If you had the choice, would you take a lucrative job that you were unhappy with or a job that you could change the world in but make just enough money to get by? This may sound like just a silly question that people might ask in a get to know you game, but that is literally the life of some. Today, although we might not always be aware of it, there are so many people who are suffering. There are also thousands of people who want to help them, but are afraid that they might fail. That’s one of the reasons why John Wood wrote Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children. He wanted to inspire those who are afraid of these hurdles by showing his story and how he overcame them. What’s particularly interesting is that it showed how much he failed and how much he had to give up, like a romantic relationship and a dream house he would have had if he had stayed with Microsoft, but in the end he still seems a lot happier with his new project, Room to Read, which helps to bring books to those countries that can’t afford it. Not only that, but a lot of other autobiographies almost always have an inspirational ending. Why? Probably because that was one of the reasons the book was written in the first place. In this way, autobiographies are like testimonies are a call to action. In addition, people don’t read autobiographies to feel sad and scared with lost faith in humanity. They read it for the opposite reason, to get rid of these feelings. It’s almost as if people expect a fairy tale ending even when it comes to nonfiction books.
This book is also particularly interesting because it can be contrasted with asylum seekers and their life narratives as well. This is because, like with asylum seekers, a lot of people don’t usually associate people with corporations and businesses. Instead, they usually only think of what services its offer. However, this book help gives this business a face, a story, and a reason to donate. In this way, it makes his company more relatable because outside of the company, John Wood is just a normal man. With asylum seekers, people just associate them with outsiders and almost “the enemy.” They stereotype from what they read and see in the media, and so in that way, the asylum seekers also lose their face.
Why do people like relateability in life narratives as much? It’s probably because they are usually forced to picture themselves or one of their loved ones in that situation and how they would want others to help them. It also makes them seem more “same” instead of “different” and therefore, closer to a “human” in a way.
Its interesting how much different types of life narratives from people all over the world with different life experiences can seem so interconnected. Maybe life narratives being published themselves and just the fact that they are similar in so many ways is, in itself, an example of how similar people are. Others just seem different because we forget how similar they are and instead focus on the differences.
