When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my Life, on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books: How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, by. | Bill Clinton My Life ALFRED A. KNOPF NEW YORK 2004 To my mother who gave me a love of life To Hillary who gave me a life of love To Chelsea who gave joy and meaning to it all And to the memory of my grandfather who taught me to look up to people others looked down on because we re not so different after all PROLOGUE When I was a young man just out of law school and eager to get on with my life on a whim I briefly put aside my reading preference for fiction and history and bought one of those how-to books How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life by Alan Lakein. The book s main point was the necessity of listing short- medium- and long-term life goals then categorizing them in order of their importance with the A group being the most important the B group next and the C the last then listing under each goal specific activities designed to achieve them. I still have that paperback book now almost thirty years old. And I m sure I have that old list somewhere buried in my papers though I can t find it. However I do remember the A list. I wanted to be a good man have a good marriage and children have good friends make a successful political life and write a great book. Whether I m a good man is of course for God to judge. I know that I am not as good as my strongest supporters believe or as I hope to become nor as bad as my harshest critics assert. I have been graced beyond measure by my family life with Hillary and Chelsea. Like all families lives ours is not perfect but it has been wonderful. Its flaws as all the world knows are mostly mine and its continuing promise is grounded in their love. No person I know ever had more or better friends. Indeed a strong case can be made that I rose to the presidency on the shoulders of my personal friends the now legendary FOBs. My life in politics was a joy. I loved campaigns and I loved governing. I always tried to keep things moving in the right direction to give more people a chance to live their dreams to lift people s .
