Social studies teacher Doug Graff always encourages his students to focus on developing a positive mindset. Now he has taken that message to a much larger audience, through a gratitude journal he has published on Amazon.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and Amazon helped me exert that,” Graff said.

Graff’s inspiration came from both his experience as a teacher of the leadership elective class and his passion for entrepreneurship.

“It’s proven that when we practice gratitude, it is impossible to receive negative emotions,” Graff said. “By practicing gratitude, we then see more joy in the things that we witness every day.”

The gratitude journal provides space for 66 days’ worth of journaling. 

English teacher Steve Sinning, who assisted Graff in the proofreading process, appreciates the simple format of the gratitude journal. 

“I just received my journal, and I plan to give it a shot,” Sinning said. “The simplicity in filling out the journal is certainly appealing.”

Graff started drafting the journal in Google Docs before Christmas and published the journal during the last week of January.

Currently, Graff has sold more than 50 copies of the journal already. 

“The business aspect of this whole process is interesting. So many people don’t know that creating books is an option on Amazon,” which offers templates, Graff said.

“I stepped outside my comfort zone to do this and hopefully it will provide comfort to someone,” Graff said. “I wanted to see how this process works and possibly develop something geared towards teachers in the future.” 

Over the past few months, Graff and Sinning have been discussing the idea of “passive income.” This is a way for an individual to create revenue from a product with little to no effort after its initial creation.

“There are many teachers in the building who are working on a side hustle. This would be defined as working small jobs on the side to increase family revenue,” Sinning said. “Mr. Graff was willing to put himself out there with this first effort.”

Graff said he has been journaling on and off over the past decade. 

“I reflect more on my day before I sleep every night, rather than journaling,” Graff said. “There is a huge impact on our dreams through thinking in a positive mindset before we sleep.”

Sinning agrees that journaling and reflecting lead to a positive mindset and closure.

“At the start of a day, most people are rushing to get out the door.  Many people will have a goal or plan on their way to work or school,” Sinning said. “This journal forces the owner to physically write something down, which is more effective in the long term. At the end of the day, it is easy to leave on a bedside table and reflect on the morning goal and provide closure to anything that occurred during the day.” 

Since the journal’s initial release, Graff has made some minor editing changes through the Amazon template.

“This journal isn’t exactly what I originally had in mind but I learned a lot about the publishing process through this experience.”

The gratitude journal is currently being sold for $7.49 on Amazon.

It can be found via this link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TZDYGKH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_imm_awdb_3Y3CTQHS11PDV63J0B23