. When you feel you really add any more, then put it into a rough time order as near as you can and type it up in your computer or write it out more neatly.



This is your route map through your life story and remember it is not a 'closed document' but something that you can keep adding to all the time you are writing. There are several ways you can use this material for different types of life story - but first, get that list written!

AnnA is the author of 'How To Write Your Life Story In 6 Easy Steps' and an inspirational author and speaker on health, personal development and creativity. For more life story information visit http://www.writeyourlifestory.co.uk/ and for free email newsletters, resources, books and archives to enjoy visit http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/
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Journaling Life Goals - 7 Reasons to Keep a Journal

Journaling life goals is a powerful way to help you accomplish your purpose in life. It is a way for you to capture your dreams and ideas and information that pertains to your destiny. Here are 7 reasons you will want to keep a journal:

1. It helps you clarify and solve problems. Let's say for example, that some nights when you get home from work you feel extremely tired. Due to your diligent journaling, you make the discovery that the tiredness is caused by low blood sugar due to you skipping lunch on the days that you travel out of town. You solve the problem by packing a lunch.

2. Journaling is a way to keep your ideas and dreams alive until you can put them in motion. You may wake up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea on how to earn extra money from home. Thankfully you have your journal on the nightstand so you can write down your money making idea. Many great ideas are lost because they were never written down.

3. It is a great way to help you discover your God-given destiny. What desires do you have on the inside of you? What talents do you have? What are your goals? What does your dream life look like? Write these things down and read through them regularly. You will see certain patterns emerge and it will give you insight into your calling.

4. By writing and consistently reading your journals, you keep solutions to problems in front of you. A few years ago I had been having a lot of headaches and I found out that if I took 400 mg. of magnesium every day, I no longer had issues with headaches. But, for some reason I quit taking the magnesium and I started having headaches again. I read through my journals and saw how I solved that problem in the past and now since taking the magnesium again, the headaches have disappeared.

5. It helps you remember important information. As you read books and listen to CDs you will learn things that can help you succeed in your life but the fact is, we only hold on to about 20% of what we read. Writing this information down and reading through it regularly will insure that you can retain and benefit from what you learned.

6. It helps you organize your thoughts and clear your mind. For example you may have an idea of how you want to decorate your house in a green and yellow leaf theme and because you don't want to forget your great idea, you keep mulling it over in your head. If you write your ideas in a journal, you can come back to them later. This will free your mind to focus on other things.

7. Journal writing will help you express yourself when an opportunity arises. If you have written about a particular subject in your journal, it will be a lot easier to comment about it intelligently. So whether you are writing a letter to your sister or participating in a church Bible study, you will be able to share your insights in an well thought-out manner.

Journal writing is an essential component to success but it will only work if you are committed to writing and reading through your journals regularly. Start journaling today and watch as your life is transformed.

For more articles on how to fulfill your God-given destiny visit
[http://victorious-woman.com/category/success-tips/]Self-improvement Tips

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Keeping an Idea Action Notebook

"I hear and forget. I see and hear and I remember. However, when I see, hear and do, I understand and succeed."

How often while reading has something initiated your imagination into further thought. That moment when you say to yourself, "that reminds me of..." or "that gives me an idea...". But you do nothing with that thought, but think it, and later on when you try to recall what it was, it is forever lost within the vastness of your mind.

Keeping an idea action notebook is a wonderful way to correlate and synthesize what you read. This is the main reason why I personally started keeping a journal. As I read I am constantly underlining and writing notes in the margin, many years ago it became obvious that the more I read the more I had to write and the margins were just not roomy enough!

Now when I read an esoteric, spiritual or self development book I keep a notebook by my side and a pen in my hand.I read slowly and as key points and concepts jump out at me I underline them in the book and then rewrite the passage in my notebook along with the page number to reference later on. Beneath the passage I write my reaction to it. Do I agree or not agree? Can I cross-reference it with material I have read previously in another book? What does it provoke emotionally and can I use this to better my life? I think you get the idea.

I have found this process to greatly increase my understanding and retention of the books I read.

It's all about being proactive with your reading rather than reactive. An idea action notebook will help you gain better insight into the work by the reading (seeing) and writing (doing) process.

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Register online at http://www.blankleatherbooks.com/Journal-Giveaway.html for a chance to win a Medieval Rustic Leather Writing Journal and also receive a special discount for the Leather Composition Notebook Cover for the next 7 Days!

Leather Writing Journal Giveaway - May Winner Announced!

Yes, it is that time again! If your reading this post and haven't registered for my Leather Writing Journal Giveaway go now to this page http://www.blankleatherbooks.com/Journal-Giveaway.html and register. This will also get you on my DW Inner Circle specials list!
During the year I will have a private page offering hand crafted products for a substantial savings. In fact, I will be having another special here soon (read "end of the month"!).

On to the winner, congratulations goes out to Erin Gallagher of Colorado Springs, CO who claims in her words "How very awesome! I never win things like this. Thank you very much! Erin". Well Erin now you have!!

I have some big news, I have sold my shoppe at the Colorado Renaissance Festival. I received a solid offer for it last week and was notified Monday that the check was in the mail. I am very excited. I have been on the fence about this for a couple of years. There are other paths I wish to pursue with my business and realized in order to do that I would have to close some doors so that others may open.

I am sad because I have been at this show for 18 years. I have met so many wonderful people who I only get to connect with during this time. Not all is lost though, I will be picking up some weekend shows in the CO area I would like to get more involved with Antiquarian Book Fairs, Metaphysical Fairs and possibly some Music Festivals. I think it will be refreshing (and hopefully profitable) to get out among a different crowd! Renaissance Festivals are awesome and wonderfully profitable for craftsmen and artists I highly recommend them to anyone starting out with their own home craft business. But do know they are very time and labor intensive. It really is 7 days a week for about 10 weeks. I have seen some very talented artists come and go over the years not realizing what they were getting into!

As for future shows, I will post on my sites, here on this blog and through my newsletter where I will be and when.