"My
best teacher is not a person. My best teacher is my books, my experience, my
observation, my failures, and my students. They are all my best teachers. In a
nutshell, my best teachers are not persons but books, experience, observation,
environment, and students who provoked my thinking and encouraged me to
research and improve my teaching." ―Professor M.S. Rao
Most
celebrities want to write their life story either as a memoir or as an autobiography
but they are scared of writing due to various reasons. Some are worried that
their weaknesses or failures will be exposed. Some are worried that they lose their
credibility. Some are concerned about the complicated process of writing. In
this blog post, I will differentiate between a memoir and an autobiography and discuss
the importance and the process of writing your memoir or autobiography.
When
you write a book, you build your credibility instantly, and become an
international authority and expert in your area and industry. You will be
highly respected and become an international celebrity. When you write a great
book, readers don't care about the price to purchase your book because they basically
care for the subject.
Memoir
versus Autobiography
A
memoir is a book of memories. It is a work of literary non-fiction. It is much
bigger than your diary and journal. There is a difference between memoir and
autobiography. A memoir is an account of your life for a specific period
whereas an autobiography is an account of chronological events in your life. A
memoir is a subset of autobiography. Some celebrities write in different parts
while some write their entire autobiography. Barack Obama wrote his memoir, 'A
Promised Land' whereas Mahatma Gandhi wrote his autobiography, 'The Story Of My
Experiments With Truth.'
A memoir
doesn't cover everything about life. It covers some memories with a focus on
one seminal event. For instance, my childhood becomes a memoir, my service in
the Indian Air Force becomes a memoir, my entrepreneurship becomes a memoir, my
teaching career becomes a memoir, and my writing career becomes a memoir. When
I combine all these things, it can become my autobiography. Autobiographies are
a collection of multiple memoirs and multiple themes.
Steps
to Write Your Memoir or Autobiography
Plan
well, research thoroughly, invest a few hours every day or once a week to write
your memoir or autobiography. Stay focused. Be disciplined. Identify whether
you are an early bird or a night owl and leverage accordingly to unlock your
creativity. Here are some tools to write your memoir. Share only a few
emotional moments. Outline inflection points in your life to enable the readers
to take away valuable lessons from your life. Take liberty to go flashback
instead of writing it chronologically.
Reading
several memoirs and autobiographies helps you understand the pattern and
process of writing. You can customize your writing accordingly. You must be
brave-hearted to write your memoir or autobiography. You must be thick-skinned
to share your failures and weaknesses especially your personal life. Writing a
memoir or an autobiography is like putting your entire life in the hands of
your readers to read, judge, and comment. Therefore, it requires guts to share
your personal life through your memoir or autobiography.
http://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Improving-your-Business-Communication/dp/9350239434
http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM
Share if you care!
"Things You Don't Know
about Professor M. S. Rao" http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2015/10/things-you-dont-know-about-professor-m.html
Read my 'Vision 2030 One
Million Global Leaders' URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html
Life is great!
Professor M.S.
Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants,
India
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/M.-S.-Rao/e/B00MB63BKM
Vision 2030: https://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/professormsrao
Twitter: http://twitter.com/professormsrao
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/profmsr7
See the Light in You: https://www.amazon.com/See-Light-You-Spiritual-Mindfulness/dp/1949003132
Thanks for reading!
Kindly share your thoughts
and comments below, I'm sure someone out there will find your story useful.
Copyright©2020 MSR Leadership
Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part
without permission is prohibited.
This is a nonprofit blog to
share Professor M.S. Rao's passion and vision to build one million students as global
leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by
email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright
is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.com. This material may not be sold, or published
in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party
without permission.
