The humble notebook is the best investment that I’ve made.

The cheapest is twenty pesos.

The most expensive notebook I bought is twenty dollars.

Or one thousand pesos.

You might not realize it.

But the ability to write is historically only reserved for leaders.

Only Kings, Generals and Religious Leaders had access to a pen and paper.

Jose Rizal, the Philippine National Hero was killed because he insisted that the Filipino youth is given access to education.

That’s the ability to read and write.

If you haven’t put the two together yet.

The ability to write is a very powerful ability.

People have said that the pen is mightier than the sword.

And with good reason.

I’m a geek.

So I like watching nerdy TV shows.

One story I followed, as I was growing up is called Death Note.

The story goes like this.

The main character was given a mysterious notebook.

When he writes a name on the notebook.

The person whose name is written on the notebook, dies.

And the story goes around that.

Some of it gets complicated.

But it’s not what’s interesting to me.

What’s interesting to me.

Is the idea..

That when the character writes down the name and the cause of death on the notebook, that exact cause of death happens in reality.

So in the story, the notebook is that powerful.

Now the adult you may ask.

What is the point of this?

The point is…

Notebooks are almost just as powerful in real life.

Everything that I have written on my notebook.

Everything that I wanted to happen in my life.

Has come true.

I learned this secret…

When I was eighteen years old.

My boss made me read a book.

That only taught me to write my ideas and goals on my notebook.

And I was only forced to do it at first.

And eventually…

It became a habit.

And I forgot about it.

But I just kept doing it.

And many years later.

I eventually realized that 90% of the things that I wanted in life.

That I wrote down on my notebooks.

Have come true.

My exact situation now.

Is previously a page on my old notebook.

Every job I have.

Every skill I learned.

Every luxury that I was able to buy.

Was written on my notebook.

And I was able to achieve it.

This is not to say that there is no work involved.

There is a lot of work involved.

I faced rejection.

I faced failure.

I faced embarrassment.

I faced loss.

I faced depression.

At times…

I wanted my life to end..

But I kept going.

Usually…

In the direction of the goals and targets that I wrote down on my notebook.

Until I achieved the success that I have set for myself.

If you commit your intentions on paper…

Your mind will work tirelessly to make that idea…

A reality.

It’s not enough that you say it.

It’s actually not a good idea to tell other people your plans.

You want to write it down.

You want to commit it on paper.

What’s sad.

Is that many Filipinos that I have talked to.

In the past ten years.

Have stopped using their ability to write.

They stopped taking notes.

They only know how to write their name.

They only know how to write their address.

They only know how to sign.

And that’s the tragedy.

They spent a fortune, learning how to read and write in school.

And after they leave school.

They have lost the ability to read and write.

Not because they forgot.

But because they have stopped using the ability.

And eventually lost the importance of the ability.

Modern times.

It’s not just Kings, Generals and Religious Leaders who have the ability to write.

Business owners, Managers and Top Performers who are highly paid are the only people with the ability to write.

And use their ability to write.

These people earn.

As their minimum wage.

One hundred times.

Of what a minimum wage earner makes.

And that’s a fact.

People who learn to use their writing ability to improve their life.

Can earn 100 times of what someone who doesn’t write.

If you do a Google Search.

You can find people who earn twenty thousand pesos an hour.

There are also people who earn eighty pesos a day in the Philippines.

What kind of person do you want to be?

Because that is all dependent on your ability to write.

That’s why I teach this to my students.

If you can master your ability to write.

You can build the life that you want.

Take Notes

You can write down anything that you want to remember.

Don’t write things down word for word.

Usually, a summary will do.

You only need to copy exact things for the good stuff.

But you are generally well off if you write a summary of what you want to remember.

Some things you want to remember:

Write Your Goals

On your notebook, answer the following question:

What kind of life do you want to have?

Where will you live?

What will you do for work?

What activities do you want to do after work and on the weekends?

What kind of good things in life do you want to enjoy?

