The Just Before Bed Journal For The Quixotic: Daily Writing Prompts And Inspiration From The Man From La Mancha

Since publishing the original version of this journal, I have anticipated that I would at least publish a second volume someday. I started writing my tips for the second version but haven’t made progress in years. Then, one morning, it came to me; I thought I could make new versions featuring the words of the wisest teachers ever to have lived. This book exists because I need it in my life. Although I have been doing these practices for years in a blank-lined notebook, I decided to try a guided journal. I grew tired of using a lined spiral notepad. I wanted a little something more. I wanted prompts, lines, a place for the date, and even a quote or two. I wanted the luxury of just opening a journal, writing down the things I had to write down, and being done with it. I gave that journal a shot for a while but ultimately gave up on it. There were a few things I didn’t like about it, like the fact that I had to write in it twice a day or that it didn’t have a place for my to-dos or affirmations. Also, I didn’t like writing on the left side of the book. It felt awkward and cumbersome. With a publishing history, I thought, “I can do better than this.” And so I did. After decades of listening, reading, and putting all the self-help information I could take into practice, I have reduced it to a short nightly routine–journaling. It’s not like a dear diary type of journaling (which is still totally cool) but more of the jotting down of some bullet points under a few different categories type. Four categories to be specific: Accomplishments for the day, things I am grateful for, affirmations, and a to-do list for the next day. I am not going to put a lot of effort right now to convince you how much better your life will be if you use my journal. I don’t want to sound like those charlatans who say, “Buy my product, and you’ll be successful.” I will say this: Every day, write down five items in the four categories I listed above. You can use a piece of scrap paper or paper bags from Trader Joe’s or steal one of your kids’ spiral-bound notebooks. My point is this: You can do what I suggest in this book for free. Writing these things down will change your life, not buying this journal. So, why would I, an author and publisher, tell you not to buy this book? Because I didn’t make it for you. Would I like for you to buy it? Sure. I want one million people to buy it. I want to send my children to college, buy a ranch in Colorado, give to organizations like St. Jude and Shriner’s, and set up a scholarship fund to send young men and women to trade school. Selling one million copies of this journal would get me on my way to accomplishing all of my goals. But the truth is, I am taking full advantage of my experience as a book publisher and publishing this journal just for me. It is specific to my needs and facilitates what I have found to improve the quality of my life. When I don’t do this practice daily, I fall short of living the life I want. That’s where I am now at the writing of this book summary. I need this practice back in my life. It’s not that I don’t have everything in life I want, but I want to be better. I want to be a better husband, father, employee, entrepreneur, leader, author, speaker. I want to be better. I am better when I do the things laid out in this journal. And if you adopt these practices, you’ll be better too.