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“If you’re serious about becoming a wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured and unique individual, keep a journal. Don’t trust your memory. When you listen to something valuable, write it down. When you come across something important, write it down” Jim Rohn, America’s foremost business philosopher
I started keeping a journal in 1982 when I was 17 years old. What I did then was buy a notebook and started writing about my thoughts on life and where I wanted to be. What I also did was to write down any quotes that I liked.
I grew up loving the late Nigerian political leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the man described as the best president Nigeria never had and three of his books were the first inspirational books I bought and read. They are: “The Voice of Courage, The Voice of Reason and The Voice of Wisdom. These books inspired me a lot and I wrote my thoughts on them in my journal then. I can remember that the first quote I wrote in my journal was; “It is not the life that matters but the courage you bring to it.” My journals summarise my life, my successes and failures, my pains and my joys. And perhaps most importantly, they contain my vision and they keep me on track.
As a speaker, coach, trainer and writer, I record my thoughts, which I later develop into speech, training materials, workshops and articles for my column.
So, the first thing I do when I make a journal entry in the evening is answer the following questions, “What have I done right today?” By reviewing my accomplishments, it encourages me to stay on course and do even better in the future. Now that I am motivated to do better, I go on to the second step by asking myself, “If I had the opportunity to do what I did today again what would I do differently?” Here’s where opportunity lies. I look for ways that I can improve by learning from my mistakes. Thankfully, I never run out of opportunities for self-improvement.
In step three, I ask myself, “What actions can I take to seize the opportunities for self-improvement that I have found?” After listing action that I can take, I move on to the fourth step, which is to fit the action steps into my daily schedule. Depending on my schedule, I begin to incorporate them into my life, if not the next day, within a few days.
I say keep your journal very private, keep it simple, keep it organised and keep it inspiring.
Include a variety of dream, goals and aspirations. I write about financial goals, personal goals, business plans, fitness goals and notes from all over, right in my journal. Any time I want to be inspired, I pick my journals and there are so many ideas and possibilities, I can’t help but be compelled to action.
Like Dr Phillip E Humbert once remarked, “The path from ‘here’ to ‘there’ always begins with a description of where you want to go and a plan for getting there”
Your journal is where you draw your maps, clarify your dreams, sort your priorities and create the future. All my teachers and mentors have journals, from Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Brian Tracy, and Les Brown to Prof Pat Utomi, Richie Dayo Johnson, Joe De Souza and Tony Ward. Thomas Edison left over 1200 notebook when he died, and the world is (literally) a brighter place because of it.
The most common way of recording journal entries is by hand in a notebook. You can buy a nice notebook or just use a simple one such as a spiral bound or three ringed binder. I’ve used all types and prefer ones where I can fold the left flap around to the back, making the folder smaller and easier to write on. Bound books are really great too because they are sturdier and usually last longer.
Typing your journal entries can be a quick and easy way to record your life history. Any word processing program works great, even the basic “notepad” in Windows would make a great journal. You can even type it in your personal digital assistant.
Take your personal and professional life to the next level by keeping a journal and you will never regret it.
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