 Values
Magazine
Questions to Get Ahead in Life
By Andy Andrews
Published: November / December 2008
When I was researching the
key principles for my life, I asked a variety of
celebrities, politicians, and professionals some key
questions to help find out what has made them
successful. I chose questions that helped me see them in
different ways. Being a firm believer that the quality
of our answers is determined by the quality of our
questions, I have used these opportunities to ask what I
believe are some great ones. I wanted to ask questions
that would either confirm what I already knew or lead me
to a broader definition of the truth. I asked questions
like:
-
What is the greatest
disappointment in your life and how did you overcome it?
-
What’s the most important
decision you’ve ever made in your life?
-
What’s the worst decision
you’ve ever made in your life?
-
If you were to give an
eighteen-year-old one specific piece of wisdom, what
would it be?
Whenever you get the
opportunity to talk to a successful person, one who has
overcome adversity and overwhelming odds, be sure to
have some questions in mind, the answers to which will
provide you with an education.
When I asked Jimmy Dean how he defined success, he wrote
back saying that success and wealth is a state of mind:
My grandfather,
W.J.Taylor, was the most successful and wealthy man I
ever knew, and I doubt seriously that he ever made more
than $10,000 in any given year in his life. But he was
the best farmer in Hale County, Texas. He knew that. He
had the straightest fences, the cleanest end-rows. He
had the neatest barn and the neatest house. He raised
nine kids; he had a great relationship with the man
upstairs and a wonderful inner peace. To me, this is
success and wealth.
I asked him what the keys
were to his success. One of them was hard work, about
which he commented:
I have no use for anyone
who can help themselves and does not. . . . My greatest
fear is that with all our federal aid, state aid, city
aid, county aids, etc., that there are going to be many
wonderfully talented people who will never be forced to
find out what their talent is.”
I submit to you that one of
the greatest resources for getting ahead in life is
people. Talk to people who have been through the muck
and have come out on the other side. Ask them how they
handled adversity, how they overcame, what they value
most. They are questions like these that will lead to
the best tools to succeed.
Andy Andrews has quietly
become one of the most influential people in America. A
professional noticer, a powerful communicator, a
teacher, and a serious fisherman, Andrews is a
best-selling author with millions of books in print. He
is also an in-demand speaker for some of the world’s
largest organizations. Andy has spoken at the request of
four different United States presidents and toured
military bases around the world at the request of the
Department of Defense. Arguably, there is no single
person on the planet better at weaving subtle, yet
life-changing, lessons into riveting tales of adventure
and intrigue—both on paper and on stage. For more
information: www.AndyAndrews.com
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