In fact, the autobiography of Ben Franklin is widely praised for both its contribution to literature and its historical value. Companies have been formed based on his teachings: FranklinCovey comes immediately to mind (remember the Franklin planner?).

Even in his greatness, Benjamin Franklin remained down to earth and approachable. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin’s simple approach to life is what makes his autobiography so readable and appreciated by millions of readers.

Luckily for us, he left an outline of why he wrote his life story. He doesn’t tell his story to show how marvelous he is. Instead, his reasons for writing show his humility.

He provided the following motives for jotting down his life’s history:

1. He’s always derived “Pleasure in obtaining any little Anecdote or my Ancestors.”

He likes finding stories about his own ancestors. He even notes that he often traveled to obtain these stories.

2. He “imagin[es] it may be equally agreable [sic] to you to know the Circumstances of my Life.”

Benjamin Franklin feels that others may derive some pleasure in reading his story.

3. “Having emerg’d from the Poverty and Obscurity in which I was born & bred, to a State of Affluence & some Degree of Reputation in the World, and having gone so far thro’ Life with a considerable Share of Felicity, the conducing Means I made use of, which, with the Blessing of God, so well succeeded, my Posterity may like to know, as they may find some of them suitable to their own Situations, & therefore fit to be imitated.”

He succeeded in his life. He wants others to know his rags-to-riches story.

4. “[T]he next Thing most like living one’s Life over again, seems to be a Recollection of that Life;”

If given the chance, Benjamin Franklin states that he would live his life over again. But since that is impossible, for him, the best thing is remembering his life.

5. He expresses his wish “to make that Recollection as durable as possible, the putting it down in Writing.”

It’s not good enough to keep the story in his mind. Or even to pass the story on in the oral tradition. He wants it to persist for generations.

6. “I shall indulge the Inclination so natural in old Men, to be talking of themselves and their own past Actions, and I shall indulge it… perhaps I shall a good deal gratify my own Vanity.”

Benjamin Franklin wants to talk about himself. It’s been said that people like talking about themselves: their accomplishments, their successes, their struggles, and their failures. Benjamin Franklin was no different.

7. Lastly, “I speak of thanking God, I desire with all Humility to acknowledge, that I owe the mention’d Happiness of my past Life to his kind Providence, which led me to the Means I us’d & gave them Success.”

He acknowledges God in his life. He attributes his success and happiness to God’s favor.

One can write an autobiography for any one of the reasons Benjamin Franklin mentions. He provides an excellent autobiography template.

I have just finished writing three articles on helps for writing an autobiography: Getting Started, Autobiography Characteristics, and the importance of writing your autobiography.

I failed to mention the most important thing: to write.

Just start writing. That’s the most important thing.

Don’t get caught up on the mechanics. Those will come as you write.

Write.

But what should you write about?

Write about anything:

• The time you forgot your lines just before your cue in your theatrical debut.
• Your first boyfriend or girlfriend.
• Your favorite high school teacher.
• Your best friend.
• Your favorite ice cream flavor.
• The number of times you’ve been in the hospital.
• About your kids.
• Why you prefer Best Foods Mayonnaise to Kraft Mayonnaise.
• How you met your husband.
• What you do for a living.
• Your family vacations

Just start writing. Things will fall into place.

The prospect of writing, unfortunately, paralyzes most people. The way they teach writing in school, with a focus on rules, stifles creativity.

Of course, you have to have rules. Otherwise, all writing would be incoherent. But rules are meant to be broken. The truth is that most writers break rules consistently in their works.

Write as you speak. People often tell me that I write like I speak. This is a good thing because my personality can shine through.

Don’t worry about spelling things correctly. If you’re writing on the computer, the spelling checker will pick up most of your mistakes. If you’re writing in a journal or a piece of paper, just keep writing. If you’re writing ideas that you will transfer to an autobiography later, don’t fret over misspellings. You can catch them later.

At first, you’re just writing for you. Don’t pretend like someone is reading over your shoulder. You will feel inhibited and insecure. Don’t do it.

Writer after writer will tell you that you have to be willing to write a poor first draft. It’s true. The words will flow more freely. You can change things later.

If you’re planning on writing only one draft, who cares. Be you. Put yourself into it. Readers will forgive spelling and grammatical mistakes if they can sense honesty and personality in the writing. This is especially true in an autobiography or other personal writing.

If you go blank, make a list. (I touch more on this in a subsequent article.) Lists are magical.

Lists will give you ideas. Even as you start lists, thoughts will cascade like a waterfall. You won’t struggle for ideas.

Get started. Write now. You can do it.

The number of ways of constructing an autobiography are about as diverse as the number of people who write them. However, there are some simple items that you can include in your autobiography that will make it both personal and meaningful to others.

1. Be Honest
Before you start writing, you need to decide to be honest. This sounds simple, but it’s amazing how easy it is to either embellish the description of events or inaccurately describe your feelings about a given event. Even leaving some things out can be a form of dishonesty. This means that you may have to address things in your autobiography that are painful or awkward for you to address.

2. Find Your Voice
This is a tough one. When I write, I sometimes choose vocabulary that doesn’t sound like me at all. It sounds overly stuffy or cold. It’s tempting to try and sound like someone else. Someone more educated. Or someone funnier. Or less funny. Or…Or…Or…

Don’t fall into the trap of wanting to sound like someone else. Just be yourself!

3. Your Why
You should have a why for writing your autobiography. In his famous autobiography, Benjamin Franklin included, as an introduction, a letter to his son. In the letter Mr. Franklin explains his Why for writing his story.

In his letter, he identified at least 11 reasons:
1. He enjoyed collecting stories about his ancestors. In fact, he sometimes traveled to find the stories he wanted.
2. He thinks that his son (and others) will enjoy reading his autobiography.
3. He wants to tell his rags-to-riches story.
4. He wants to explain how he succeeded and found happiness.
5. He wants to reflect on his life and decide on what he would change.
6. Next to reliving one’s life, recollecting one’s life is the best thing.
7. Make the autobiography “durable.” He wants it to persist.
8. He wants to indulge himself.
9. He wants to satisfy his vanity.
10. He wants to acknowledge the hand of God in his life.
11. He wants to explain that his success can be reversed.

Perhaps one of Benjamin Frankin’s reasons struck a nerve with you. If one did, use it. If not, be sure to find your Why. This is one of the most important of the autobiography characteristics. You’ll need it to work through the slow times.

4. Know Your Audience
While writing an autobiography can be a very personal experience, it’s important to know that unless you destroy your work, someone will probably read it someday. Know this. Think about what you want that person to know. For Benjamin Franklin, he addressed his son. But beyond his son, Benjamin Franklin looked to a much wider audience. And he succeeded. His autobiography is one of the most read autobiographies in the world.

Of course, your autobiography probably won’t be read by millions. But who will read it? Your children? Your grandchildren? Their children? Think about that.

5. Choose a Direction
How have the events in your life led you to where you are in life? Maybe your autobiography will demonstrate how your life was shaped. Or maybe you want your autobiography to just be a collection of stories. There are many directions to choose from – choose one!

Autobiography Characteristics Summarized:

1. Be Honest
2. Find Your Voice
3. Find Your Why
4. Know Your Audience
5. Choose a Direction

If you include these Autobiography Characteristics, you will write a successful autobiography, no matter what final form it takes.