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Make Every Day Meaningful: Realize, Record, and Remember Life's Grand Lessons
Sometimes day-to-day life hardly feels journal-worthy. But Randal Wright demonstrates how you can use experiences from your life to make better decisions, feel increased gratitude, recognize your strengths and weaknesses, more easily prepare talks and lessons, create a personal history for your posterity, and find God in your daily life. Make the world around you—every minute of every day—your classroom.
- GenresLdsNonfictionSelf Help
240 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 2014
4 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Randal A. Wright
18 books7 followersRandal A. Wright has a Ph.D. in family studies with an emphasis on the impact of the electronic media. He is the author of several books, including Families in Danger: Protecting Your Family in an X-Rated World and Achieving Your Life Mission. He speaks frequently throughout the United States and Canada on family issues and self improvement topics. He and his wife, Wendy Bradford Wright, are the parents of five children and live in Austin, Texas.
from http://3wordjournal.com/about-the-aut...
from http://3wordjournal.com/about-the-aut...
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 11, 2020
Wright explains his 3 word journal method and how to use those journal entries to record and remember the lessons we learn in life. Then these lessons can be used to increase gratitude, make self-improvement more possible and likely, teach others, and leave a legacy and written record for family.
September 5, 2020
I enjoyed this book. A good reminder of the importance of recording and preserving your life experiences. Simple thoughts. Huge dividends.
June 15, 2020
This book starts with this quote from Harvey Cluff: "No intelligent person in youth or old age should merely drift along. Look the world squarely in the face, listen and learn and not pass along, in life, indifferently, for there are grand lessons before you every minute." This book is full of ideas for learning and recording meaningful lessons from others and your own life. There are ideas to help you remember these lessons and ways to share them with others. These ideas are quick and to the point for busy lives. From the onset of this book, the author encourages his readers to keep a personal journal and he cites comments from a variety of historical and modern day people who have kept journals and the benefit they have felt in their lives from it. I have kept a journal from the age of 12 though it really wasn't a journal until I was about 17. There have been periods when I wasn't as diligent but as of now I am writing in Volume 20. Perhaps these journals will help others some day but I have found they have been most helpful to me. They jog my memory and help me to see my progression over time, especially when I'm striving in some area to improve. I have begun to implement some of the ideas in this book in my journal writing now and am grateful for the new spark it's created!
September 12, 2019
I heard this author speak at BYU Education Days. I was fascinated by his method of recording and cataloging life experiences which he then uses in talks, lessons, etc. I am sure that he finds the meaningful experiences in his everyday life because he is looking for and recording them. One thing I could improve in my journaling/blogging is to be very explicit about the lessons I learn from my experiences. I would also like to better tag them for easy reference on a variety of topics. And as I read through the list of possible topics to write about (page 44-52) I realize that even though I regularly write in a journal or blog there are still hundreds of experiences I could write about to share with my kids. At any rate, Randal Wright is an excellent speaker and author. I highly recommend this book!
January 8, 2018
great book. Especially the beginning. Motivated me to write in my journal. Stories about myself, experiences with he spirit, and things my parents have taught me. A great read before starting on family history work.
November 2, 2014
“God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.” James M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan)
I found it. A book that motivates me to improve my journal writing so I can have roses in December.
Writers are often too busy writing for deadlines to write their own story. We have perfected procrastination, harsh self-criticism, and we get writer’s block. Sound familiar? “I can’t write my personal history because I am too busy, I’m a terrible writer and I don’t know what to write.”
Make Every Day Meaningful is the book I found while searching for a book about gratitude to review for November. Sometimes a book chooses you.
The gratitude chapter titled, “Learn to Be Grateful Every Day” includes inspirational quotes, personal stories and encouraging words. Wright observes that less than ten percent of attendees express gratitude to speakers, teachers and musicians who serve them in Sunday church meetings.
In his travels as a speaker and author, he rarely sees those who have spent many hours in preparation and presentation thanked by those they serve. A Sunday School teacher told him that only a handful of people thanked her during her almost five years of teaching.
“Over the years, I've had the responsibility of asking hundreds of people to speak at forums held for LDS college students. During that time, I have watched on multiple occasions as not one person approached the speaker afterwards,” wrote Wright.
Each chapter in Randal Wright’s book encourages the reader to “realize, record and remember life’s grand lessons”. Many people do this with a gratitude journal or other small notebook they carry with them. Some spend a few minutes at the end of the day to record those observations and lessons.
“Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity.” Spencer W. Kimball promised.
Many times I have wished my grandmothers had written their experiences and thoughts for me to read and share with my children. These fastidious little housekeepers even threw away precious letters from other family members and family photos! I have their jewelry and dishes but I don’t have their memories.
I appreciated the encouragement to write my autobiography - a work in progress, and keep a better journal, but what this book really gave me were some practical tools and suggestions. The list of 600 memory cues, and three word-word summary suggestions are more helpful to someone like me than quotes I've managed to ignore for decades.
It’s not too late to start or start again. Your journal and your life story may not seem like a bouquet of roses but your memories and life lessons are priceless gifts to yourself and your family.
