Written by: Ben Warnes, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Did you know that asking the right questions can unlock career opportunities you didn't even know existed? It doesn't matter whether you're an entrepreneur looking to build your very own business or an employee who wants to grow or advance your career. Questions are powerful; you should constantly ask questions if you want a growth mindset.
The most important question you should ask is "why". Challenge standard ways of thinking ‒ look for new ideas and concepts.
The right questions
Life is all about asking the right questions. Don't waste time answering the wrong questions. The more questions you ask, the more answers you get, and the more solutions you find the answers to.
An excellent start to finding the right questions is to ask yourself these five questions when starting something.
What is really important to you?
What is it you really want?
How are you going to get it?
What is preventing you from getting it?
How will you know when you have it?
However, it is also essential to ask the questions nobody else is asking. These types of questions are great because you open up different answers across the board and find new ways to solve problems.
The power of being able to think about things in a different way is so important. This type of thinking isn't smart, and it isn't stupid either ‒ it is simply different.
The power of why
There are a few other words which have as much power in a conversation as "why".
Why is a simple word, but it can create radical shifts in perspective and opportunities and take you to levels that were never possible before when you ask why you open the door for a thought-provoking conversation.
The power of being a novice
There's actually a power in being a novice. When you're new to something, you do your best to learn everything you can as quickly as possible. You approach everything with an open mind, which is helpful in making good decisions.
When you become an expert in something, it's actually a lot harder for you to solve problems. You stop asking all the simple or left-field, out-of-the-box questions newcomers ask because you know better. This lack of openness and naivety can hold you back in many situations.
The power of being an outsider
If you want to impact things profoundly, you need to stop and think about problems as if you were an outsider. If you think about the last time you tried to solve a problem and got stuck, you'll probably realise that you spent a long time working on the issue, trying to find a solution. However, no matter what you thought about, you couldn't do it. It was only when you asked for an outside perspective that things suddenly became apparent, as that person approached the situation in a way you would never have thought to do.
That's the power of looking at things from an outside perspective. You see something you wouldn't have done previously, so you learn and grow. Sometimes, to create the world we want to see, we have to look at things from a brand-new perspective, which is often different from ours.
The power of thinking smaller
If you want to solve a big problem, sometimes you have to break it down into minor issues. Trying to tackle a massive problem by yourself can be difficult. Instead, think about which small problems you need to address to solve the big one. If you break a challenge down into small pieces, then it becomes much more manageable to try and do.
Three questions to ask before starting something new
Why this?
The first big question to ask yourself is, "why this?" Whatever it is that you want to do, try and think about how solving this problem will affect people. If you're going to help improve someone's life, then the right decision to carry on trying to tackle this problem. In situations like this, you need to focus on the why rather than the how.
Why now?
Try and think about what you're doing right now. Does it have relevance for the future? You don't want to start a project so niche that it becomes obsolete in a few years. Whatever you do, you want to make sure that it has the potential to be a long-term project that will pay dividends.
Why me?
Try and answer the question of why this project needs to be completed by you by thinking about what your unique impact will be. What do you bring to the task? What is it that you're contributing? You need to consider what kind of questions you're asking because the right questions will make you popular in your community.
Final thoughts
Remember that every question you ask opens up the opportunity for a new pathway. Not every path will lead to the success you want, but they can play a pivotal role in getting to a point where you ask the right question and open up the right pathway for you.
Ben Warnes, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ben Warnes is a Transformational Leadership and Life Coach. He employs his signature LMA Coaching Framework with his clients to help them understand where they are and partners with them on their journey to where they want to be.
He has an MBA in Leadership and Management and is a certified ICF and EMCC Transformational Coach. An advocate of Flow, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology he is dedicated to helping others find their Meaningfulness. He is the founder of the Listening Mindset Action (LMA) Framework, developing it to coach remarkable people to achieve incredible goals. He believes no goal is too small and no dream is too big.
Having started his first business at the age of 14, he has worked for blue chip companies and started multiple successful businesses in London and New York. He still runs Westongate a successful high-end property development company in Surrey England. Ben knows from experience the path to success is littered with obstacles and believes the obstacle often is the way.
He is currently working “Find your meaningfulness,” a framework for maximising potential life satisfaction and fulfilment.
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