Is Asking Life Training Questions Out of the Question?

| by Gary F. Eby | December 12, 2008
By Asking Questions you’ll find out how much people know … or don’t know. Both are important!

Asking Questions is important for a lot of reasons. You need to know what it is people really want and asking questions creates Life Training opportunities.

Let me explain with an example. I’m a voracious reader. I have to be careful what I leave laying around … I’ll read it. I’ve read the Bible from Genesis to the maps through in a month. I read newspapers, magazines, books, and signs. I read songbooks! Reading creates many Life Training Opportunities!

One day I happened to pick up a book … and a man was talking about drill bits. Now, to be fair, I have to tell you … I am not a handyman. My wife was raised in the home of a super handyman! She learned how to do everything. And, like her father, she loves to “putter” and fix stuff. When a toilet is stopped up … my kids yell for Mama. And, who am I to keep her from what she loves? Meanwhile back at the drill bits. I was reading, and it was so well written I became engrossed in it.

On and on he went exposing the virtues of drill bits. I got all enthused and told my wife all about drill bits and she just scratched her head. Then I told her! Honey … last year over a million people bought 1/2” drill bits. She was not impressed. So, being a good father, I repeated all of this to my daughters. They were equally unimpressed.

So, at the dinner table that night I again told them that last year over a million people bought 1/2” drill bits. They just laughed and said … so what! I then said … that out of the million people who bought 1/2” drill bits … not one of them wanted one. They looked at me like I was crazy. I said it again. That’s true … out of the million people who bought 1/2” drill bits last year… not one of them wanted a 1/2” drill bit! They got vocal. Why did they buy it then? They left their homes, drove to the store, paid their hard earned money and none of them.. Not one of them wanted one? I said … “that’s right … what they wanted was… 1/2” holes.”

We need to know what people want before we can help them. You find that out by Asking Questions. They want to know … what’s in it for me? They will give us direction … if we just ask! (Life Training Opportunity clue!)

It’s important to learn how to ask questions if you don’t understand directions. There’s a story about a blonde who was hard up for money, so she walked around her neighborhood, trying to find a job. She met a nice man who said he would give her some work. All she had to do was paint his porch white. He gave her a bucket of paint and left.

He walked into his house, laughing. He told his wife what he had done. ”Frank, our porch covers half of the house! You’re so mean,” his wife replied. He just laughed.

Three hours later, the blonde came into the house, and gave the bucket of white paint back to the man. The astonished man handed her a $100 bill, and asked how she finished it so quickly.

”It didn’t take that much time … really … it was easy.” she said. ”Oh, and by the way it’s a Ferrari, not a Porsche.”

Oh no! She should have asked questions. He should have asked some questions to make sure she understood. And we should understand that it is a powerful principle to ask questions!

The point? We make many mistakes by failing to ask the right questions. If we are aware, Life Training teaches us how to ask questions.

Our generation needs to ask questions. Robert Orben says … “You have to question any period in history in which people are saying that God is dead and Elvis is alive.

So questions are good! It shows others that you are teachable

I read a story about a single woman who had just inherited enough money to quit work. She found out that getting her own credit cards was not easy, though, since she didn’t have any “acceptable” means of support!

In other words, a husband and a job. “If they would just ask the right questions,” she said, while she was looking over a gasoline company application form. She went ahead though and filled it out and sent it in. But just like the rest, this application was rejected. She got really aggravated, and she wrote back “I have something much more reliable than a husband or an employer…I have stock in your company. If you are okay, I am okay.” Her credit card arrived two weeks later. They were asking the wrong questions (Life Training Opportunity clue).

Jay Leno frequently does a “man-on-the-street” interview, and one night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. “Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?” he asked two college-age women. One replied, “Freedom of speech?” Mr. Leno said to the other, “Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin…” Her response was, “have a good time?” Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, “Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?” The confident answer was, “Pinocchio.” Finding out what people don’t know can be just as revealing as finding out what they do know (Life Training Opportunity clue).

So never be afraid to ask questions! And always .. always … always be ready to answer them! Here’s a great question. Do YOU ask enough questions? Asking Questions is not out of the question (Life Training is all about asking the right questions)!

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About the Author

Gary Eby, a member of the Jim Rohn Speaker Bureau, is gifted to teach deep truths in a clear and easily understandable style. His messages are power-packed and often filled with laughter and practical illustrations. He has shared the stage with great speakers such as Jim Rohn and Les Brown. Not only is Gary a sought after speaker, but he is also an author whose personal development book Lefthanded Soldiers has received worldwide attention. You may receive a free copy at www.garyeby.com/freebook.htm » Read more articles by Gary F. Eby
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