Everybody looks for answers but it is questions that shape lives. What questions are you asking to direct your job/work/career, relationships, retirement, giving back, etc.? Good questions allow you to dance with life. Bad ones and you will probably be pushed around by it instead.
1) Should I Ask Narrow or Broad Questions?
a) Narrow questions are for choosing between two to three options you have already decided to pursue. For example, shall I take a position with Microsoft at 80K or Apple at 90K? If salary is the only issue, you will wind up working at Apple.
But what if you like the corporate culture better, or they offered stock options on top or you saw more upward mobility at Microsoft? What would you choose then?
b) Broad questions are for matching what you want to be, do and have in your life with ALL the possible choices.
For example, if you have been downsized from your job and decide to pursue dreams of building a business, you have to figure out your niche.
What industry suits you - accounting, finance, sales, computers, environment, real estate, etc.?
How much money do you want to make and how fast?
How much time are you willing to invest?
Do you have sufficient capital to launch your start-up, how much is required and how long before you see a return?
Who will your customers be - individuals or companies, domestic or international, online, offline or both, people-centric or technology-centric?
What do the market trends indicate about your chosen path?
2) How Can I Make the Most Effective Distinctions?
Ask yourself,
What did I enjoy most in my various jobs (industry, activities, teamwork, culture, finance, marketing, etc.) or relationships (funny, smart, rich, tall, interesting, cultured, whatever)? What did I like least?
Where do I spend my time? Look there for your passionate commitments.
Who do I like spending time with and what qualities must be present?
In the balance between time and money, what do I need and want?
Where will I live (city, country, suburbs, hot or cold, etc.)?
What kind of lifestyle is important to me and my family?
When my life is in balance, what does or should it look like?
3) How Do I Develop Rainmaker Skills?
In life, unless you are in a stable job (which, in this economy, is a precarious certainty), it just makes sense to learn how to generate income and be able to be self-reliant and self-sufficient. Life is unpredictable, just ask the Bernie Madoff victims or the rank-and-file at Lehman Brothers or the employees at Enron. Fortunately, there are so many ways to do that with new technologies. Here we go again... asking questions.
Am I outgoing and extroverted so sales and making presentations is easy?
Am I introverted but very comfortable with Web 2.0 technologies, Internet and affiliate business online?
Each choice has pros and cons. The extrovert may want a back office tech person who could be in-person or virtual. The introvert will probably want to team up with somebody who can make direct sales.
Once you have made the proper distinctions, what do you need to learn to maximize your ability to make money?
In St. Exupery's The Little Prince, the fox tells the little prince that he is unique in all the world. I believe that is true of each of us. We all have a choice to make - to live into our fullness or not, to fulfill our goals and dreams or not. If we choose to shrink back from who we can be and what we have to contribute in the world, nobody can take our place.
What dreams lie in you, expectantly waiting to be realized in action?
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