William Jennings Bryan said, "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." In this second article of the "Memoir Writing" series, you are about to embark on the greatest quest of your life. The journey will afford many opportunities along the way. One of these opportunities is to identify who you are and who you were meant to be, your destiny.

You are leading up to answering the destiny question, "What is the meaning of my life?" Your ultimate goal is to write a destiny statement to be included in your memoir. As you write your memoir, it is advantageous to begin your journey with your destiny, that is, the life you were born to live. Your journey will have greater meaning if you define your destiny and examine how your life unfolded while fulfilling your destiny.

This begins by considering the question, "What is the primary purpose of my life". Also, consider the question, "Was there a single event that impacted and directed my life?" These poignant questions require a great deal of thought and consideration. They are often not easily answered because it is the sum of all the parts of your life culminating in achieving your destiny.

Destiny plays a major role in your life, as it is the source of your wisdom but also the source of many obstacles along the path of your life. Therefore, defining your destiny provides understanding about the many decisions that you made over the course of our lifetime. Consider the following questions:

1. What was my greatest accomplishment?

2. What was my greatest challenge?

3. What was my greatest fear?

You have spent your life pursuing many things that have helped to provide meaning to your life. The pursuits included career success or failure, wealth or misfortune, good or bad relationships or pleasure or pain. If you think of destiny as a predetermined course of events, consider the life of John Glenn.

John Glenn sealed his destiny when he became the first American to be launched into earth’s orbital space. On February 20, 1962 he piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 Friendship 7 spacecraft. Glenn’s exploits in the service of his country are legendary. He is a small-town boy from the Midwest who has been married to his childhood sweetheart for over 60 years. Glenn was a decorated ace fighter pilot during World War II and Korea. In the early days of jet aviation, he broke the air speed record in a transcontinental flight between California and New York. Later, he served 24 years as a U.S. senator. Finally, at age 77 he returned to space for his remarkable "Discovery" mission in 1998.

When John Glenn went into space, he changed the world to include not just earth but outer space. All of his early exploits lead up to this one defining moment that "sealed his destiny".

As you continue to think about your life and life purpose, consider how you would like to be remembered by others. When you examine who you are and who you were meant to be, you are actually answering the philosophical question of the purpose of your life. This may provide mini-flashes of emotion when you get close to the true purpose of your life. Now, you should be ready to answer the destiny question.

It helps to achieve a state of relaxation prior to writing. Begin inhaling and exhaling until your body and mind feel more and more relaxed. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing as you feel a wave to total relaxation. When you are completely relaxed, open your eyes and begin to write 2-3 answers to the following question:

What is the meaning of my life?

Your destiny may be related to your work or a great achievement in your life that steered you in a specific direction. It may be related to activities outside work. There may have been a traumatic event. It could be philanthropic in nature. No matter the many areas of your life, one specific area defines the meaning of your life.

By understanding your destiny, you discover if you are a helper, educator, caregiver, creator, performer or leader. With this understanding you are now ready to write your destiny statement that defines the meaning and purpose of your life. The destiny statement is one of the key elements of your complete memoir.

Your primary mission, or destiny, is the path influencing all others. When you fulfill your destiny in life, you feel a deep sense of contentment; you are genuinely happy.