I have been waiting for this day for several years.
November 1 is the official opening of Life Story School. It’s a new business I started to help people capture and retain their important memories and life lessons, or the stories of other people.
It’s a venture that came out of my Forward From 50 interviews of men and women over 50 who are pursuing new direction for their lives. I realized that everyone has a story to tell. Not only does your story matter, stories are the best way to connect generations of people with each other.
I am still producing content for Life Story School. It will take between six and nine months to record the more than 50 lessons I have planned. A list of all the lessons to be released can be found at lifestory.school/course-topics. At least two new lessons will be released every week.
I will also create literally hundreds of storytelling prompts to help people recall key moments of their lives as well as the people and events which shaped them over the years.
As a journalist for more than 40 years, I have interviewed thousands of people and written about their lives. Yet, as a writer, I got caught up in the idea that a life story had to be a book, which is time-consuming to write and costly to produce.
Some business colleagues opened my eyes to an unfortunate fact: One person dies every 12 seconds in America. When they die, they take a vast vault of wisdom and experiences with them. It’s for that reason capturing stories is vitally important, whether in written, audio or video format.
The world today is adrift in knowledge, but lacking in wisdom, which serves to anchor their lives.
That’s why it’s essential for people over 50 to share their unique life lessons and experiences with others. It does not have to be a book. An audio or video recording will be a welcome gift for others.
I will not be abandoning Forward From 50. The stories I’ve been able to share about seasoned citizens passionately pursuing purpose for their lives has been inspirational to many. I fully intend to continue producing the weekly Forward From 50 podcast and feature stories.
Eventually, Life Story School will expand to include a do-it-for you service where we can interview people and transform those interviews into audio, video and written records for them.
But, for now, much of my time will be devoted to creating lessons for the Life Stories 101 do-it-yourself course as well as the storytelling prompts to help people jog their memories.
As a member of the Forward From 50 community, you have an opportunity to get lifetime access to the Life Stories 101 course and the prompts for a one-time charge of $99 with no renewal fees. This deal will only be available for a short time as I start producing more content.
It’s my way of rewarding you for your trust in me as I prepare the lessons. You can learn more at lifestory.school/register/founding.
Most seasoned citizens want to leave a legacy. They want to know their lives mattered.
Yet, there is no better legacy to leave than an audio, video or written story describing what was most important to you.
Because Life Story School is separate from Forward From 50, if you’d like to receive that weekly newsletter, too, you can sign up at lifestory.school/getting-started-guide.
You will also receive a free PDF showing how you can organize your life story around 19 different themes.
Remember, your story matters! Share it today.
After closing his business and enduring several painful years of uncertainty regarding what to do with his life, Greg founded Forward From 50 to help men and women over 50 to live more purposeful lives by pursuing things they are passionate about. A Wisconsin native, Greg currently lives in Arizona.