Who are the people in your life that you will be supporting?

Is it just you or will you be helping friends or family?

How much do you need to make this happen?

How much does that translate into a monthly income?

Write Your Plans

On your notebook, answer the following question:

What are your most important goals?

What good habits do you need to form, to achieve your goals?

What skills do you need to learn to qualify for your dream job?

What sources of knowledge can you tap in order to learn how to make effective plans?

What stupid things are you doing in your life that you need to stop doing?

Write Down Your Tasks

On your notebook, answer the following question:

What tasks do you need to make your goals a reality?

What do you need to do today?

What is stopping you from getting that task done?

What do you need to do or to stop doing to overcome that problem?

Write Down Your Questions

Just write down your questions.

Every time a question pops into your mind, write it down.

This allows you to come back to it later.

When you revisit your questions, you might have an answer of your own.

You can also search Google for an answer.

Or you can ask someone with more experience of the answer.

One thing you need to learn about questions is that there is no single answer.

You need to ask yourself the same question again and again to get a better answer.

Because your first answer can be wrong.

Your second answer can be stupid.

Because you are stupid.

But you are slowly getting smarter.

And you are growing wiser.

As time goes by.

And you make more mistakes.

And you learn from your mistakes.

And you learn from the mistakes of other people.

Eventually, you’ll have better answers.

Some questions are difficult.

Some questions are complicated.

And there is no single answer.

So your answer needs to evolve.

And you can also ask yourself better questions.

Here’s an example of a stupid question:

Why is this happening to me?

Here’s an example of a better question:

How can I improve my situation?

Here’s another example of an evolved version of the same question:

What steps can I do to improve my situation?

Here are expanded versions of the question:

What should I be doing that I am not doing that will help improve my situation?

What stupid thing am I doing that I need to stop doing to improve my situation?

Write Down Your Ideas

If you write down two ideas a day on how to improve your life…

You will have more than seven hundred ideas at the end of the year…

And seven thousand ideas after ten years.

If you write down ten ideas a day on how to improve your life…

Then you have three thousand seven hundred ideas at the end of the year..

And thirty seven thousand ideas at the end of ten years.

You only need a few good ideas to change your life.

Start writing them down.

Write Down You Problems and Obstacles

Problem-solving is best done on paper.

I wrote a few lessons about it.

Here’s a lesson on how to solve difficult problems.

Here’s a lesson on how to solve impossible problems.

Here’s a lesson on what is the best way to look at your problems.

Here’s a problem-solving technique that I spend twenty thousand pesos to learn.

Here’s a lesson on how to become a positive problem solver.

Here’s a lesson on how to best approach problems that your interviewer or boss gives you.

Here’s a lesson on how to accomplish your impossible dreams in life.

As I’m putting the list together, I actually wrote a lot of lessons.

You’re welcome.

You should buy me a steak when you start to become successful.

Write Down Your Self-Doubt

Sometimes you don’t feel great.

Rejection doesn’t feel so nice.

Failure doesn’t feel good at all.

Betrayal feels horrible.

And this can last for years.

The sad thing about betrayal is it never comes from an enemy.

It comes from the closest people in your life.

People you genuinely trusted.

Depression is another kind of monster I’ve had to struggle with.

But I digress..

Whenever I feel nervous, I write down that…

I feel nervous.

Then I’d cross out the word “nervous.”

And replace that…

With the word “excited”

Then on the next page, I’d write…

I feel excited.

Then my attitude changes a little.

And it helps me…

In interviews…

In negotiations…

In dates..

And other situations.

You can try it too.

Write Down Your Dream Company

If you don’t know exactly what you want, then other people will end up deciding what you are going to get.

Do you want to earn eighty pesos a day, eight hundred pesos a day or eight thousand pesos a day?

How many work hours do you want to work in a day and week?

Send Me Your Questions

Send me an email with some of your questions. I’ll do my best to answer you when I’m logged in.