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I explored the concept of Legacy Story during my initial years of career where I underwent a deep self-research and external training in the Art and Craft of Storytelling. It boggled my mind at that time and I used it to design my upcoming life. A tool that I discovered at the age of 29 and understood the deep importance of its power when I was 31. I wished if I would have discovered it in my teens. But it’s never late to start. 

If you are a self-made entrepreneur, or a startup or an established entrepreneur, Legacy Story is one chapter that should form an integral part of your Entrepreneurial Life Goals.  

1. What is a Legacy Story?  

Entrepreneurial Legacy Story is about your navigation in the whole process of your entrepreneurship journey from beginning to the end of your life. As the entrepreneur may leave the world physically though the impact that has been created by the entrepreneur in the society through its work shall always stay.  If you are a solopreneur or an entrepreneur with a huge team Legacy Story is for everyone to create. It is the record of your reflections from your achievements and failures as an entrepreneur. A memoir of your learnings, values, experiences and the driving force that has driven your business. An account of your insights that you can provide to the upcoming generations of your family of the society at large for their growth. A document of your choices in your extreme difficult situations. Popular Legacy Stories has been documented and is in mass circulation. For Example: Steve Jobs, Henry Ford, Oprah Winfrey, JRD Tata and so on. Now don’t think you are not famous enough to start writing your Legacy Story. The above-mentioned Honchos were also a beginner like you are today. 

Though Legacy Story or a series of stories of your entrepreneurial journey can be for your eyes and ears only. Its ok if you don’t want to release it for others. For example, I am a young Edupreneur of 36 years and I am writing my Legacy Story in the form of Goals which I want to achieve to take my venture “Not Just Tales” to new heights every year, so that when my son grows up, he feels proud of his mother, the society remembers me at large, yes, I have those dreams and I am sure you may be having them as well. 

2. Who of a Legacy Story? 

I assume this is quite clear that it’s YOU, who creates and writes your Legacy Story as no one knows better than you about your experiences and most importantly the feelings of happiness when you have achieved an impossible goal, the feeling of sadness when you failed miserably, the feeling of self-assurance when you have mustered the courage to tell yourself “its ok, I will do better next time”, the feeling of uncertainties, the feeling of taking a huge risk, the feeling of confidence that your idea is working, the feeling of strong intuitions and so on. It’s the feelings that we make us feel fulfilled and successful. In case you are busy, you can always hire a professional expert for writing and documenting your LEGACY STORY. 

To reiterate, Legacy Stories are always for yourself or for others to get inspired, grow and learn.  

3. Why to create or write a Legacy Story? 

Nothing in this world is without a purpose or a reason and the same goes for Legacy Story. Here are some of my favorite reasons to start writing or creating a Legacy Story.  

• Shows You The Road Map Ahead: When you start writing your story you can visualize the road ahead as you are in a position to see, to notice, to observe your pattern of success and failure and you start using the learning to make a more effective road map with effective implementation plan. That’s why Legacy Story is my favorite.  

• Gives You The Purpose Of Life: Every Entrepreneur is solving a problem for someone. The gravity of the problem may vary in degrees, though problem solving is the core foundation of any business as that’s what makes you important. When you write your story you realize where you have contributed and actualized your true potential. Have you lived your true purpose and in case you didn’t know that you had a purpose of life though it wasn’t visible, the process of writing a Legacy Story makes it visible to you.  

• Gives You Peace: When you write your story, you feel satisfied and peaceful because you see how far you have come I your journey. The growth graph provides you with peace.  

• Makes You Memorable: A carefully designed, well crafted story always makes you memorable because you have added value in the lives of your closed ones or your readers with your memoir. Values, Words of Wisdom with real time examples are always more powerful and strong in forming beliefs for readers and followers.  

• Gift or Heritage For Your Family: Even if you intend to keep your memoir for your family only, this becomes a source of valuable possession for those who give more value to learnings and experiences than material possession. 
• Strike a Million Dollar Deal: If you are famous or you become as famous as Steve Jobs then your memoir can earn you or the nominee million dollars as royalty. (May sound exaggerated though its true).  

4. When to Write or Record? 

Start whenever you wish to, though don’t procrastinate by saying will do tomorrow or next week as that will never come. 

The best way is to assign 30 minutes for the same daily as you will take time to think on the plot (s) you want to write on. To begin with you can choose the areas or prominent events which led to your journey of entrepreneurship. Start collecting facts, learnings, pictures and many more that you would like to share.  

5. Whereto Write or Record? 

Technology has blessed us with ample options to write and record our story. You can use any of the following space to write or record your story: 

• Personal Diary 
• MS Word 
• Cloud Space 
• Record in an audio app and ask someone to type 
• Publish a Book (That’s what most famous people do and earn loads of royalties) 

6. Which type of Legacy Story? 

This makes the story interesting. It’s important to pick and choose your favourite style of writing or rather have the awareness of the same as that makes your content readable and interesting as todays is fast paced generation, the writing style has to be interesting for the reader to be hooked. Here are few examples: 

• Question and Answer Style -The Interview Method: The easiest one to write as you have open ended rhetoric questions and answers. 
• Situation-Problem Solving Style: You choose prominent situations in your business which were difficult to handle and you show how you overcame the situations with the decisions and choices. 
• Key Milestones Narration: You choose a list of events in the whole business life so far and highlight the success, failures and learnings. 

• Rags to Riches Style: Simplest of the lot where you show how from humble beginnings you became the multi-crore or millionaire business empire. The classy example is of Dhirubhai Ambani. 
• Narrative Style: Start from the seed of the idea to the final propagation of the plant, that is, from inception to your exit in the business. 
• Subject Style: Choose areas where you had major breakthrough or you feel you have contributed immensely in that area or vice versa. For example: Team Management, Production, Manufacturing, Marketing, Branding, Finance, Business Ethics and so on.  
• Protagonist Style: You choose anyone as the hero of the story either a supporter, or team, or the product, or the idea, or yourself and the story revolves around the same. 
• Year Book Style: Latest in trends. Most Corporates are doing it where they publish and annual report with an inspirational story of the founder based on a particular event. 

To conclude, I would like to state a popular saying ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ In the case of recording your life story, this may be true. It can also be true that one person’s treasure is yet another person’s treasure as well. We’re all a product of our past, and that’s what has brought us to where we are today. 

“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” 
—Benjamin Franklin 

Don’t think much, just start creating or writing or recording your Legacy Story right away if not for others than for your family and if not for family, then surely for yourself as You are Imperative. 

Share your questions or comments below, shall be happy to answer.  

I am Khusshbo Chokhaani, Trainer, Storyteller and Drama Facilitator for Young Adults and Children between 4 to 17 years, empowering them in the Art and Craft of True Self-Expression, Success Mindset and Self-Actualization using the tools of Applied Storytelling, Speech and Drama (Trinity College, London Certifications), and Communication Techniques. To know more about me and my work follow my brand “Not Just Tales” on all the leading social media handles. Visit us at: https://notjusttales.com

You can also email me on notjusttales09@gmail.com .

Thank You