Joe Soran

You may feel that you’re “not a writer” or that your life hasn’t been important enough to put on paper. But in the second half of life, something powerful changes.   In From Strength to Strength , Arthur C. Brooks  explains that we gradually move away from raw, fast intelligence and toward something deeper: crystalline intelligence —the wisdom that comes only from living.   “In every conceivable manner, the family is a link to our past and a bridge to our future.” - Alex Hale

“One bite at a time.” Simple. Memorable. Genius. That same wisdom applies to something far more meaningful than finishing a big task—it applies to writing a letter that could change your grandchildren’s lives. How do you write a letter to your grandchildren? Twenty minutes at a time. That’s it. Sit down and write for just 20 minutes a day, five days a week. In one year, you will have written more than 80 hours —80 hours of wisdom, love, stories, and hard-earned lessons that o

Just finished an excellent book entitled "Make it Stick" by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. The books is so full of great ideas that you will want to read it a second time.   The ideas really apply to writing a letter to your grandchildren.   They suggest using the acronym - "SUCCESs" to make ideas stick.   S - Simple U - Unexpected C - Concrete C - Credible E - Emotional S - Stories   By simple they mean that if you want your idea to stick, you need to simplify your message. In writ

When you help your grandchildren by writing the stories of your life and your best words of wisdom, you are also helping your own children.   It definitely happened to me. I learned things about my mother and father that I never knew before. Important things.   My father’s early childhood poverty had a much deeper effect on him than I ever knew. It made me re-examine my life and appreciate all that I had taken for granted. It gave me a huge boost of confidence knowing that if

"Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution—more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to. Story is what enabled us to imagine what might happen in the future, and do prepare for it—a feat no other species can lay claim to, opposable thumbs or not." Lisa Cron from "Wired For Story."   Tell stories in your letter. Human beings are wired for story. Your grandchildren are wired for story. It's how we communicate ideas

Just finished a great book - "Storyworthy" by Matthew Dick.   Matthew is a great at telling stories and has won many awards telling them.   One of the most interesting suggestions he makes is to daily record "Five-Second Moments." He defines those moments as experiences of "true transformation." One of his biggest "Five-Second Moments" was when he realized that despite a challenging childhood, he did indeed have a family. He found it in faithful and loving friends that suppor

With sufficient knowledge, a person can make good things happen. First, they can make a choice of what is a good thing. They can select specific goals. Second, they use that knowledge of how those goals have been achieved in the past so they can try them on their own. They can decide which method of achieving those goals is best for them. Which would be quickest, easiest and most effective. They can apply those methods and see if they work. Perhaps the first three methods the

Good advice for traveling as you get older is that there is three phases:   Go-Go Slow-Go No-Go   In the "Go-Go" years you are healthy enough to handle the physical demands of traveling like walking five miles through the streets of London or Paris. In the "Slow-Go" years, you change your destination to Maui where your longest walk is from the hotel room to the beach. In the "No-Go" years, you admit to your body's limitations and vacation in your living room.   These same thr

"Storyworthy" by Matthew Dicks is a great book!   In this brilliant book, Dicks writes about a wonderful concept called "Lifetime Homework." The idea is to record the important moments of your life on a daily basis. Ask yourself "If I had to tell one story from today what would it be?" Write about meaningful memories. Moments you discover something new about yourself of the world.   He recommends using Excel as it will force you to be very brief. Just write a snippet. If, a t

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever; the goal is to create something that will.” – Chuck Palahniuk One of the most meaningful gifts you can give your grandchildren isn’t something money can buy—it’s your story. Writing a letter to them about your life—your challenges, your triumphs, your lessons—creates a bridge across generations. It allows them to know you not just as “Grandma” or “Grandpa,” but as a person who lived, learned, and loved deeply. Share the moments tha

The blog below was created by ChatGPT. I am experimenting. I wanted to see how well it could write an inspirational blog about writing a letter to your grandchidlren. I am starting to look at AI differently. For the last several years, I thought it was a horrible idea. Using computers to write, rather than writing things yourself. I had visions of SkyNet and HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey." What do you think? Was I wrong to try this? Does the article below inspire you? Am I a

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." United States of America - Declaration of Independence   American's Founding Fathers believed in the Pursuit of Happiness. A wonderfully written book about their pursuit is "The Pursuit of Happiness" by Jeffrey Rosen. In it, he explains that most of the Founding Fathe

We're old. Why on earth would we write a future biography?   Because it would be good for you and the people you love.   Write about what you want for the future. Write about the things you regard as important. What are your dreams for the future? What do you want for your family? Help them figure out what is truly important and what they should make a priority in their choices by writing down what your hard earned years of experience have taught you should be a priority.   S

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward   I have so many things to be...

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards." - Søren Kierkegaard   "You can't connect the dots looking...

I much prefer 'lessons learned' over 'mistakes.' Mistakes have such a painful connotation, especially after you have made a few big ones....

Write about your family's "Red-Letter Days."   Red-Letter days is ancient expression that has its roots in Roman culture from 500 B.C. to...

By artist Greg Gutierrex One of the greatest strengths of modern art is that it shifts interpretation to you. The artist doesn't force...

A reporter once asked the Wright brothers how they were able to be the first to invent the airplane without any advantages. Neither of...

"Since the 1990's I've also taught an adult course on memoir and family history at the New School. My students are men and women who want...