From inventors to business leaders, keeping a journal has been a basis of success.
Some of the greatest people in history share one simple but empowering trait: the habit of keeping a journal to reflect, innovate and discover.
This has been credited with giving some of the world’s foremost entrepreneurs, creatives and leaders their gift of unique perspective. Extraordinary thinking involves three characteristics: the understanding, expression and evolution of self.
Here are six personalities who all discovered and enhanced their ability to grow through the art of journaling…
Richard Branson
“Some of Virgin’s most successful companies have been born from random moments – if we hadn’t opened our notebooks, they would never have happened.”
When a man who is developing intergalactic spacecraft, pioneering motor-racing technology and over-seeing a worldwide communications company says he is going to tell you about one of the most powerful tools in his arsenal, you expect it to be something pretty spectacular. And, to be honest, it is.
He credits a deal of his success to his notebook, an old-fashioned binder he is renowned for carrying everywhere. He used this simple but effective habit to help combat his dyslexia when he was growing up, but it slowly became one of his greatest professional assets.
“Note-taking is one of my favourite pastimes,” he writes on Virgin’s biog. “I can’t tell you where I’d be if I hadn’t had a pen on hand to write down my ideas – or, more importantly, those of other people – as soon as they came to me.”
This one technique has enabled Branson to successfully manage global projects, negotiate and innovate.
“No matter how big, small, simple or complex an idea is, get it in writing – but don’t just take notes for the sake of taking notes,” he writes. “Go through your ideas and turn them into actionable and measurable goals. If you don’t write down your ideas, they could leave your head before you even leave the room.”
Oprah Winfrey
“Keeping a journal will absolutely change your life in ways you’ve never imagined.”
Winfrey is one of the most influential people in the world. She has donated millions of dollars to charity, opened a school in South Africa and provided housing to victims of Hurricane Katrina, yet she believes that keeping a journal is the single most important thing she has ever done.
Since she was 15 years old, Winfrey has charted her path to success through the pages of her diaries, remarking in a 2011 volume of 0, the Oprah Magazine, how journaling enabled her to transform into a self-aware person with more purpose.
“I wrote a lot of bad poetry in my teens and 20s, mostly about how some guy had done me wrong,” she writes. “I used my journals as therapy.
“Oh, the time I wasted worrying about men and weight, and what other people thought! In my 40s, I got wiser. I started using journals to express my gratitude – and watched my blessings multiply.”
Winfrey now concentrates on writing down each day five things that have made her grateful. She found that the more she journaled about experiences for which she was grateful, the more positive her perspective on life became. She realised the immense power the simple act of translating thoughts to words gave her.
“You have to write them down. It’s very different from just saying, ‘I’m grateful for today’. You have to physically write them down because there’s power in the words.”
“If you don’t write down your ideas, they could leave your head before you even leave the room.”
Nelson Mandela
“There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
Like Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela recorded the daily experiences for which he was grateful, using journaling to find the light in the darkness during his 27 years of imprisonment.
In 1980, he wrote that he was grateful to have milk in his tea; in January 1990, he described the joy of seeing a flock of ducks clumsily waddling around the Victor Verser Prison compound. “Suddenly they squawk repeatedly and then file out. I was relieved. They behave far better than my grandchildren. They always leave the house upside down.”
Recording these small observations arguably gave Mandela more sustenance than any kind of ration, regularly reminding him of the simple beauty of life and how his journey remained uncompleted.
“To continue writing holds out the possibility that one day luck may be on our side…” he wrote to Zeni and Zindzi Mandela on 1 June, 1970. “In the meantime, the mere fact of writing down my thoughts and expressing my feelings gives me a measure of pleasure and satisfaction. It is some means of passing on to you my warmest love and good wishes, and tends to calm down the shooting pains that hit me when I think of you.”
Writing gave Mandela the ability to lay bare his soul. Understanding and recognising his emotions enabled him to shed light on a facet of him-self that he might have never known existed, and through this, stay strong through the hardships of his life in order to achieve his ultimate purpose.
John D. Rockefeller
“More than once I have gone to luncheon with a number of our heads of department and have seen the sweat start out on the foreheads of some of them when that little red notebook was pulled out.”
This infamous red notebook rarely left the legendary businessman’s side. Rockefeller was oddly delighted by the thought of having every fact and figure of his enterprise residing in his coat pocket.
He regularly recorded notes during tours of his refineries, carefully writing down observations and ideas as to how he could make his business more efficient.
The sight of him scribbling in his notebook quickly became known as the symbol of impending change, with Rockefeller renowned for his journal-inspired ideas.
Frida Kahlo
“There must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the some ways I do… Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”
Kahlo’s diary was, unsurprisingly, anything but traditional. A kaleidoscope of colour and a whirlwind of emotions, her journal paints a dazzling picture of the artist’s life. Intimate and perplexing, the recently discovered diary is a blend of words and paintings, a free-form homage to her colourful and often pain-ridden life.
“The diary is the most important work Kahlo ever did,” promoter Claudia Madrazo, who pushed for the publication of the journal, told Vanity Fair “It contains energy, poetry, magic. It reveals a more universal Frida.”
Kahlo was the epitome of stream-of-consciousness journaling. Her entries withheld nothing, and the inner workings of her creative mind were laid bare on the pages.
Thomas Edison
“Keeping a written record of his work was a significant key to his genius.” – Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Genius.
Thomas Edison habitually recorded his thoughts, experiences and ideas. His notebooks are full of hastily scribbled notes, chemical spills and odd rips and burns courtesy of the whirlwind of activity that was his life.
His personal journal, on the other hand, was a beautifully ordered affair, with neat and perfectly aligned handwriting that discussed the mundane happenings of everyday life. This splitting of his two inner narrators could be regarded as one of the core pillars of his brilliance.
The art of journaling has changed many a life. It has traced the path of some of the greatest thinkers of our time, uncovered their visions and given them the power to achieve their dreams.
Everyone, regardless of their career path, should journal. From Branson’s scrawled memos to Kahlo’s art-strewn frenzy, journaling is a common trait shared by many successful people. The importance of committing your goals to paper and exploring your deepest emotions cannot be understated, especially if you are an entrepreneur.
Jack Delosa, Founder and CEO, The Entourage
