CREATING A LEGACY BIO part 13

Creating a personal memoir or “Legacy Biography” must include any military experience that you have participated in but it could also include the military experience of someone close to you instead. Please adapt, change, eliminate or add to the suggestions in this template to offer a picture that reflects your views, your tears, laughter, pride and anything else that reveals how military service has affected you.

military-6Did you serve in the military?

If not, did you have a spouse, sibling, parent, child, grandparent, relative or friend who served? If so, then offer the information that you know about them using the questions below as a guidline.

What branch of the military did you serve in?

For what country?

Did you volunteer or were you conscripted?

Did you participate in any basic training – where?

Was basic training difficult?

What did you learn about yourself during this introduction to the military?

Did you have to leave your country to continue your service? Where did you go, how long were you there and did you go to more than one place?

What can you share about your experience – did you see “action?”

Were you in a peace keeping or peace making role?

Did you have a best friend while in service?

Where are they now?

What rank did you have when you entered and did you move up the ranks?

What was your rank when you left or retired?

What was the most powerful or meaningful experience of your tenure?

Are you comfortable talking about your military experience?

What makes you the most uncomfortable?

Do you still carry secrets that you do not want to divulge or secrets that you cannot divulge?

What was the the biggest lesson that you learned and what would you share with others?

Would you do it again if you had a choice?

Does your service cause you to have sleepless nights?

Would you be willing to explain further?

There may be much more that you can add to this section of your personal biography. There may be pictures, letters, newspaper articles and more. If you are comfortable in doing so, then perhaps you could do that. If not, then you should feel no obligation to do it.

Can you share the fallout from your military service? How has it influenced the rest of your life, your relationships, health, work, family and other areas of everyday existence?

Do you belong to any post service organizations?

Do you participate in “Remembrance Day” or “Veteran’s Day” events, or do you find a different way to remember?

Please add any information that you feel comfortable sharing.

Creating a personal memoir or history requires thinking about events, people and circumstances that include both joy and sorrow. It may be cathartic but it will be of incredible value to those who read it in the future. Please consider sharing this series of templates with other people by sharing through social media buttons on this page or an email with a personal message and encouragement.

CREATING A LEGACY BIO part 12

Your personal history includes how you fit into the rest of the world. Your place on the planet is much more than just your family and closest friends but includes your relationships with people and places in much wider circles. Let’s take a look at how you make your mark on others.connect-with-world-1

CONNECTING WITH THE WORLD

Have you ever volunteered to help others?

Was this with an organization, and if so, what organization(s)?

Did you ever travel as a volunteer – where?

Describe your main volunteer activities in the past – names, places, what, why.

Are you currently volunteering?

Do you plan to volunteer in the future?

If you could choose to do any volunteer activity anywhere in the world, what would it be and why?

Expand on your most impactful volunteer experience to date.

CLOSER TO HOME

Who are your closest neighbors and describe them ( they’ll never read this – will they?)

How would you describe yourself as a neighbor – friendly, distant, nod only, live in each others houses, lots of parties, borrow and return tools, nosy, helpful, etc?

Describe your ideal neighbor.

What’s your biggest pet peeve with neighbors?

Have you ever had a fight with a neighbor – if so, what happened?

Describe the most difficult neighbors you ever lived near.

HI HO – OFF TO WORK I GO

Describe each of your jobs using the who, what, where and why process.

What was your favorite job and why?

What do you do today?

If you work outside your home – what is the address?

What do you like most and least about your current job?

What main attributes do you bring to your current job?

Do you have any areas you would like to improve upon in your current position?

Do you have to commute – how long?

Do you participate in any ongoing training, upgrading or learning in your job?

Have you ever quit a job – what was the story?

Were you ever fired – why?

If you could choose any job in the world, regardless of education, money and location – what would it be?

Do you delegate tasks easily or are you that “if you want it done right, do it yourself”  person?

Are you ever reluctant to take vacations or are you constantly planning the next one?

If you are sick, do you go to work anyway?

What are your weekends like – full of projects, tasks and to-do lists or are they filled with naps?

When you go on vacation – are you constantly sightseeing, finding new adventures, trying something you have never tried before or is a beach chair and drink more your style?

Are you retired or planning to retire? What are your thoughts about it?

Some people say they are busier in retirement than they were at work – how about you – are you, or will you, be busier?

Describe an average day in your retirement.

Would you, or did you, ever take a sabbatical from work – if so, what did or would you do?

One way to connect with the world is to encourage others to add their story  of who and where they come from. Let’s not lose the connections to our past and let’s help our friends and family create their own personal history by telling them about this project. You can send them an email directly from this page to show them how they can create their own Legacy. Just click on the email symbol.

CREATING A LEGACY BIO part 11

When it comes to creating a personal history or a biography to leave as a legacy to others, dates and times are important but the things that readers will find the most interesting – is the real you. What were your hopes and dreams – what were your successes and disappointments and how did they affect your life?

friends-1Remember that you don’t necessarily have to share this information with anyone at any time but, at some point in the future, someone will wonder who you were and how you have affected their lives many generations later. You can ultimately decide when your Legacy Bio can be opened and to whom it will be released. Go ahead and answer all of these questions and you can make decisions and edit later.

FROM WHERE I COME

Including the addresses, where are the main places that you have lived? Can you give some details about the house, apartment, etc.?

What was special about each place you lived?

Are there any similarities about the various residences – proximity to water, night life, trees, views, geography, work, play, or anything else?

Create a drawing of your current bedroom.

What are the major places you have visited for both vacations and business?

What family vacation stands out in your memory and why?

Have you ever taken a vacation by yourself – where and why?

What is the next big destination on your bucket list?

TO WHOM I CONNECT

Who was your first best friend?

How did you meet and are you still friends?

What is the name of some of your other closest buddies over the years?

Who is your best friend now – expand on your relationship?

Have you ever been cheated by a lover, friend or family member?

What happened?

Have you ever betrayed someone – what happened?

Can you remember someone “putting it on the line” for you, someone who took a personal risk to back you up?

How many times have you been in love?

In your love relationships, who said “I love you” first?

What was your greatest romantic experience?

What was the worst?

OK, here it is, the one you have been waiting for – describe your first sexual experience.

Have any love relationships been lost due to death, illness, divorce or something else and what was that like for you?

What actions have you taken to get over those losses?

Have you ever experienced being in love with more than one person at a time?

What are the characteristics of a lover or marriage partner that are most important to you?

Attractiveness – describe in what ways

Intelligence

Financial means

Kindness

Helpfulness

Sense of humor

What other characteristics are important or are “deal breakers?”

Did you ever end a relationship with a close friend or family member and why?

Has a friend or family member ever ended their relationship with you and do you know why or what prompted it?

Have you considered trying to repair the relationship?

How would that person get back into your good graces – what would they have to do or say – or could they?

Who is it in your life that you still need to forgive?

Who, in your life, have you been too lenient with when it comes to overlooking their failings?

 If you have children, explain how you love each one differently.

Do you parent your children differently than your parents raised you?

How have you improved on the parent/child relationship compared to your own parents?

If you have no children – how would you raise your children differently if you had some?

If you could ask three questions of anyone in your life, past or present, and you were absolutely guaranteed a truthful answer, what would you ask of whom?

So, now we are getting to some “meat and potatoes” issues, revealing ourselves for all (or maybe no one) to see. How do you feel about this exercise? Would you encourage someone else to do it too? Would you help them if they are unable to physically work on this project themselves?
The more we know about where and who we come from, the more we are able to understand ourselves. Please share if you agree.