| I suggest you do what I do and always carrying a pen. In fact, it doesn’t have to be a pen; it can be a pencil, a crayon, or a magic marker. Or a PDA. I don’t care. But I do care that the moment an idea, thought, or inspiration crosses your mind, or a request crosses your space, it’s imperative that you write it down. I don’t want you missing a future moment of opportunity due to a loose memory. I’m fanatical about jotting down ideas, inspirations, questions, and requests on anything within my reach – pieces of newspaper, toilet paper, napkins, backs of business cards, or on my handy to-do list. Once it’s written down, I can focus my attention on my intention, on the issue at hand, instead of wasting precious time and energy trying to prevent my mind from forgetting something important. This is vital to your overall success and that’s why I developed the Do It Now Journal. It helps make compiling and completing your to-do list a priority.
The miniscule amount of time invested in writing down an idea, a phone number, a name, an errand can reap huge rewards. I know for a fact that deals die, promises are broken, sales are stolen, love is lost, goals are gone, and opportunities vanish while you wonder what happened to that something you meant to do.
How many times have you heard yourself say, “I should have done this” or “I should have done that”? I should have stopped to help. I should have bought her an anniversary present. I should have called on him last week. I should have returned his call. I should have apologized to her before I left home this morning. I should have visited the eye doctor. I should have paid that invoice. But because you didn’t write it down, you forgot to do it or say it, and now you regret it. I’m telling you to write it down, and don’t smell like should! Should stinks! Wipe the should off your self! And of course, we all know that should happens. Just don’t let it happen to you. Write it down, get it done, and cross it off.
There was this elderly couple who had been married a long time and had come to the twilight of their journey together. Lovely people. Their good intentions were now overpowered by memory loss that was becoming increasingly severe. It concerned them enough that they finally decided to consult a physician. The doc examined them both and found everything pretty much the way it’s supposed to be when your odometer has turned over.
He told them, “There’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s a fact of life that when we reach a certain age, we forget things. It’s unavoidable. But I suggest you write down reminders to yourself – little forget-me-not notes – to take your memory into your own hands.”
The couple returned home, and after dinner that night they retired to the den to watch TV. The woman said: “I’m in the mood for some ice cream.” And she started to get up off the couch. The husband immediately said: “No, no, hon, you sit there. I was planning to fix myself some ice cream too. So I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you dear,” she said. “And remember what the doctor suggested. Maybe you should write yourself a little reminder.”
He said, “What are you crazy, woman? I’m only going to the kitchen, not New York.”
The wife said, “OK, but I’d really like some strawberries on the ice cream.” And almost in a whisper, she added: “Maybe you’d better write it down, like the doctor suggested.”
The husband, now filled with anger, yelled: “A bowl of ice cream, with strawberries. I got it! It’s not like I have to recite the Gettysburg Address.”
Then the wife, ever so gently, said: “Would you please add some whipped cream on top? And with all these details, you probably should go ahead and write it down.”
The husband stormed off to the kitchen with a grunt.
He was gone for five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes. Finally, he returned from the kitchen with a look of triumph and vindication. He was holding a large tray, which he set down with a grand flourish in front of his wife. “Walahhh!”
On the tray was a platter of bacon and eggs with the bacon still sizzling and giving off that irresistible aroma. There were home fries with a dab of ketchup on the side. And a tall glass of OJ. Smiling, the husband stepped back, awaiting his wife’s apology or at the least, an applause.
The woman looked curiously at the platter of bacon and eggs. And then she looked up at her husband and asked: “So where’s the toast?”
The moral of the story is: write it down. No matter what your age, if you want to successfully capture any idea, in any endeavor, on any simple task, toward any goal, then you always have to write it down. Make a to-do list. And then do it, one action step at a time.
A Chinese philosopher once said: “The weakest ink is better than the strongest mind.” -- PC
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