I found it. A book that motivates me to improve my journal writing so I can have roses in December.
Writers are often too busy writing for deadlines to write their own story. We have perfected procrastination, harsh self-criticism, and we get writer’s block. Sound familiar? “I can’t write my personal history because I am too busy, I’m a terrible writer and I don’t know what to write.”
Make Every Day Meaningful is the book I found while searching for a book about gratitude to review for November. Sometimes a book chooses you.
The gratitude chapter titled, “Learn to Be Grateful Every Day” includes inspirational quotes, personal stories and encouraging words. Wright observes that less than ten percent of attendees express gratitude to speakers, teachers and musicians who serve them in Sunday church meetings.
In his travels as a speaker and author, he rarely sees those who have spent many hours in preparation and presentation thanked by those they serve. A Sunday School teacher told him that only a handful of people thanked her during her almost five years of teaching.
“Over the years, I've had the responsibility of asking hundreds of people to speak at forums held for LDS college students. During that time, I have watched on multiple occasions as not one person approached the speaker afterwards,” wrote Wright.
Each chapter in Randal Wright’s book encourages the reader to “realize, record and remember life’s grand lessons”. Many people do this with a gratitude journal or other small notebook they carry with them. Some spend a few minutes at the end of the day to record those observations and lessons.
“Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity.” Spencer W. Kimball promised.
Many times I have wished my grandmothers had written their experiences and thoughts for me to read and share with my children. These fastidious little housekeepers even threw away precious letters from other family members and family photos! I have their jewelry and dishes but I don’t have their memories.
I appreciated the encouragement to write my autobiography - a work in progress, and keep a better journal, but what this book really gave me were some practical tools and suggestions. The list of 600 memory cues, and three word-word summary suggestions are more helpful to someone like me than quotes I've managed to ignore for decades.
It’s not too late to start or start again. Your journal and your life story may not seem like a bouquet of roses but your memories and life lessons are priceless gifts to yourself and your family.
August 28, 2014
So, I'm quite sporadic in my journal keeping. I'll go through long periods of not keeping one and short periods of keeping one. I do enjoy going back and reading what I've written, and finding the lessons I've learned from certain experiences seems easier to identify in retrospect. I felt that a major point he made in his book is that when we know we're going to record what happened in our lives each day, we will be encouraged to make different, and hopefully better, choices.
At the end of Chapter 1 (pp. 12-13), he says that at the completion of this book, there are eleven patterns you will have, including:
* Recall the experiences from your life that have taught you meaningful lessons.
* Record a meaningful experience in ten seconds and in a way that you never forget it.
* Enjoy an endless supply of material for conversations, lessons, talks, books, or articles.
* Easily write a multi-volume history of your life to leave for posterity.
* Better understand why you feel the way you feel and act the way you act.
* Find more joy, happiness, and meaning in your daily life.
I thought that was quite a bit to promise and at the end I felt that he delivered! There are lots of great experiences and stories he shares from his own life and the lives of others. I like his explanation of three-word summaries and can see how they are useful once you have a plethora of stories recorded. If you think you've lost most of your memories, he shares approximately 600 memory cues to help you retrieve lost memories. Reading through some of those brought a lot of memories back to me and that list alone will take a while to work through. He issues challenges at the end of some of the chapters and working through this list is one of them (end of Chapter 12).
I loved reading this book and felt uplifted as I finished each chapter. I've started a gratitude journal a few times over the years and I'm currently keeping one. I can even see the value in that as I went back and read what I had recorded in previous years and was able to remember some of what I was going through at the time. I thought he did a great job of taking the topic of journal keeping and explaining the importance of it so that we can, indeed, make each day meaningful. It does take some time and effort to record our experiences, but it's well worth it all in the end!
I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.
Mel's Shelves
At the end of Chapter 1 (pp. 12-13), he says that at the completion of this book, there are eleven patterns you will have, including:
* Recall the experiences from your life that have taught you meaningful lessons.
* Record a meaningful experience in ten seconds and in a way that you never forget it.
* Enjoy an endless supply of material for conversations, lessons, talks, books, or articles.
* Easily write a multi-volume history of your life to leave for posterity.
* Better understand why you feel the way you feel and act the way you act.
* Find more joy, happiness, and meaning in your daily life.
I thought that was quite a bit to promise and at the end I felt that he delivered! There are lots of great experiences and stories he shares from his own life and the lives of others. I like his explanation of three-word summaries and can see how they are useful once you have a plethora of stories recorded. If you think you've lost most of your memories, he shares approximately 600 memory cues to help you retrieve lost memories. Reading through some of those brought a lot of memories back to me and that list alone will take a while to work through. He issues challenges at the end of some of the chapters and working through this list is one of them (end of Chapter 12).
I loved reading this book and felt uplifted as I finished each chapter. I've started a gratitude journal a few times over the years and I'm currently keeping one. I can even see the value in that as I went back and read what I had recorded in previous years and was able to remember some of what I was going through at the time. I thought he did a great job of taking the topic of journal keeping and explaining the importance of it so that we can, indeed, make each day meaningful. It does take some time and effort to record our experiences, but it's well worth it all in the end!
