Why You Should Ask Yourself This Question 5 Times
Ask yourself this question 5 times. This trick is how experts solve difficult problems quickly.
It turns out, there's a quick and effective technique that experts use to solve problems. What's great about this technique is that it works for business problems just as well as it works for personal problems. It's a simple question but you have to ask yourself this question 5 times.
Ask yourself this question 5 times:
- Why are you doing all of this work?
- Why is that?
- And so why would that be?
- Why might you think that?
- Why again?
Seems ridiculous to ask yourself "why?" five times, but understanding the WHY behind your work is important.
This is the fastest way to move from surface curiosity to a root cause of a problem. This technique is well known in productivity circles like SixSigma.
One of the things I love about this is that it requires no math and it will help you call out the relationships between the problems you face.
It will also support your motivation, a constant daily battle for each of us. Here's a post I wrote about using the 5 Whys to solve business problems with a few extra tricks thrown in.
Sure, you don't need a great "why" to make money or do the things you want, but you do need a strong "why" if you want to live a life of social impact and purpose.
Audit your "why" and you will increase the chances of living a regret-free, purpose-driven life.
Audit your "why" in other areas of your work and life and you will get down to the real issue you need to address.
2 Minute Action
Ask yourself "why" 5 times.
You might be surprised at what you find.
If you have trouble doing this by yourself, enlist a friend to help push you.
No excuses.
The Most Common Excuses People Make (And How To Get Past a Them)
It helps if you know what to do.
It helps if you know when to do it.
It also helps if you have the skills, abilities, and resources to do it.
Of course, the reality is that you need none of these things to start.
Here is a list of common excuses that many of us constantly use to delay action:
“I don’t have a team.”
“I don’t have the time.”
“I don’t have the capital.”
“I don’t have the expertise.”
“I don’t have the motivation.”
“I don’t know if now is the best time.”
If you’ve ever said these to yourself, now is a good time to look hard and long at those statements.
Fight back.
Make each excuse prove itself why it’s true—because the real truth is that you can figure it out how to get past it.
You don’t have to be a genius and you don’t have to billionaire and you don’t have to be an expert with 20 years of field experience to start.
You just have to prioritize your work, be deliberate about how you spend your time, live within your means, and keep rebounding after you mess up.
That’s it.
Instead of designing your logo and buying the domain for your website, call potential clients.
Instead of browsing Banana Republic’s last sales email, set up a Gmail filter to hide emails like those and go talk to a customer.
Instead of raising money and giving away all your equity, put together a PowerPoint that looks like what the software will look like and get your first customer. (Customers pat you today and you never have to pay them back. Investors will own your business and decisions until you buy them out.)
2 Minute Action
Write a Facebook or LinkedIn post asking your network if they know any experts you’d like to talk to.
Look at your calendar and cut out a little time on one or two days of your week to work on this project. You may have to give up social or TV time.
Define the 3 features of your MVP “minimum viable product.” This is the bare minimum you need to make a sale or get a user. This is derived from Eric Ries’ “Lean Startup.”
Send an email asking your students, clients, patients or customers for feedback.
The Easiest Way To Stick To Your 2019 Resolution
It’s February!
How are you doing with your 2019 resolutions?
This is the month where everyone stops going to the gym, starts eating sugar again, or caves one whatever they were working toward.But not you.You’re committed and you know better.If you’re thinking about quitting, consider this . . .
2 Minute Action:
Ask someone to be your accountabilibuddy.This is someone who will stick beside you on your mission or someone who will keep you accountable to your goal.This is someone who will challenge your excuses and listen with empathy when progress is slow.If you need one and don’t know who to ask, just let me know. I have a whole bunch of readers with the same problem.