Your future deserves your attention.
You are the CEO of you. High school is a good place to start practicing.
Your time, your choices, your money, your friendships, your future. This guided journal, written for students from freshman to senior year, helps you lead yourself through the choices in front of you — and find people who will help along the way.
Instant download. 30 self-paced entries with practice pages and reusable tools.
Parent, teacher or mentor? Give it to a student you believe in.
Written by Mark HannaCommercial real estate broker, entrepreneur and TEDxMcAllen speaker. He started building himself as the CEO of his life in high school.
Written for the student carrying more than people see.
“When I walked into high school as a freshman, I was already living in my third home. My great-grandparents were my legal guardians. I was young, but I had already learned that life could change before you were ready.”
“I know a student can walk into a classroom carrying a whole life nobody sees. You may be worried about your grades. Your friends. Fitting in. What happens after graduation. You may be dealing with problems at home that make it hard to focus on any of those things.”
“I want to help you see possibilities you may not have been shown yet. To recognize your strengths. To ask for help without feeling ashamed. To learn skills, make thoughtful choices, and build a future that matters to you.”
If you feel behind, you can take a step from where you are.
— Mark Hanna, from A Note From Mark
Every company has departments. So do you.
You don’t need to own a business to be the CEO of you. Your company is you — and these eight departments need your attention.
Time and Habits
Plan your day. Repeat helpful actions.
Leadership
Make choices. Own your part.
Money
Know what you spend and save.
Health and Energy
Care for your body and mind.
Relationships
Build good friendships. Accept help.
Reputation
Be someone people can trust.
Learning and Growth
Try things. Build skills.
Purpose
Know why your future matters to you.
What a student finishes with
Not just pages read — pages filled in. Every entry has a short reading page and a practice page where the lesson gets put to work.
A signed commitment
A promise to take responsibility, ask for help, and keep building — signed, dated, and started with one small promise kept today.
Entry 1A company scorecard
Honest scores for all eight departments at the start, midpoint and finish, each backed by real evidence.
Entries 2 and 29, plus the midpoint checkupOne goal with a next step
A goal that matters to them, a way to notice progress, and a next small step with a time and place.
Entry 3A money snapshot
What came in, what went out, and what’s left — plus a first monthly money plan, practiced with real or example numbers.
Entry 11 and the money toolsTwo futures, compared
College, training, apprenticeship, work, military or a business — two possible next steps researched side by side.
Entry 27A plan for the next 90 days
One priority, targets for day 30, 60 and 90, and a weekly review time on the calendar.
Entry 30
Their writing stays personal. In a group, students share only what they choose — no one needs to disclose private family or money details.
Get the High School Edition – $29.99What’s inside: 30 entries
Short, direct, and self-paced — written in Mark’s voice, for real student life: assignments, tryouts, group chats, part-time jobs, and the question of what comes after graduation.
- 1Make the commitmentLeadership
- 2Build your departmentsYour personal company
- 3Give your goal a next stepTime and Habits
- 4Make time for what mattersTime and Habits
- 5Don’t give your phone the whole dayTime and Habits
- 6Start the part in front of youTime and Habits
- 7Notice the small winsTime and Habits
- 8One result is not your whole storyLeadership
- 9Think past the momentLeadership
- 10Set your standardLeadership
- 11Know where your money goesMoney
- 12Make the tradeoff visibleMoney
- 13Give your future a real planMoney
- 14Take care of the person doing the workHealth and Energy
- 15Don’t turn comparison into your bossHealth and Energy
- 16Recharge before you run emptyHealth and Energy
- 17Build a team that helps you growRelationships
- 18Learn to say what you meanRelationships
- 19You are allowed to have boundariesRelationships
- 20Your name goes with your choicesReputation
- 21Be someone the team can count onReputation
- 22Own the mistake. Use the lesson.Reputation
- 23Find out what you can becomeLearning and Growth
- 24Ask someone who has been thereLearning and Growth
- 25Learn it well enough to use itLearning and Growth
- 26Give your future a reasonPurpose
- 27Choose a path that fits youPurpose
- 28Be an asset to your communityPurpose
- 29Look at what is actually changingCompany review
- 30Your future is still being builtCompany review
How it works
- Read one short entry.30 entries, read at your own pace. Try one small action at a time.
