As we embrace a new chapter in our company's journey, we're thrilled to introduce our newest product, The Never Ending Now Poetry Journal, in collaboration with IN-Q, an Emmy nominated poet, multi-platinum songwriter, and the best-selling author of Inquire Within. We asked our CEO and Founder, Angelia “Angel” Trinidad, about the vision behind Passion Planner’s first guided journal, talking through the inspiration behind its creation and how poetry can create a space for authentic self-expression within our community. 

How did this collaboration between Passion Planner and IN-Q come about, and why does it hold significance for both partners?

I first saw Adam perform in 2019. It was at an entrepreneur conference called the Human Gathering. We had spent a whole day listening to back-to-back talks, and Adam’s performance changed the energy of the space. He was a breath of fresh air. In a span of minutes, Adam could help people laugh, cry, and ultimately feel. We were out of our minds and into our bodies. I felt more connected to the group after we all had experienced Adam’s art together. 

Adam and I had our first conversation 3 years later. We met on an Iceland trip organized by Mike Posner. I had done the Everest Base Camp trek with Mike the year before and wanted another adventure into nature. 

By then, I had coincidentally attended a few events where Adam was performing, including one of his poetry workshops. In that workshop, I explored a topic that I had buried deep and let it see the light of day. It was emotional and healing.

Now in Iceland, I saw his familiar face and smiled. It turns out Adam was one of Mike’s best friends for more than 10 years and he was there to attend and also perform.

What struck me about Adam was his quiet confidence. In a group, Adam never needs to be the center of attention, but his presence attracts attention when he performs. His words flow with such range, emotion, and vulnerability that it’s hard not to love him even if you don’t know him.

On that Iceland trip, I was fortunate to get to know him. He is a generous person with his time, attention, and heart. When you have a conversation with Adam he listens, asks insightful questions, and wants to hear your story. This isn’t just my experience but so many others who have interacted with him from my team. In one conversation he brought up a dream of making a poetry journal so he could share the gift of writing poetry with the world and I told him if he ever needed help or wanted advice he could reach out to me. 

I knew Adam had a gift—the gift of encouraging people to explore uncomfortable places with a guide who makes them feel comfortable digging deep and sharing their stories. He creates safe spaces where people feel empowered and safe expressing their truth creatively, regardless of the shame, pain, or judgment surrounding it. I believe when people share their stories, they shed their shame and can move forward with more confidence. 

What sparked the idea to create a Poetry Journal?

Poetry is another avenue to exploring yourself and the subconscious patterns or stories that are playing out in your life. 

At Passion Planner we are not in the business of selling stationary, we are in the business of personal development. For example, a Passion Planner is more than just a planner, it is a tool to build your confidence, self-love, and self-trust, through setting intentional goals and taking consistent action over a long period of time and tracking those actions in a planner. 

This new product, The Never Ending Now Poetry Journal, is our first attempt to explore other avenues of personal development. Both Passion Planner and IN-Q share the belief that the stories that we tell ourselves shape our realities. Through this journal, we hope to give everyone the opportunity to explore their own unique story and be open to changing that story. It is our aim to create consciousness around the stories we tell ourselves, so we can choose ones that feel more true and authentic to who we are now. We hope this journal is a mental journey through your past, a curious look at your present, and an envisioning and excitement of what is to come in your future. 

In what ways does this collaboration reflect the core values of Passion Planner? 

Ultimately our mission is to help people live a life that feels authentic to them by doing what really matters. Oftentimes people are going through life on autopilot and like Passion Planner The Never Ending Now Poetry Journal gives you the opportunity to explore your stories about your life. It asks you insightful questions about what it is you want out of life and also what truly matters to you so you can prioritize it and give it the space it deserves. 

The 3 values of our brand are courageous authenticity, strategic process, and community connection. 

Courageous Authenticity

Poetry is the perfect avenue to practice courageous authenticity. Writing poetry can be a private practice where you can explore and express ideas that you may usually sweep under the rug. Sharing your story with 100% honesty is courageously authentic, and poetry is a portal to this.

Strategic Process

In the journal, Adam orders the themes in a way that gets people first comfortable with writing their stories and slowly exploring themes that are progressively more vulnerable. The journal's structure is both structured and open-ended, strategically moving the writer through a process to craft poetry that they could only bring to life. 

