“I was the only 8 year old who was using her allowance to buy death certificates,” says Lisa Louise Cooke, author of The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox. She’s discovered that Google is ‘cousin bait’ because our family history is in each others’ attics and Google is the portal. Listen as Lisa also describes how to take the intensity out of your core family relationships by picking your own values from your ancestors instead of your immediate family. Free download: 5 Fabulous Google Strategies for the Family Historian. Lifestory Toolkit: Scrivener

Demystifying the Genealogy “Why”

Lisa Louise Cooke feels that everyone should invest in learning about their family history. “If you don’t know where you’re coming from, it’s hard to know where you’re going,” she says. Learning about your rich family heritage…including the good, the bad, and the ugly…demystifies the “why”.

She has found it has almost eliminated animosity completely around some dysfunctional family situations. You regain a sense of control when you pick the values that work for you and put them into action. You don’t have to be in victim mode.

The first step is just to DO. She encourages us to start with baby steps. One hundred percent perfect but not done doesn’t help anybody. Eighty percent perfect but done will help somebody.

Cultivating the Storytelling Muscle

Lisa says that we should all tell our stories. Cultivating the storytelling muscle is a key way to ensure your family history research will last and benefit future generations.

Lisa has a stand-alone podcast for beginners called Family History: Genealogy Made Easy.

 

Take Home Message:

* Start a free blog and talk about your family history stories…Google may just pick up on keywords and introduce you to a distant cousin

* You can look into your ancestors to pick from family values to adopt as your own. You aren’t limited to your immediate family.

* If you don’t know where you’re coming from, it’s hard to know where you’re going.

 

Lifestory Toolkit: Scrivener

(Brought to you by Lifestorytelling.com – Discover YOUR life stories!)

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