We are all writing our own stories. I’ve read autobiographies ranging from Anthony Kiedis to Mindy Kaling, which you can imagine are very different ice cream flavors.
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and if you must be tempted to stay in bed all day, let it be in the company of someone who has a hell of a life story to tell.
The description of Bill Clinton’s My Life describes the work as a “treasury of moments caught alive,” which is pretty damn poetic. Are you tempted to read an autobiography yet?
There was a time when I couldn’t be pried from the fiction section of Barnes & Noble. Once I realized that it wasn’t just retired politicians who liked to hammer out their life stories for public consumption, I realized that switching it up can be pretty cool. And sometimes you can identify with those retired politicians more than you would think.
You should pick up an autobiography today – whether it be from your personal sports hero, someone who was once caught in the midst of a political scandal, or a business mogul whose empire you hope to one day replicate. Or you can read Justin Bieber’s autobio, I won’t judge.
These are some of the most defining themes that run through just about every autobiography I’ve read.
1. Missteps are often for the best
Reflecting on his first failed political campaign, Clinton remarked that if he had won he doesn’t believe he would ever have gone on to the White House. The paths we do not follow often define us almost as much as the ones we do. At the very least, they point us in the direction we’re meant to go.
Every autobiography contains reflection on the roads not taken. Reading about this lends its own brand of reassuring wisdom.
2. You need to start small
If you have a passion or an interest, pursue it even if it doesn’t seem like it will lead anywhere. Virgin Records began as a small mail-order records operation; Tamara Mellon first sold Jimmy Choo shoes out of a suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
3. Not everyone hits it big at 22
As a millennial and see people ten years your junior making waves. Autobiographies dismiss the all-too-believable myth that overnight success at a glamorous young age happens with a stroke of luck. In fact, it’s more the exception than the norm.
In their mid-twenties…,
- Shania Twain was working at a resort and acting as the sole supporter for her younger siblings.
- Tina Fey worked the desk at the YMCA after having been rejected as a waitress at Ruby Tuesday’s; later on, it was only after she lost weight that SNL would consider putting her in front of the cameras.
- Tamara Mellon, later known for Jimmy Choo shoes, was living in her parent’s basement. She was a cocaine addict who had been recently fired from Vogue magazine.
4. We trade age for wisdom
The more autobiographies I read, the more I discover that aging is the price we pay for the lessons every year brings, and the wisdom that is gleaned from those lessons.
The person you are at 40 has more stories to tell than the person you were at 20. Every experience gives you another chance to get to know yourself and define your personal values.
Most of the time, you can look back objectively and appreciate an experience for what it was, rather than be tainted by bruises it inflicted on your heart. Keith Richards simply commented, on his split from his girlfriend of 12 years, “Thanks for the memories, girl.”
5. Life is sweet in retrospect
Good things and bad things happen in life. From the unexpected shock of a death to the joy of getting to know someone new, autobiographies are a case study of a life lived well. They tend to end on an unresolved note that instills a sense of sweetness and renewed hope for tomorrow morning.
Consider this the next time you have a bad day. The insignificant things shrink and the good is magnified when you ponder your life so far. It should remind you that you have so much more to accomplish and relationships to form.
When you look at the whole picture, you’re barely out of your cocoon.
6. You can be anything you want – for real
Is there more conclusive proof of this to be found than in an autobiography? Take the path you want and let your life build itself around the choices you consciously make.
Don’t worry about looking stupid. Most people in their own memoirs admit they didn’t know what the hell they were doing at the time.
Between every ambitious person lies a gap between who they are today and who they want to be. The same once went for anybody who ever became successful.
Read to learn about life in someone else’s shoes. Read to learn about the principles of success. Read to find out how a human rebuilds after catastrophe.
Because, as Hunter Thompson said, “I learned a long time ago that reality was much weirder than anyone’s imagination.”
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