Some of the world’s best ideas are buried in cemeteries.
Meaning, so many of us have amazing, wonderful ideas that— for many reasons—never get brought to light. We keep them inside. We carry them with us. And eventually, we take them to the grave.
At the beginning of last year, my wife, Kim, decided she wanted to write down some of her childhood memories. She tells me all the time that she had the best childhood, and she wanted those memories written down for our kids and grandkids to read someday, when she was no longer around to tell the stories herself.
As she wrote, she would read the stories to me with the same passion and excitement she had as a child. After a few months and many stories, I encouraged her not to keep them just for our kids and grandkids, but to put them into a book and share them with the world.
Her response was simple:
“Who would want to read about my memories?”
I told her that many people share the same memories. They may not be exactly the same, but by reading her words, it would bring their own memories flooding back.
Fast forward nine months, and she published her first book, The Fence I Walked, The Childhood I Cherished, at the very end of last year. The response from readers has been overwhelming:
“Reading your book brought back so many memories from when I was younger.”
Those memories started in her mind.
Those memories became written words.
Those written words became a story.
That story became a book.
And that book brought memories back to life for others.
My challenge to each of us is this: don’t let the ideas and thoughts in your head be buried with you at the end of your life. Overcome the reasons that hold you back and allow the world to benefit from what you have to offer.
Don’t take your best gift to the world with you to the grave.