As you begin your journey, you will have many of the same experiences I have had since people are alike in so many ways ….. and yet you will experience things never dreamed of, since people are so different in so many ways!
As my quest has progressed, there are things I wish I’d done differently from the start. As a result, a set of “rules” has grown out of my different experiences. However, there is one rule that is the MOST important rule of all!
RULE # 1
NEVER WRITE A PERSON’S NAME IN YOUR BOOK!!!
Each person has to write THEIR name on THEIR birthday!
Why?
There is a totally unstudied, unresearched, unproven reason why I made that rule. Let me explain.
My dad has been gone for many years, but there is one picture of him that is my favorite. It is so completely the essence of who Dad is. 
Therefore, I have concluded that there is something special about people when they are writing. They are transferring some of who they are onto that piece of paper! It’s a moment when the brain and heart of the person ends up on the page. Each person has a specific way to write. And then…… when the person is writing THEIR NAME, maybe a little bit more of who they are is being transferred to that page. And then…… when they are writing THEIR NAME on THEIR BIRTHDAY, I believe — if you sneak a look at them — you will see a bit of that real person.
When Dad posed for this picture he was just trying to present himself in the best way he could. It’s just him posing! But when he is writing, he is thinking … thinking about how to transfer his thought into letters. When Dad was sitting at his desk writing — he wasn’t posing, he was just being him.
Also, when people are signing the book themselves, they add thoughts and ideas that bring the book alive.
So, my unscientific conclusion is that when someone signs your book, you have a small piece of them right there, to remember and enjoy, and you get to experience — maybe, for a moment — that person being truly themselves.