How Questions Power Up Your Life

Leonardo Da Vinci kept a notebook with him at all times so he could record his thoughts and questions that occurred to him. I think you’d agree that he was pretty successful, right?

Most of us just float through our days and don’t exercise our curiosity enough, nor do we do enough self-reflection.

Asking yourself free-flowing questions is a way to unleash your curiosity in a way that expands your perspective about any number of topics. This can be a great way to help you improve your life.

I used this technique and it resulted in me starting my first business. It was 1999. My children were 16 and 14. They were growing up fast and I was missing much of it because of my job at an ad agency. My office was an hour commute each way. Plus, most of my clients were out of town, so I traveled. A lot.

I wrote my list and some interesting things arose. The best question I posed was this: What is the one thing I could do or stop doing that would most improve my life? The answer was: stop driving two hours per day.

This led to a lot more questions about how I could manage to stop commuting. The final answer was to start my own business, and work out of the house. This would give me the flexibility to be there for my kids and wife, and stop the stress of rush hour commuting. A win-win!

Here are a few other questions that popped up on my list, just to show you what directions your thoughts could take.

- How clear am I about where I want my life to go?
- Am I living true to myself?
- How creative am I?
- Am I taking care of myself?
- Do I stress over matters out of my control?
- Am I using my time in the best possible manner?
- Am I as happy as I could be?

OK, that’s enough of my list. Let’s use Da Vinci’s technique – and your questions – to help improve your life.

Got your notebook? Good. Now, go somewhere you won’t be disturbed, then start writing a list of 100 questions about something of significance to you. Could be anything from how can I make more money to what is my purpose in life.

Write quickly and record all 100 questions in one sitting. You’ll probably find the first 20 come easily. Themes will start to form as you move deeper into your list. You might be surprised at the insight you gain by the time you are finished.

I’d love to know what questions you developed. Please leave a ccomment.