Community Connection

After writing each poem, there is the opportunity to build connections and “activate the poem.” Either by sharing it with a friend, speaking it out loud, or sharing it with a stranger. When we share our truth with someone, we create the optimal opportunity for authentic connection to build community. When I have taken Adam’s workshops, I am reminded of how interconnected we all are and how many emotions we share, regardless of our backgrounds.

Can you provide a glimpse into the creative process behind designing and curating content for The Never Ending Now Poetry Journal?

Our collaboration with IN-Q and his team was a truly inspiring creative process. IN-Q's poems provided the heart and soul of the journal, while the Passion Planner team brought it to life visually and functionally. We spent countless hours together online and in person, even brainstorming cover materials and pocket colors in my dining room! It was a testament to our shared vision for a simple, elegant, and inviting journal experience.

Within the pages of the journal, our focus was on user engagement. We wanted people to feel connected to the journal and motivated to complete the journal from start to finish.  We believe completing a creative process fosters growth, and my role was to design prompts that used gentle nudges and psychology to keep users turning the page and exploring their own poetry.

Carolina He's graphic design, with thoughtful use of spacing, font, and color, ensured a cohesive yet dynamic feel. Clarissa Tong's beautiful illustrations complemented the poems perfectly. IN-Q crafted the poetry prompts and guiding copy, while Sophia and I worked together on post-prompt check-ins to prevent overwhelm and encourage continued engagement. It was a collaborative effort with many revisions, and we're all incredibly proud of the final product and the experience it will give the user.

How do you envision the community incorporating poetry into their planning and reflecting routines?

Poetry is a way of using words to explore your dreams, goals, and what you're really thinking. It helps you deal with outside pressure and understand your own story, whether it's something new or something from the past. Our past shapes who we are, but it doesn't have to control our future. 

The main goal in creating this journal was to make people feel confident in expressing themselves. Since the poetry journal is self-paced, some people may use it every day, some may use it once a week or once a month. Both poetry and taking action can be an exercise of expression. Because of shame from society or ourselves, instead of expressing our experiences and feelings, we hold them in and ruminate on them, and we don’t allow the space for ourselves to create a new narrative for our lives. Poetry can help you rewrite your story and start a brand new chapter!

Poetry allows you to express your goals, and dreams, and connect to your internal dialogue, without outside influences. Expressing yourself through poetry, whether something happened recently or decades ago, allows people to honor that experience to move on and move forward to create the life they want. Our past lays the foundation for our futures, but we can choose to redirect to create new and beautiful journeys. I think writing poetry strengthens your ability to manifest what you really want out of life and helps you take the next step in authentic action. I hope that taking 30-45 minutes to work on poetry will take away some of the skepticism around the experience and foster confidence in individual expression.

What role can poetry play in fostering creativity, mindfulness, and self-expression for the PashFam?

Poetry can be anything that you want, so it is completely open to your own creativity. It doesn’t need to rhyme. It doesn’t need to have complete or incomplete sentences. It can just be your truth. A poem is inherently mindful. It’s a snapshot of a specific moment or feeling you want to explore or work through. When writing poetry, you aren’t asking the world what to say; you’re asking yourself what you want to say about a moment. When I was at Adam’s workshops, I watched so many people be completely moved to tears by watching, experiencing, and learning how to create self-expression. Poetry is an extremely powerful tool of self-expression because it comes from you and no one else.

Can you share a teaser about your favorite chapter of the Poetry Journal? 

My favorite chapter of the Never Ending Now Journal is “Acceptance.” There’s so much beautiful power to this poem. It is about Adam’s desire to be accepted by his mother. When I read it I am emotionally teleported to my own journey of wanting acceptance from my parents. As a first-generation, queer, spiritual but not religious person growing up in a very conservative Christian household I’ve had to come to terms with not feeling accepted by my parents for a long time. Much like a lot of Adam’s work and performances, it goes beyond just speaking to me, it shifts something within me and has left me feeling seen and understood. I hope that as our audience experiences this journal through Adam’s work and their own poetry they also find healing, exploration, understanding and expression.

Are you ready to start your own poetry journey? Join our waitlist to be notified when The Never Ending Now Poetry Journal is LIVE May 21, 2024 and download a sample chapter now!