Here is a sample to give the sense of what the answers can look like (actual size and spacing of the book itself is larger, of course, for easy input, but this should hopefully give a clear idea of the format). This is just a random sample of the hundreds of thought provoking and open-ended questions in this book. Note that there are lists, preference selections, multiple-choice questions, pictures, quotes, and a variety of approaches designed to elicit responses, thoughts and opinions about the memories and activity of a lifetime.
Plus, there is ample room for most answers, but all chapters do have lined note pages for those special memories and stories apart from those generated by the chapter questions and discussions points. Nothing is overlooked unless the person answering the question chooses to do so - and that is always understood to be their privilege!
A brief introduction explains in detail the options available and the best ways to enjoy the book. It is a most pleasant experience for anyone to fill in the blanks and a meaningful and valuable possession once it is completed. The only real question is which is the best of the several reasons to purchase MY LIFE STORY!
(from pages 41 & 42)
Hey, you’re not getting paid to just read these questions - so start writing!
My first full time job was working as a furniture mover in Encino, CA. I was able enough, but because of the company's TV commercial, the customers always expected big burly guys to show up and I definitely had more of a "sleek body type" back then! You know, surfer kind of kid.
A brief description of my boss Younger fellow like myself and about the only real difference there was between us was that he wore a tie and I dressed in company provided overalls. Of the two of us, I looked sharper when dressed for work!
My principle duties were furniture moving, but many of the jobs were a commercial account w/Xerox delivering the larger copiers to offices. Got rather dangerous sometimes! (see notes at end of this chapter for one truly hair-raising story)
Relative to other jobs available to me, my salary was better than most. Even though the job was blue collar & I was a college graduate, I was making more than my tie wearing boss. The van drivers called him "necktie boy" and me "college dropout."
Primarily I took the job because it began as a summer job and was something I could go back to while I decided what "real" job to pursue. Never did ever find a "real" job for myself even all these years later! Ha! Life is something, isn't it?
Memorable fellow employees: the van drivers! They were all crazy to begin with and the "artificial stimulants" they took daily did nothing to improve their judgment. I still have nightmares about the time I woke up to find my driver also asleep and the van headed off the freeway!
One of my assigned duties that I was very good at was packing the truck and then figuring out how to fit one & a half van loads of furniture into one truck. This experience saved me thousands of dollars over the years in being able to do my own personal moves.
One job task I was expected to perform that I never got the hang of was
folding the blankets that protected the furniture. Sounds strange, but I could never
remember to fold them up as we went through the move and the drivers always scolded me for that.
My first job taught me something very important about myself:_that if I could maintain a positive relationship with my fellow workers, I was far more likely to have a better job performance myself. Learning this early on really helped me in later life.
I can definitely say that the mistake most young people make with their first job is they put too much emphasis on starting salary! To me, the primary task of your first years in the workforce should always be learning what you are capable of what you will never enjoy, and how to find compatible employment over a lifetime. Would love for my grandkids to learn this early on.
The one thing I always tried to remember on any job I had through the years was that my job was never my life. Whenever I took on the self-identity of my
career, as I often did, I would find myself in trouble. Any work, even that which you
thoroughly enjoy, is not to be confused with who you really are. There are too many
decisions in life that required this understanding and all good career choices do.
One big difference in the workplace now and back then was definitely: the relationship between the customer and the company. Even working as a lowly "moving man" it still was always clearly understood that the customer was always right and that was who really paid our salaries.
MY LIFE STORY
Copyright © 2009 by David Douglas Ford
International Standard Book Number: 978-1-4276-4235-6
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means without written permission from the author.
www.daviddouglasford.com