# Get advice from your own journals, in your own words

> Every answer cites the exact journal entry behind it, so the advice is literally your own.

Upload your journals, notes and favorite books to Gemini Notebook. It answers only from what you gave it, so you can ask what you've learned, what keeps repeating and what you'd tell yourself.

- Page: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/get-advice-from-your-own-journals/
- Category: Hidden AI superpowers
- Made for: Everyone, Coaches
- Works in: Gemini Notebook
- Time: About 15 minutes
- Effort: A few steps
- Note: Gemini Notebook answers from your sources only. Leave out anything you wouldn't store in a cloud service.

## The prompt

Fill in the parts in [square brackets], or leave them and the AI will ask you for them.

```text
Use only the journals, notes and books in this notebook. Don't add outside advice. I want to understand myself better. First, tell me the 5 themes that show up most in my writing, with a short quote and date for each. Then show me 3 problems or worries I keep coming back to, and what I wrote when I handled them well. Next, list the values and goals I keep naming, and where my actions don't seem to match them. Finally, answer this question using my own words and past lessons: [YOUR QUESTION, e.g. Should I take on more clients this year?] Cite the source for every point.
```

## Step by step

1. Scan or export your journals, notes and book highlights as PDFs or docs.
2. Add them as sources in a new Gemini Notebook.
3. Paste the prompt into the chat, then keep asking your own questions.

## What you'll get

A private reflection report built only from your writing, plus an answer to your question with citations to your own entries.

## Good to know

**Which AI tools does this work in?** It works in Gemini Notebook. On this page, one tap copies the prompt and opens the app, so you just paste. Gemini Notebook answers from your sources only. Leave out anything you wouldn't store in a cloud service.

**How long does it take?** About 15 minutes. It's rated "A few steps". There are 3 steps, listed above.

**What do I need before I start?** Just your details for one blank: your question. You can skip any, and your AI will ask for them.

**What will I get back?** A private reflection report built only from your writing, plus an answer to your question with citations to your own entries.

Idea spotted on X, shared by @stevenbjohnson: https://x.com/stevenbjohnson/status/1969130159379730652. The prompt is The Solo Creators' own version.

## Go further

Ready-made skills in the Solo Creators AI Studio (https://thesolocreators.com/studio/) that fit this: No AI Slop (A sharp editor that cuts the AI tells from any draft. Your point and your voice stay); TLDR (Your AI stops writing walls of text: every reply leads with the next action, numbered and skimmable).

From AI Use Cases and Prompts by The Solo Creators: https://thesolocreators.com/prompts/. Free to use; please link back to the page when you share it.