A Note on Self-Discovery (Plus November Life Note Updates)
A heart-first November letter: a welcome for new Life Noters, why confusion is a sign of honest growth, mind vs heart, and proof you’re not too late. Plus product goodies—Wisdom Council, upgraded mentor profiles, highlights, daily questions, Life Goal check-ins, gifting and data exports.
Dear Life Noter,
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If you’re new here, welcome!
A number of people who joined Life Note recently have never journaled before—or done self-discovery in a deliberate way.
So let me say the quiet thing out loud:
Feeling confused, lost, or emotionally messy is often the first sign you’ve started living more honestly.
I remember my early years of this journey. I felt lost and lonely for a long time, which is why I started studying timeless mentors. Many of them point to the same pattern:
We’re socialized to plan harder, think faster, achieve more, and fix everything with intelligence.
But the true meaning of our lives is deeply personal—and we only start to recognize it when we use all our faculties: heart, mind, intuition, guts.
Overthinking is often a signal that we’ve drifted from intuition, body wisdom, and that simple inner yes/no we rarely trust. Journaling is simply a way for us to reconnect with that inner signal.
And if you’re in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, thinking, “Did I start too late?”
You didn’t. Even Jung suggested that a deeper life can begin around midlife. And history is full of late-blooming stories:
- Viktor Frankl — after surviving the camps, he turned “meaning” from a slogan into a daily, livable force.
- Nelson Mandela — after 27 years of imprisonment, he stepped into his true mission with deeper moral clarity and a wider heart.
- Grandma Moses — she began painting in earnest at 78 and went on to become an internationally celebrated artist—proof that a late start can still become a legendary chapter.
The point isn’t to compare yourself to great names. It’s important to remember that life doesn’t obey society’s timeline.
That’s all I wanted to share before the updates: growth is rarely pleasant, self-discovery is messy and nonlinear, and if you’re feeling that mess—you're probably doing it right!
What's New In Life Note?
A lot of updates landed in November, and honestly—I’m loving Life Note more than ever. If you’re on mobile, please update to the latest version to enjoy everything below. And if you haven’t tried Life Note Web yet, this is a great time to explore it.
- Wisdom Council: Each journal entry can now receive three distinctive voices—carefully selected mentors designed to offer diverse truth, creative friction, and deeper awareness.
- Mentor Profiles: A more complete, more navigable way to get to know who’s responding to you. You can now explore mentors by craft, specialty, and historical era (Ancient, Renaissance, 19th C, 20th C).
- Wisdom Everywhere: Across chats, weekly letters, and journal responses, you can now highlight and collect insights to build your personal wisdom library.
- Daily Mentor Question: Turn on notifications to receive a mentor’s daily question designed to gently surface blindspots and emotional patterns.
- Life Goal Daily Check-in: A proven daily ritual for alignment. Read your Life Goal aloud and check in with Life Note—something I personally use in the morning and before sleep (I built this because I really needed it).
- Gift Life Note: You can now gift Life Note for the holidays and the new year. A lot of you asked for this because you wanted a meaningful way to support friends and family.
- Upgraded Data Export: Your data is yours! You can now export by date range and different format, you can also export mentor responses and AI insights.
- New Mentors: Genghis Khan, Emily Dickinson, Rosa Parks, Joan of Arc, and Florence Nightingale are now in Life Note—bringing a wide spectrum of wisdom from strategy and inner truth to moral courage, steadfast conviction, and compassionate strength. If your season calls for clarity, bravery, or quiet resilience, this lineup will meet you there.
That's it for November! Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I’m genuinely grateful Life Note gets to be a small, meaningful part of your inner life.
If you ever want to give feedback and chat about the future of Life Note, you can book time with me here.
