A journal is a great idea for you, your children, and yes, even the elderly. Did you know that many life coaches require that clients keep journals as part of their success program?

You might be surprised to learn that many successful and famous people kept journals.  Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Mark Twain, Lewis and Clark to name a few.

Discover 5 great reasons to keep a journal:

1. Keep a record of your life for yourself. Have you ever tried to remember when some specific event in your past actually happened? Do you remember the facts differently from others that were involved?

• If you keep a journal, you will have all the dates and facts right there. Even more important, you will be given the opportunity to see how your life has evolved.

• As we get older, every day seems to merge into the next. We get up, go to work, go home, eat dinner, watch TV, and repeat for 40 years.
  
  
• What may result by writing down the day-to-day aspects of your life? Your life will become more interesting. Think about it, journaling might encourage you to live a life you believe worthy of recording. You might find yourself adding more fun and adventure to your life, just so you can write about it.
  
  
• Consider how much your children might like reading your journals later in life. Wouldn’t you like to read about the thoughts and dreams or significant events of your parents or grandparents?  

2. You can record the lives of your children.  How great it would be to keep a journal as your child is growing up and then give it to them later in life?

• You will record everything that happened during the years when they are too young to keep a journal themselves. How meaningful would that be to them, and also be a great reminder for you.
  
  

3. Journals are great for processing feelings. It is very therapeutic! Things become a little clearer when we get them out of our heads and down on paper.

• Everything becomes a little more objective and realistic.

• You might be amazed at what you discover about yourself if you take the time to keep a journal.
  
  

4. Work towards your goals with a journal. A significant part of reaching goals is recording progress and prioritization. When you write about your goals each day, you reaffirm they are worth achieving. You might find the goal needs to be altered.

• Have you ever set a goal and then forgot all about it after a few days or a couple of weeks? If you write it down in a journal, there will be less chance that will happen.

• Record the progress you are making towards your goals. Make notes about new ideas to move closer to your goals. Make notes of what worked and what did not work to help you with future goals.

• Once you achieve a goal, you will be able to look back and remember how great it felt to accomplish it. Your next goal will be even easier.

5. A journal will reduce the amount of stress in your life. Journaling forces you to disconnect and focus your mind. Sometimes the best thing for a stressed mind is to turn off the computer, remove all distractions and sit quietly with your thoughts.

• When you record your trials, your brain starts looking for solutions. Finding a solution to a challenge relieves stress!

Consider keeping a journal for yourself and your children. The benefits are significant. You do not have to spend more than a few minutes per day. Encourage your children to keep journals as well. Journaling is a great tool with many possibilities. A pen and notebook are the only items required.

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Create an amazing life that’s meaningful and exciting to you:

1. Remove what is not necessary. You must get rid of anything that takes up time or space and does not provide a worthwhile result. If it is not important to you, do not include it in your life.

2. Decide on your priorities. You might not be able to do or be the best of everything. However, you can accomplish some very amazing things over the course of a lifetime.

• Narrow your focus to a few priorities. What is the most important thing you want to accomplish or experience? Keep your list short.

3. Stock up on the necessities. Courage is a necessity! The higher the risk, the more courage is required. Of course, if you had plenty of money, time, energy, and support, you would require less courage to seek after that amazing life. So, start building reserves in the key areas of your life.

4. Remove the distractions from your life. Is it the television, the casual friend, or the goals that only passably interest you?

• Warren Buffett often advises people to make a list of their top 10 priorities in order of importance. Next, he tells you to avoid numbers 4-10 like the plague. Those are the things that get in the way of accomplishing the top 3.

5. Deal with negative thoughts. Failing to deal with negative thoughts can cause major challenges down the road. Be committed to expecting the best, finding solutions, and staying positive. Negativity fuels procrastination and deflates your desire to press on.

6. Spend your time wisely. Avoid taking the easy path which is most likely the long way. Choose the shortest path to your amazing life. It may not be the most comfortable path, but you can handle it.

7. Get started. The first step is often the hardest. Avoid waiting for some future event to occur. You can do it today! Even if you have kids, a limited income, or limited knowledge, just be determined to get started.

8. It is not that difficult. There is not as much competition than you might think. Consider how much time the average person wastes at work and at home. The reason is that most people fail to prioritize their time. They do not set goals. They allow too many distractions.

• The path is not nearly as difficult when you choose the direction of your life and eliminate distractions.

Is your life less than amazing? It doesn’t have to stay that way. Setting priorities and removing distractions are the keys to creating an amazing life. It is not too late! There is still time to live the life you have always dreamed of. However, it is important to get started today.

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Make the most of your talent for creativity with these ideas:

(1) Get into a new environment. Many authors write in hotel rooms. Many painters have studios separate from their homes. Your creativity won’t be at the highest level in the places you spend the most time. A new environment can spark your creativity. If you’re feeling creatively stuck, go someplace new for a few days. Your normal hangouts stimulate your normal thoughts and thinking. Shake up your routine. (2) Be prolific. Most ideas are relatively worthless. That’s okay. It just means you have to generate a lot of ideas to find a good one. Some comics have stated they have to write a hundred jokes to get one keeper. Songwriters make similar claims. Whether you’re looking for a solution to a problem, creating a new gadget, or writing a symphony, be willing to wade through a lot of bad ideas until you find one good one. (3) Leave a thread for the following day. There’s a case to be made for calling it a day before you run out of ideas. That leaves something for your mind to ponder the following day. For example, more than one famous author has claimed they like to quit for the day after they’ve gotten some work done, but still know what they’re going to write next. Avoid exhausting your ideas before you’ve had time to come up with more. Know how you’re going to proceed and then sleep on it. (4) Become an expert in your field. Studying the masters of your field will give you a greater depth of knowledge. Be an expert in your field and you’ll have a greater chance of developing meaningful ideas. (5) Change your routine. Take a new path to work, carpool, or call an Uber. Eat new foods. Change your evening routine. Shake up your world and you’ll think new thoughts. You’ll also be surprised by how uncomfortable it is to change all of these little things around. (6) Create solitude. It’s next to impossible to be creative when you’re constantly interrupted. Find a quiet, inspiring place to do your creative work. Turn off your electronic devices and be creative. (7) Try being bored. Boring activities encourage daydreaming and reduce the activity of the logical parts of the brain. With your logical centers taking a back seat, your creativity can shine through. (8) Be creative when you’re least alert. It might seem logical that you’d be most creative when your brain is most active, but science has shown the opposite is true. For example, if you’re a morning person, your best ideas will come at night. That also means you should make good use of the time immediately before falling asleep and after awakening.   You can make the most of your creative gifts. There are well-established tips for increasing your creative powers. You never know precisely when a brilliant idea will hit, so increase the odds in your favor. Tap into your

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