Our project is about telling the stories of our core values. But rather than starting with a belief statement of something you believe, start by telling a compelling story about how you came to hold an important personal belief—something that guides your daily living. Your story can illustrate a time that your belief was challenged, or how that belief shapes your daily activities. Try sharing one story about the roots of your core values, instead of composing a list of all of your beliefs. Just make sure your essay is about your own experiences, not simply an opinion about a social issue.
Essays should be approximately 500 to 600 words, or about three minutes when read aloud at your natural speaking pace.
Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, we are no longer accepting essays. Our hope is that people across the globe will continue writing and sharing This I Believe essays with each other.
You can search for your essay on our website by following these directions. While at thisibelieve.org, mouse over the top header “Explore,” then scroll down and click on “Essay Search.” On this page, fill in your first name and last name in the appropriate fields. You will notice that only your first name will be seen on the web page with your essay. We do not publish last names or other personal information on our website. The only exceptions to this rule are essayists who have granted permission for use of their last name or essayists from the original 1950s series.
This I Believe is not able to make any corrections to essays after they have been submitted to our project.
Please write to us via our contact page with your first and last name, approximate year of your essay, and a brief description of your essay. We will get back with you to confirm that we will delete your essay from our website.
Yes. This I Believe does not own the copyright to your essay. We simply ask that you submit your essay elsewhere with a title of your own choosing. Please do not name your essay “This I Believe” or include that in the title, as that name is copyrighted by our organization.
We suggest starting at our Educator Resources page or the Frequently Asked Questions page for Educators.
This I Believe has a weekly essay online and in our free, downloadable podcast.
We do not share personal contact information for any of our essayists. However, you may share your thoughts about a specific essay or your comments about the series by visiting our contact page.
You can print transcripts of the essays from our website using your browser’s print function. All essays may be printed for personal use only. Please know that all essays on this website, as well as other materials, are protected by copyright laws. If you wish to make copies of essays beyond individual personal use, please feel free to contact our Permissions Director with details of your request.
This I Believe has published eight books and several audio collections of essays. Please visit our Store to learn more. Your purchases help keep this website up and running.
Visit our Educators and Communities, and House of Worship pages to learn more about the materials we have available.
You can mail a purchase order to us at: This I Believe, Inc., P.O. Box 5625, Louisville, KY 40255.