questions

How will you measure your life?

Recently I read a post by Jason Fried on 37Signals blog explaining why we can only teach someone who are willing to learn.

He met up with the author of Innovator's Dilemma, Clayton Christensen who said (paraphrased by Jason), "Questions are places in your mind where answers fit. If you haven't ask the question, the answer has nowhere to go. It his your mind and bounces right off. You have to ask the question - you have to want to know - in order to open up the space for the answer to fit."

Clayton's latest book (How will you measure your life?) is also full of insights on how we should approach our career, family and life in general. He provides interesting and insightful examples from the business world.

his book does not offer answers but rather tells you how to think about decision you make in your career, family and life. It tells you the type of question you should be ask when deciding your career path, what kind of family you want to raise and ultimately what kind of person you want to be.

It's a book I recommend EVERYONE to read. Go get it NOW!

Always ask questions

I noticed some people don't seem to ask questions in situations where they should be doing so. You should always ask more about the product you are buying. You could also ask others to know of a better way to do something. And when they do ask, they tend to ask the wrong ones. There are things that you should already know and there are those that you should ask the right person. Knowing what and who to ask are equally important.

One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.

Some people refuse to ask questions to not look stupid. That is probably the worst thing they can ever do. Ask questions whenever you can.

Not just how but why

What if you need to do something that you don't know how to do? Most of us will only ask how do I do it but there's a small number who will also question the reason why they need to do it. They ask why and the rest of us should be like them. It seems that we are taught, trained and conditioned to ask how but never to ask why. Knowing the reason we do something gives us a sense of purpose and you tend to perform better when you know exactly why you are doing something.

Asking why also encourages creativity and curiosity. Why can't I do it this way? Why must I do it in this order? Can I not do this and just do that? It lets you come up with unorthodox solutions to problems.

We should never be afraid to ask why. Why? Because if you don't, you are just a sheep like everyone else. And sheep are unremarkable.