Journal keeping is basically without rules. It is an uncensored invitation to cut & paste, sketch & chart, and to visualize and unravel every great and small thought. At its most basic it is a decision that your life has value.

Just listing your experiences and endeavors can reveal incredible things and encourage you to work for the nearly impossible, the rigorous, and the unseen. Recently, during a course on INQUIRY, I was asked to make a list of one hundred things I didn't know. Here a simple list became a prospect for the unknown and an introduction to something new. As Henry Miller states, "Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery."

I have also discovered that journal keeping is a great way to zero in. For instance, if you were preparing to run a marathon and wanted to improve your performance as a runner. You might put together a journal with notes that included:

Diet & nutrition

Speed & strength

Warm up & cool down

Visualization & meditation

Cross training

Profiles of great athletes

And perhaps a section reserved for ideas and challenges yet to come.

It has been noted that elite athletes keep meticulous journals on their training and competition, not only to advance and validate their hard work and progress, but to mentally prepare them for athletic mastery.

Journals are great for tracking and brainstorming projects or developing a theme such as business creativity or spiritual practice. It can be used as a restorative retreat or a creative landscape, a playground of sorts for your professional goals or a keepsake for travel, weddings and birthdays.

Try personalizing your own journal by creating an arrangement that is both practical and natural.

Ask questions and dialogue with the world.

Use it with regularity and see if this kindles some sort of journey.

Above all enjoy the adventure! WRITE UPSIDE DOWN, USE DIFFERENT COLORS OF PENS, collect conversations, favorite song lyrics & meaningful quotes --or start on the last page and see where it takes you!

The basic nutrition for a journal differs. Yet the more you nourish it, the more confident and the more willing your imagination & intelligence will be.

Janice Hoffmann is CEO and Founder of Success Is Sweetest http://www.successissweetest.com -A NewYork City based Career and lifestyle Coaching boutique.