1. No one else will do it for you. 2. No one else knows the stories of your life quite like you do. 3. You owe it to yourself and to your family. 4. Let your descendants know that you were a real person and not just a name on a tree. 5. The stories you heard from your grandparents will not die out with you. 6. Many pieces of information nobody knows but you. 7. You are part of the history of your city, state and country. 8. The things you did when you were young are as remote from the children of today as the Earth is from Mars. 9. In telling how you survived painful times in your past, you teach useful coping skills to your descendants and come to a greater understanding and peace. 10. The world will be a richer place for your having told your stories.