With love,
Daniel
Last Life Note Community Newsletter
Daniel W. Chen
親愛的 Life Noter，
如果你是新加入的，歡迎你！
最近加入 Life Note 的朋友裡，有不少人其實是第一次開始寫日記，也可能是第一次有意識地踏上自我探索的旅程。
如果你是近期才開始走這段路，我想跟你說：
感到困惑、迷惘、混亂是很正常的。這也是任何人開始更誠實地活著的第一個訊號。
當我剛開始這段旅程時，我低潮與寂寞了非常長一段時間，也因此才開始去閱讀與研究那些更雋永的導師與思想。
而我發現，這些導師的故事都指向同一件事：
我們長期被社會化的結果，是更努力去計畫人生、更絞盡腦汁地變更聰明、更賣命的去得到外在成就，卻完全與自己失聯。
而生命真正的意義，是非常個人的一件事，我們只有在開始動用「腦」以外的能力時—心、直覺、身體、那個內在的 yes/no—才會慢慢看清自己真正想活成什麼。
過度思考是一個警訊：提醒我們已經跟直覺、身體智慧、以及那個簡單卻可靠的內在聲音走遠了。
寫日記，只為了幫我們重新找回一直都在的「內在智慧」。
而如果你在 40、50、60 歲，心裡想著：「我是不是太晚了？」
絕對不晚。
榮格說過，更深層的生命，往往會在中年左右真正開始。而歷史上也有太多「晚開花」的故事—
- Viktor Frankl 在集中營倖存後，將「意義」變成一門可被實踐的生命學
- Nelson Mandela在 27 年囚禁後，以更大的道德清晰與勇氣走向世界
- Grandma Moses 78 歲開始認真作畫，最後成為享譽國際的藝術家
重點不是要與偉人比較，而是從他們的故事得到啟發：那就是人生不需要也不會照著社會的時間表走！
這就是我想在分享最新的產品更新前，跟大家說的：：
成長不會是舒服的，但我們會變得更有韌性。
自我探索是混亂也非線性的，如果你正感受到混亂，就代表你可能正在走在對的路上，我不會知道，但你的內心的聲音一定會（至少 Life Note 是因此誕生的）。
Life Note 11 月更新有哪些？
11 月我們上了非常多產品更新，我自己比以往更喜歡 Life Note 了！如果你在手機上使用，記得更新到最新版本來體驗下面的功能。
如果你還沒試過 Life Note 網頁版，我真的建議你也在上面寫一篇日記！
以下是 11 月的所有更新
- 智慧團隊：每篇日記現在都能收到三種截然不同的聲音—精心挑選的導師組合，讓你得到更多元的真相、適度的創造性摩擦，以及更深的覺察。
- 導師自介：導師的資訊有中文版囉！也更完整、更好探索的導師頁面，讓你更了解是誰在回應你。你可以依照導師的領域，專長，以及歷史時代（古代、文藝復興、19 世紀、20 世紀）進行探索。
- 收藏智慧：不只日記回覆可以進行智慧的收藏，現在聊天記錄、每週反思信中，你也可以收藏導師的智慧，或加入未來撰寫日記的靈感。
- 導師的每日省思：手機開啟通知後，你會收到導師每天的一個問題，溫柔地幫你挖出盲點與情緒模式。
- 人生目標顯化：這是思考致富書中很有效的每日對齊儀式。每天把你的 Life Goal 大聲讀出來、然後在 Life Note 打卡—我自己早晚都會用（我真的很需要這個，所以就把它做出來了）。
- 贈禮 Life Note：聖誕節和新的一年要到了，你可以購買 Life Note 的訂閱送給身邊對你重要的人！這會是非常有意義的一個禮物喔（要小心，你有可能不小心改變了他們的人生）。
- 匯出數據：你的資料永遠是你的！在網頁版現在你可以依日期範圍、不同格式匯出，也可以匯出導師回應與 AI 洞見。
- 新導師：成吉思汗、Emily Dickinson、Rosa Parks、聖女貞德、Florence Nightingale 都已加入 Life Note—從戰略與內在真實，到道德勇氣、堅定信念與溫柔的力量，這組導師帶來非常寬廣的智慧光譜。如果你正需要清晰、勇氣或安靜的韌性，他們會很懂你。
11 月就到這裡，謝謝你跟我一起走在這段路上。我真心感激 Life Note 能成為你內在生活中一個存在。
如果你想給我回饋，或想聊聊 Life Note 接下來可以長成什麼樣子，你可以在這裡跟我預約時間。
帶著愛，
Daniel
上一次的 Life Note 電子報
Daniel W. Chen
