WHY THIS JOURNAL EXISTS
Every day as an infectious disease physician, I watch people receive life-altering diagnoses. And almost every time, the same thing happens.
Panic sets in, then regret, and then — a list.
They start writing down everything they wished they had done. The trips they never took, the relationships they kept meaning to deepen, the versions of themselves they were always saving for later, and the business they never started.
Many of them had just retired. They had finally cleared the runway — and then the runway was gone.
We made this journal because we refuse to save our best lives for someday. And we made it for you.
Every year is your best year. Not when things slow down. Not when the kids are grown. Now.
THE YELLOW NOTEBOOK STORY
Our Lolo Bolding was the patriarch of our entire family. He was born in 1937 during World War II in the Philippines and yet he built a legacy from nothing and provided for generations of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Every night, he counted his blessings through his private ritual — his hilera — a Filipino practice of physically counting what you are grateful for.
When he passed away on January 22, 2018, the family was heartbroken. There was no written will, there was unfinished business, and uncertainty hung over everything.
Then, one of his grandchildren had a dream. Lolo Bolding appeared and said simply:
"Everything you need to know is in my yellow folder."
None of us had ever seen a yellow folder in his possession while he was living. My mother and uncle searched his study for two days. They almost gave up. Then my uncle sat in Lolo's desk chair — to see the room the way he would have seen it — and when he stood up, he lost his balance. The chair swiveled back and knocked over a stack of papers.
And there it was. The yellow folder which contained every account, every property, and every unfinished contract. From that day forward, even after his passing, his estate continues to provide.
We created the Yellow Notebook so your family never has to search for your most important documents. Your financial life, documented. Your legacy, protected.
Everything they need to know — in one place.
Your best year doesn't start on January 1st.
It starts the day you decide to stop waiting and start paying attention.
