Hey Friend! I've been wanting to say this for awhile now-Yes, I have a confession to make.

I am absolutely infatuated with journals!

Now, before you pass judgement, hear me out first. Journaling is the escape that I always need and seeing a beautiful or cute animated cover of a nice thick journal makes me want to revamp, release, rewrite, rethink.....All the Re's that will give me positive outcome, journaling does this for me.

I love them. I buy them. I collect them. And sometimes, I may not even write in them.

I can see a journal sitting on a shelf and buy it simply because the cover speaks to me. Something about it makes me feel inspired. It makes me think about what I could write, what I could create, or what that journal might eventually become.

Over the years, I have collected more journals than I probably need—and yet somehow, I keep buying them.

Now, at 55, I’ve decided to take that love for writing, journaling, self evaluation, organization and design and self-publish my own.

I’m researching how journals are manufactured, how they’re designed, what makes one feel good in your hands, the paper, the covers, the details, and everything else that goes into producing something I would actually be proud to sell.

And no, I’m not going to make it sound like it’s some easy little process.

It isn’t.

I’ve done a lot of research already, and I’m still learning something new almost every day. But I’m enjoying the process because journals have been a part of my life for a long time.

I’m also an Intuitive Brand Strategist and Idea Architect.

What that means for me is that I naturally see possibilities.

I can listen to somebody talk about an idea, something they love, something they’ve experienced, or something they’re good at, and I start seeing what it could become. Sometimes I can see the vision for a brand before the person realizes there may even be a brand there.

A book. A journal. A business. A digital product. A service. A piece of content. Sometimes it starts with nothing more than a thought. And that is another reason journals mean so much to me.

They give ideas somewhere to land.

Before the logo, before the website, before the product, before anybody else sees the vision—sometimes it starts on a page. Journaling has also helped me through a lot personally. Sometimes you just need somewhere to put your thoughts. Somewhere you can be frustrated. Happy. Confused. Hopeful. Angry. Grateful. Or just completely unsure of what you’re feeling.

A journal gives you that space.

For me, journaling can even become a conversation between me and God. Nobody else has to read it. Nobody has to understand it. Nobody gets to correct it. It’s personal. It’s quiet time with yourself. And I think we need more of that. There is no right way to journal. There are no rules saying you have to write every morning, fill three pages, use perfect grammar, or even know exactly what you want to say.

Some days it might be a paragraph.

Some days it might be one sentence.

And some days it may simply be:

“Today was a lot.”

That counts too.

That’s what I love about journaling.

It allows you to be authentic, transparent, and completely yourself.

And now we have even more ways to journal. Listen, I'm at the point in my life where writing bothers me if I write too long. My arthritis in my fingers, and wrist will start to flare up. Not to mention, my attention span is much shorter than it used to be. I'll start writing and 5 minutes later it's all shorthand scribble.

So, if writing by hand is difficult—or your thoughts move faster than your fingers—you can speak. With today’s technology and AI tools, you can do what I do- transcribe journaling. That's correct, Transcribe Journaling is becoming the new way of journaling and I love it. Transcribing has become my first line of creating a product from an idea. My thoughts, organize them, print them, save them, or maybe even turn those thoughts into a book one day.

Think about that.

Something you once wrote because you needed to get it off your chest could eventually become something that helps somebody else. Or maybe it stays private forever. Both are okay. Because whether you write it, type it, or speak it, the heart of journaling hasn’t changed.

It’s still your space.
Your thoughts.
Your ideas.
Your story.
Your time with yourself.

And that is why I will probably always have one more journal than I actually need. Even better, now I'm creating journals, eBooks and Workbooks. I'm self-publishing my digital downloads and building my websites, while intentionally branding. I am learning more about myself during my AI journey and most of all-keeping God first with each and every step I take.

Sometimes you just need a purpose, a page, and a platform.

Much Love,