Questions are the Keys

“He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers.” - Cameroon Proverb That’s how Awaken the Giant Within author Tony Robbins opens his chapter entitled “Questions are the Answer,” and that’s a big reason why I started Sam’s Dream Blog. You and I might share the same longing to maximize potential.  Similarly, you too might be in the early stages of that success journey.  Of course, on any trip you need fuel and at least some idea of where you’re going, so I thought why not seek pointers from fellow explorers who have been at this a little longer than I.  Tony Robbins, for example.

Here are five of my favorite thoughts from the chapter:

1. “Our questions determine our thoughts.” What makes some people succeed, whereas other more accomplished people fall short?  Robbins realized, “It's not the events that shape my life that determine how I feel and act, but, rather, it's the way I interpret and evaluate my life experiences.”

2. “Questions determine everything we do in life.”   They are responsible for our action or our lack of action.  How many people never take action because they keep asking questions that create doubt? Robbins wonders.

3. “Questioning our limitations is what tears down the walls in life…” Robbins follows that statement with a quote from George Bernard Shaw: “Some men see things as they are, and say, ‘Why?’; I dream things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”  In other words, “Who says it can’t be done?”

4. Ask questions that support your goals. You are made to find answers to the questions you ask.  The key, then, is to ask questions that help you, rather than hurt you.  Walt Disney, for example, would not consider questions about possible failure.  Instead, he consistently asked how improvements could be made.

5. All human progress is preceded by new questions. If questions are what move you and me forward, what questions do we need to be asking?  Robbins makes the point that evaluation is simply asking and answering better questions, and questions guide our focus.  So where do you go from here?  It sounds like it depends on what questions we are willing to ask.

Thanks for reading!  Let me know your thoughts, and feel free to pose a question