Asking Questions and Getting Truthful Answers is Critical to Our Survival

I just finished reading Ken Coleman’s book One Question: Life-Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices. Published in 2013, the book is very relevant to the challenges we face individually, for families, businesses and society. He shares interviews with one unique question for each of the 36 famous people including Jimmy Carter on reinvention, John McCain on courage, and Ken Blanchard on leading with love.

The book cites a quote from Albert Einstein, “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”

The book’s three main themes of succeeding, surviving, and sustaining provide structure to the insightful and inspirational questions and answers.

With thinking of our current global crisis of COVID-19 several of the interviews are relevant on dealing with fear, obstacles, starting over, accountability, gratitude, health, fulfillment, legacy, passing the torch, and more.

One interview with Tony Robbins is particularly relevant in response to Ken Coleman’s question, “How can dream chasers achieve their full potential and find fulfillment in life?”

Tony Robbins response includes the statement, “Whatever we focus on affects our state, and our state then affects the story we have about who we are, what life is about, what’s possible, and what’s not. From that story we often determine whether or not we will maximize our capabilities and the strategies that will help us achieve what we’re truly after in a sustainable way.”

Here Tony Robbins is talking about our state of mind affecting our physiology and opportunities to achieve our potential. Asking the right questions and getting truthful answers from our loved ones to our customers, managers, and government leaders is so very critical especially during a pandemic crisis.