In living your great - extraordinary life it is sometimes helpful to hear, watch, and read how the lives of others unfold.

In the business world, biographies literally and figuratively provide insights into how people established their companies. Aspiring athletes can read the exploits of superstars to learn their mental and physical preparations. And biographies of the royals, dancers, artists, movie stars-all people seen as living a larger-than-life existence-satisfy the need to know how the other half lives. 

These stories offer glimpses into others’ lives that contrast with how and where you live today. Some stories draw you in because you empathize with the people’s life journeys and their contributions to the world. And some simply provide fodder that satisfies your fantasies of distant times and places.

 You are the author of your great --> extraordinary life.

~ Stephen Hobbs

While reading others’ stories is helpful, it is more important to shine light inwards at your own life.

• What would happen if you wrote your autobiography?
• In what ways would that writing contribute to your life and those whom you influence?

These two questions I asked myself about 10 years ago. And instead of letting the answers gather dust, I began to organize my notes, photos, poetry, articles, and sayings. I even organized a collection of my own business cards because they told something about me. I cut up T-shirts that I had worn to save different logos and great quotes. I simply gathered artifacts that told my story.

This collection process is invigorating and refreshing, sad and happy, all at the same time. It provided me - can provide you with a physical, mental, and spiritual access to your lifeline. Your artifacts offer you an opportunity to reflect on experience, discover those pivotal events, and more importantly, share those big and small, un-applauded achievements with yourself.

When the artifacts are organized, they provide glimpses into where you have come from, where you are now, and offer some insight into where you are going. Placed on a table in chronological order, you can see the good and happy events as well as the bad and sad events.

These artifacts also allow you to see how and where your history (past) and mystery (future) merge (present). In playing with the letters of history and mystery you might see the following story unfold.

History is about “hi, here is my story as I have lived it”
whereas
Mystery is “here is my story as I will live it,” suggesting energy is needed to make it happen. 
[swap "o" for "e" in story = stery]

Drawing your lifeline and organizing your artifacts will identify the most obvious turning points, pivotal events, and epiphanies that you experienced. The fun begins as you remember those lived experiences - life pivots and fill in the blanks. 

• What was happening?
• Who was present?
• What did you learn from that experience?
• Who did you influence at the time?

From my book, Living YOUR Great Life Insight #32 has connections here:
Living a great life involves connecting with family and close friends. Their involvement in your life and yours in theirs provides you with the backdrop for your autobiography. Your family and friends provide you with moments to know your inner joy and exasperations.

• What is the familial backdrop of your autobiography?
• What key metaphor is useful in your autobiography?
• What key word/word phrase is useful in your autobiography?

Mine is "Magnificance of My Extraordinary Life"

Answers to the questions listed above and others that you may ask, reawaken you to the magnificence and significance (magnificance) of your life. Through the questions, you are given additional openings to learn things about yourself.

Granted, some things you may wish to keep buried. Others you may wish to remember. In either case, these experiences are what make you up and are an expression of living your great life.

Those lived experiences made you who you are today. However, they do not necessarily define you.

How you deal with your history frames your mystery. In other words, you are more than a passive participant in your history. You are, more importantly, an architect of your mystery. And so, 

• Are you curious to know how your mystery will inform (in form) your new history?
  If yes, what artifacts do you want to collect?
• What do you desire to remember from what you do?

All of the questions provided in this article encourage you to reflect on your great - extraordinary life.

Your answers give you insights into the meanings you attribute to what you saw, felt, heard, tasted, intuited, and smelled in your life. Those meanings give you reasons to increase and improve your sensual awareness in living your great - extraordinary life.

They give you the content for your ‘living autobiography.’

At all times and in all places remember - you are the author of your life. You have the authority to tell it as it was, is, and can be. 

And there should be at least two people who will read your autobiography, your editor as you prepare to self publish and a close relative/friend. After that, the sky is the limit.

And for your interest, the tentative working title of my autobiography is:
Yikes, Stripes, and Zebra Spots:
From here to there, from this to that, and from now to then.

“If life were predictable it would cease to be life,
and be without flavor.”

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

To Live Well Together involves mentoring! 

Are you an entrepreneur operating a small to medium-sized business with employees or an entrepreneurial mentor - facilitator - coach - consultant, & you determine... 
​
It's Time to Live Well Together as YOU Make an Extraordinary Life Pivot to Live Your Life on Purpose Bing FOR the World. 

Recognizing Life Lessons 18-03 via a

Life Pivot is a conscious, personal re-creation you communicate through the commitments you make and keep. 
And, your commitment to your life pivot begins and continues from the point where and when you communicate accountability for your action_outcomes. 

When you work with WELLth Movement, we guide you to Map, Manage, and Measure Why and How to Live Well Together through Your Business and Life Pivot!  

EARNINGS DISCLAIMER:
We don’t believe in “get rich” programs – only in hard work, adding value, building a real and professional career, and serving others with excellence and constancy. Our products, services, and experiences – our programs – are intended to help you share your message with a wider audience and to make a difference in the world while growing your personal brand, business, and/or workplace. Our programs take a lot of work and discipline just like any worthwhile endeavour or professional continuing education program. Please don’t enrol in our programs if you believe in the “money for nothing get rich quick” myth or ideology; we only want serious people dedicated to real professional development who want to add value and move humanity forward. As stipulated by law, we can not and do not make any guarantees about your ability to get results or earn any money with our ideas, information, tools or strategies. We don’t know you and, besides, your results in life are up to you. Agreed? We just want to help by giving great content, direction, and strategies. What we can guarantee is your satisfaction; we give you a Fairness Approach, so if you are not happy for any reason with the quality of our work, just ask for your money back. You should know that all programs by our company are for educational and informational purposes only. Nothing on this page, any of our websites, or any of our content or curriculum is a promise or guarantee of results or future earnings, and we do not offer any legal, medical, tax or other professional advice. Any financial numbers referenced here, or on any of our sites, are illustrative of concepts only and should not be considered average earnings, exact earnings, or promises for actual or future performance. Making decisions based on any information presented in our programs, should be done only with the knowledge that you could experience risk or losses just like any entrepreneurial endeavor. Use caution and always consult your accountant, lawyer, or professional advisor before acting on this or any information related to a lifestyle change or your business or finances. You alone are responsible and accountable for your decisions, actions, and results in life, and by your registration here you agree not to attempt to hold us liable for your decisions, actions or results, at any time, under any circumstance. Anyway, all of our terms, privacy policies and disclaimers for this program and website can be accessed via this link. It’s basic stuff — don’t think you’re guaranteed to make money easily or at all, consult professionals before starting/operating businesses, understand there is risk in being an entrepreneur, etc — but we feel transparency is important, and we hold ourselves (and you) to an incredibly high standard of integrity. That’s why we also put our disclaimers on all our pages, why we give you our contact information for any questions, and why we give you a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Thanks for stopping by to us our programs. Until next time, make it a wellthy-wealthy day.

life lessons 18-03
Update to a June 2004 article