I could have easily been too afraid to say 'yes' to Chicago, because it requires so much I haven't done before. If I am a flop at singing and dancing, maybe my love for it will carry me through.
A memoir should have some uplifting quality, inspiring or illuminating, and that's what separates a life story that can influence other people.
We cannot always control our thoughts, but we can control our words, and repetition impresses the subconscious, and we are then master of the situation.