- Practice it on the next page.Every reading page has a practice page with space to write.
- Review once a week.A ten-minute board meeting: look back, keep what helped, plan the week ahead.
Real pages from the journal. Tap any page to enlarge.
Tools students keep using
Reusable pages built into the journal — copy them into a notebook or print them again and again.
- Daily CEO Check-InOne priority before the day. Result, lesson and next step after it.
- Seven-Day Habit TrackerOne to three habits, planned days circled, honest follow-through counted.
- Weekly Board MeetingTen honest minutes. Three clear promises for the week ahead.
- Company CheckupsScore all eight departments at the start, the midpoint and the finish — plus a final company report and a 90-day plan.
Meet Mark Hanna
Commercial real estate broker, entrepreneur, and Managing Director of SVN | Hanna Solutions Commercial Real Estate
“I didn’t have my mom or dad raising me. By ninth grade, I felt like I had to grow up. So I paid attention. I asked adults for help. I watched people who were doing well and tried to understand how they got there.”
Mark was raised by his great-grandparents, born in 1912 and 1915. He started his career in banking and became a Vice President by age 24. In 2018, he and his wife, Tatiana, started Hanna Solutions and went all in on commercial real estate — today SVN | Hanna Solutions Commercial Real Estate works with investment groups, developers and property owners across Texas.
In high school, Mark started thinking about the family he hoped to have one day. He hadn’t met them yet, but he wanted to make them proud. That purpose gave his decisions meaning — and it’s the same idea he hands to students in this journal.
You are the CEO of you. Keep learning. Keep building.
Give it to a student you believe in.
Some students have never been shown what’s possible. A parent, teacher, coach, counselor or mentor handing them this journal can be the person who does.
Send the digital edition — your download email is easy to forward to the student — or give a printed copy in person. Every printed journal includes digital access.
Equipping a class, team, youth group or school? Email support@youaretheceoofyou.com about group orders.
- A freshmanStarting high school and learning to lead themselves.
- A student athleteBuilding habits, handling results, and staying coachable.
- A graduating seniorComparing real next steps: college, training, work and more.
- A student carrying a lotReminded they can start where they are and ask for help.
Not in high school?There’s an edition for adults — same system, written for working life, family and money in the real world.
See the Adult EditionGet the High School Edition
Freshman to senior year
Start building your personal company today.
Digital edition
$29.99
- 66-page journal PDF: a personal note from Mark, 30 reading pages, 30 practice pages and reusable tool pages
- Daily CEO Check-In, Seven-Day Habit Tracker, Weekly Board Meeting and company checkups built in
- Instant download after your payment is confirmed
- Prints on standard 8.5 × 11 in paper
Printed edition + digital
$39.99 + shipping
- A bound, printed copy to write in
- Everything in the digital edition, included
- A ready-to-give option for parents, teachers and mentors
- [Shipping cost and ship date to confirm before launch]
Questions
What ages is this edition for?
High school students, freshman through senior year. Entries speak directly to student life: assignments, tryouts, friendships, phones, part-time money, and planning what comes after graduation.
Does my student have to share what they write?
No. The writing is personal. In a class or group, students share only what they choose, and no one needs to disclose private family or money details.
Can it be used in a class, team or youth group?
Yes — it works well read together with the practice done privately. Email support@youaretheceoofyou.com about group orders for a class, team or organization.
Do they need to write every day?
No. The 30 entries are self-paced. The rhythm is one useful action a day, a short board meeting once a week, and checkups at the start, midpoint and finish.
What file do I get, and how is it delivered?
A 66-page journal PDF. Your download is available immediately after payment on the confirmation page, and a download link is also emailed to you. Links stay valid for 7 days.
What is the refund policy?
Digital purchases are generally final once downloaded, but we fix file problems, resend lost links, and refund duplicate or mistaken charges. Damaged printed journals are replaced free. Read the full refund policy.
A note on privacy
The journal reminds students that their writing is personal, and that asking a trusted adult for help is part of leading themselves — not something to be ashamed of.
Freshman or senior, you can take a useful step from where you are.
Start Building – $29.99