Agenda

As a default setting, I always carry a trusty notebook where I keep every single detail of my life though everyone depends fully on the cellphone for almost everything. Writing in a notebook with a pen actually helps me to clean up my mind and allows me to focus on what I need to do, in both the short and long terms. I often jot down random ideas for my writing project as well as numerous passwords that I was to get into my accounts on various websites. Speaking of passwords...If I don't write down every single one of them, there would be no way for me to remember the match with the user's name. I have simply created too many passwords; some start with a capital letter "T," some contain my date of birth, other with my phone number combined with my street address, etc.

Therefore I can call my small black notebook my confidant. It is the safest place for me to keep my secrets, deepest concerns, and even desires (since no one can read or interpret my handwriting or content). The notebook is a perfect place where I can open up and manifest all the things I want by making an ordinary to-do list such as this;

1. Pay my light bill

2. Buy more cat food

3. Call Betty to say hi

4. Make an appointment for a dentist

5. Change my linen on Wednesday

Or my list could be with self reminders when life gets a little bit more difficult than getting done on the to-do list and I won’t be able to accomplish anything above;

1. Be kind to myself

2. Think before I speak or do

3. Talk positively

4. Visualize the goal

5. Be honest and be gracious to others

At times, my list on my notebook consists of my secret plans;

1. Start looking for a place to move

2. Go over the list of moving companies

3. Figure out how much I need to save money for a downpayment of my new home and closing cost, $20,000?

If I had $20,000 in cash, what would I do with it? $20,000 seems to be a good amount of money though it does not even come close to one million. I can either pay off my car loan or buy my second vehicle. I am not sure if I can afford to fix my teeth with $20,000. I can probably fly to Japan and travel comfortably for about two weeks. Or I can live in an apartment with rent of $1,000 per month and will not have to worry about paying rent for about a year and half. So I continued on my little black notebook;

6. Participate in a writing challenge and win $20,000

"Create a fiction story about someone who unexpectedly comes into $20,000 including some detail about a small black notebook."

Just the thought of what I could do with the $20,000 brought me colorful imagination and endless possibilities throughout the day and I even felt richer by just thinking about it. But at the end of the day, I didn't really care about it. So I worked hard on the list and focused on scratching off as many items as possible by strictly sticking with my main principles which are on the list of self remainders.

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Two weeks have passed and I completely forgot about the writing contest that I entered in hope of winning $20,000. I received an email saying,

“Congratulations! You have won a grand prize of $20,000…”

I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to make sure if it was real. Now, what am I going to do with the $20,000 that I won?

Then I went back to the page of my little trusty black notebook where I jotted down things I could do or resolve with $20,000. Finally, I was able to scratch off every single item on lists of all categories.