"Great minds ask great questions."

~ Michael Gelb from How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday

Got a journal? If not, time to get one!

Da Vinci carried his everywhere. So should you.

Jot down your ideas, thoughts, questions, dreams, whatever. As you gain more clarity and creativity, you’ll be glad you did.

[Did you know: In 1994, Bill Gates bought 18 sheets (of the 7,000 existing) from da Vinci’s notes for 30.8 million bucks. Not bad, eh?]

Here’s an incredible exercise for that new journal of yours. It’s called "100 Questions" and goes like this:

Find a comfortable place. Sit down. Write. Make a list of 100 questions you find interesting. Write about whatever’s on your mind. Questions can range from “Why is the sky blue?” and “How can I optimize my health?” to "What are my greatest strengths?” and “What am I most passionate about?”

Odds are that the first few questions will flow and then it will be a little tougher. Fight through the desire to walk away and finish them all in one sitting. Then read through your list and note the themes that emerge. Consider these emerging themes without judging them. Are your questions about Business? Relationships? Self-Growth? Money? The Meaning of Life?

Top 10 Questions.

Once you’ve done that, review your list of 100 questions and choose the 10 that you find most significant. Then rank them in importance from 1 to 10.

The questions I came up with 6 years ago when I first did this exercise have guided my life since. Without exaggeration, this is probably the most powerful exercise I’ve ever done.

So what’re you waiting for?!? Go find some quiet time and start asking those questions! :)

(Extra: I highly recommend the book. In it (along with allllll kinds of other great ideas), Gelb provides a host of other exercises as well as a set of “power questions” including one of the most powerful questions I have ever pondered:

“What if I could find some way to get paid for doing what I love?”

This one simple question has shaped my life more than any other.)

…

[ My questions? On Saturday, June 8^th, 2001, I wrote these ten questions:

1. How do I master myself and control my will/how do I become a warrior? [I was into Way of the Peaceful Warrior at that stage.]

2. What is love? How do I live with agape, philos and eros?

3. What is the optimal life? How do I live this life?

4. What is health? How do I achieve optimal health/energy/power?

5. What is important to me?

6. How can I inspire others to reach their potential and to love life?

7. Who are the 10 greatest wisdom philosophers?

8. Who are the 10 greatest examples of this wisdom in action?

9. What is living in the moment? How do I do that?

10. Why is religion so widespread?

Wow. Just typing those out gave me goosebumps… seeing how much they have influenced my life…

I hope you do the exercise!!! ]

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