I received a copy of this book to review. My opinion is 100% my own.
Mel's Shelves
August 13, 2014
Do you feel that your life just isn't journal worth?
THIS BOOK WILL SHOW YOU THAT IT IS!
This was a sobering quote:
"Tell them I'm sorry I didn't keep a record of my life to leave to my posterity. Tell them I'm sorry I didn't even take the time to write down my own father's name or where he was born. Now my descendants have spent years, countless hours, and thousands of dollars trying to find out anything about him."
We have been urged to keep journals and records....
This book will explain that through acknowledging AND recording our experiences it will~
*help you make better decisions
*feel increased gratitude
*recognize your strengths and weaknesses
You will also be given tools to help you REMEMBER and RECORD things from the past.
Try this out...
these are taken from a list of "Memory Cues..."
What do you remember about~
*Your mother
*Your grandfather
*Moves your family made
*Curfew
*Holidays
*Summer jobs
*Aha! moments
*Pranks played
*Field Trips
WRITE IT DOWN!
Filled with personal stores this book will excited you to write down your own experiences, good and bad, that you might learn from them, use them in talks, and leave a legacy for your posterity.
As you "make the world around you—every minute of every day—your classroom" you will start to make every day meaningful!
FANTASTIC BOOK!
WONDERFUL STORIES TO SPARK YOUR OWN STORIES!
ENCOURAGING HELPS TO GET YOU GOING!
THIS BOOK WILL SHOW YOU THAT IT IS!
This was a sobering quote:
"Tell them I'm sorry I didn't keep a record of my life to leave to my posterity. Tell them I'm sorry I didn't even take the time to write down my own father's name or where he was born. Now my descendants have spent years, countless hours, and thousands of dollars trying to find out anything about him."
We have been urged to keep journals and records....
This book will explain that through acknowledging AND recording our experiences it will~
*help you make better decisions
*feel increased gratitude
*recognize your strengths and weaknesses
You will also be given tools to help you REMEMBER and RECORD things from the past.
Try this out...
these are taken from a list of "Memory Cues..."
What do you remember about~
*Your mother
*Your grandfather
*Moves your family made
*Curfew
*Holidays
*Summer jobs
*Aha! moments
*Pranks played
*Field Trips
WRITE IT DOWN!
Filled with personal stores this book will excited you to write down your own experiences, good and bad, that you might learn from them, use them in talks, and leave a legacy for your posterity.
As you "make the world around you—every minute of every day—your classroom" you will start to make every day meaningful!
FANTASTIC BOOK!
WONDERFUL STORIES TO SPARK YOUR OWN STORIES!
ENCOURAGING HELPS TO GET YOU GOING!
November 17, 2014
I have enjoyed several of Randal Wright's books. They are very conversational in nature and include many stories to illustrate the point Mr. Wright is attempting to convey. While there is the thread of making everyday meaningful, the focus is really on recording the lessons of life consistently so as to not lose them in one's memory. There are several tips he shares that he has used throughout his life to build up a significant set of stories that capture the lessons of life for him and allow him to easily share them with others. It is a quick read and entertaining because of all of the personal accounts.
My main takeaways for the book are to record personal stories, not only the run of the mill facts, but ones that have detail to them. Summarize them using 3 words. Include lessons you and others in life have learned and include items you are grateful for on a daily basis.
My main takeaways for the book are to record personal stories, not only the run of the mill facts, but ones that have detail to them. Summarize them using 3 words. Include lessons you and others in life have learned and include items you are grateful for on a daily basis.
August 30, 2014
What I liked most about this book was that the scriptures in this book were linked to common situations that happen in every day life. Every second I am alive is meaningful, weather or not I live that way. I also liked that this book discussed morals and I was reminded of some things that I have forgotten. I like that the author made this a fun read, and included fun ways to spread his message, like The Elimination Game on page 134. I enjoyed the challenges in the book, and I think that I should start a journal. This is a great book to share with your friends and to connect with the little things that God does for us daily. I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review from Cedar Fort Publishing, however all opinions are my own.
December 26, 2015
A gift from Christmas 2014 that I will never forget, this book is changing my life and moving me to where I want to be. I find myself right where I want to be.
"We should search for ways to have meaningful days and not just great discoveries" ..." Perhaps we should try to discover meaningful lessons EACH DAY of our lives and record what we learn" and ask ourselves, "What can I learn from this".
My commitment after finishing this book? Write the most important book, only I can best write, "The book of Angela", every day.
"We should search for ways to have meaningful days and not just great discoveries" ..." Perhaps we should try to discover meaningful lessons EACH DAY of our lives and record what we learn" and ask ourselves, "What can I learn from this".
My commitment after finishing this book? Write the most important book, only I can best write, "The book of Angela", every day.
September 24, 2014
I'm always rather skeptical about self-help/inspirational books. Most of them seem too sappy. That being said, I absolutely loved this book. It was truly inspirational and I think it actually will help me "realize, record, and remember" the grand lessons in my life.
Formal review for Deseret News here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...
Formal review for Deseret News here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/86...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews