From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com

In this Issue:

Opening remarks: Fear and Loathing
Featured Article: Let Us Play
Resources You Can Use: Your Professional Bio, Family Research and the Five Year Journal

Opening Remarks: Fear and Loathing

Maybe we like the adrenaline, but I think it’s more because "recreational fear" allows us to laugh at situations that normally would not be funny. When we know it is not real then we can scoff in the face of danger. At least that’s my thought on the subject. It’s nearly Halloween and that remains a popular holiday. I don’t particularly care for the nature of gore, but I can enjoy a good "scare" in the name of fun.

My wife and I went to a gala event last night. The Boo Ball is an annual formal Halloween event that raises money for some great charitable organizations in New Mexico. The Janet Vargas Memorial Fund, Operation Homefront and Namaste do good work for military families and for children in need or suffering from health concerns like cancer. We dressed up, enjoyed the dining, the auctions and the fabulous entertainment of a band called the Pink Flamingos. That group is a hoot! They put on an entertaining stage show and play everything from the standards to blues to good old rock n’ roll. A good time was had by all.

I’ve been quite the busy beaver the last two months. I work my fulltime radio job and I’m also finishing up an "as told to" autobiography for a delightful 85-year young woman with a great life story. Finding the balance between work and obligations and time with family and recreational pursuits is a theme of this month’s newsletter. Do make time to play – it’s very important.

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While the main focus of this newsletter is to share thoughts, ideas, and insights on life story writing you should know that I offer various services and also mention some products and services that can be helpful. You are under no obligation to purchase anything, but if any of these products or services are helpful and you decide to utilize them then I am most grateful.

Thanks for reading. – Tom

Featured Article: Let Us Play

"Work to live or live to work" – no doubt, you’ve heard that before. Here’s another well-worn cliché: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

There’s plenty of truth in both those statements. You really can’t enjoy life, at least not fully, if all you do is work. Unfortunately, for too many of us we have to work more than we want. It’s tough making a living and it’s hard to make enough money to pay the bills. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

There are times when it is crunch time with work. If you have a project with a deadline then you’ve got to get it done or suffer the consequences. The key is good planning, discipline and also knowing when to say, “enough is enough”. The last thing any of us needs to do is drop dead from the stress of working too much.

All that being said, I’ve been faced with an incredible load lately. Through it all I’ve had good days when a lot has been accomplished and I’ve had those days when I just want to throw my hands in the air. It’s been making me think. I don’t want to work all the time. But, I also enjoy work when it is something I find worthwhile. That is the key, isn’t it? If you can’t do work you love then it just becomes drudgery.

Whether or not you have a job you love you can always make time to play. I’ve been reflecting on the games and playtime I enjoy. I have a couple of kids and some of the times we all remember as the best are when we do something fun together. Sometimes we play board games. Other times we go out – to the park, a ball game or a concert. It sure beats just sitting in front of the television.

One of the games we really enjoy as a family is a card game we call "Okie Rummy". Many of our friends and our other relatives jump at a chance to play it when we get together. The game is a lot like gin rummy, but it has a few different nuances. Without explaining all the rules, the goal is each round to get the number of "books" (3 or 4 cards of a kind, like all fours, kings, etc) or "straights" (4 or 5 in a row of the same suit). Every round starts out with all the players getting dealt eleven cards and we have six different rounds where we have to get so many books and straights. You have to draw a card each time or pick up the discard of the player before you. If you don’t want the card the previous player discarded then it goes around in order to the other players who have the option of "buying" the card. We all get four pennies to start with and each penny can be used for a buy, but your purchase requires you to also take two more cards from the middle pile.

You strive to get what you need and put down your cards and get rid of any leftovers. You can put cards down on the other players’ books and straights when they lay down. The first to get rid of all their cards wins the round. When you win a round you get negative points and each round has more negative points than the one before. The first round winner gets minus 50, the next round minus 100 and so on. If you are caught with cards left when someone else wins a round those cards count against you. So, you don’t want a positive point count; you want the best negative number. And two’s and jokers are wild.

As I try to explain it here I realize it’s probably hard to follow. Don’t sweat it. The point I’m making is that we love to play this game. It even gets pretty competitive and we’ve played this game for years. I think part of the fun is that we’ve enjoyed this game for so long and it’s a great excuse to get together and socialize.

Have some fun in your life. Make the most of work, but more importantly, make the most of living and that means finding a good balance between work and play.

You can read other articles on life-story writing here.

Resources You Can Use

Work history, personal interests, accomplishments and goals are all important when presenting a resume. But when you want to get your foot in the door you must stand out from the crowd. Getting noticed is hard, but now you can increase your chances. A new service of Your Life is Your Story is the one page Professional Bio. Let me write a one-page bio that introduces you to a prospective employer, investor or anyone you need to make a quick connection with. You provide some initial information. Then I do a short interview (phone or email). In a matter of a few days I'll craft a one-page biography that sets you apart from the pack.

Details here.

Family Research

There are many places to research your family history. When you want to find out about your ancestors, or even more recent family members, a good service is Ancestry.com. It is the leading resource for family history online. Their web site offers over 1 billion names in over 3,000 unique databases. New records are being added to the site each business day.

You can do some searching free of charge. But, if you want to get into more extensive records try a paid subscription. Find out more by visiting our profile of Ancestry.com at here.

The Five Year Journal

Another great journal I recommend is Doreene Clement’s 5 Year Journal Journaling for insight, personal growth and just for fun is something I highly encourage. The 5 Year Journal is formatted so that you can easily record your thoughts, insights and observations over a multi-year time span. Right now there is a special running to buy two copies at regular price and get two more copies free! See more here

That’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading. Be sure to visit our blog regularly, and here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.

Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!

Until next time, – keep your story alive!

Tom Gilbert