Aung Hlaing - Change your life by changing your questions

Chapter (1)

The moment of truth

If we want knowledge, we have to make a whole new world of new questions our own.

Susanne Kellengar

To truly change our lives, we need to be able to ask specific questions to get the right answers for all of us in that moment of realizing the truth.

Ben's story

The inscription on the fragrant dark wood paper on my desk reads:

"Great results can only be achieved by asking great questions."

I received the paper clip with the life-changing caption as a gift from my friend Joseph S. Edwards. Joseph S. Edwards was the one who first introduced me to thinking about life-changing questions. He taught me how to be a good questioner and also guided me in the right direction when it came to solving problems.

Thanks to Joseph, when I learned to think about questions, that ability to think allowed me to experience an "openness and freedom of mind" that I had never found or felt before.

My life has been shaped by Joseph's guidance and the ability to think through questions, and those skills have served me well in my career, my marriage, and other areas.

I started my career with a company that was preparing me for the future. The company I joined was QTec, and a friend warned me that accepting a position at that company could be risky. I trusted the CEO of QTec, Alexa Hattie, and the CEO offered me the position.

Alex and I worked together for many years at KB Corporation, and Alex was my former employer. Alex was truly a God-given leader and a valuable asset to me. I started out as an engineering professional. When I joined Q Tec, I faced a variety of technical challenges and other business issues.

Alexa encouraged me. I understood that she was genuinely encouraging me to do my best in leadership education.

The team I was leading was doing a great job. But I was facing a lot of problems that I couldn't solve, so I decided to resign. So I walked to Alexa Hattie's office and placed my resignation letter on the table.

And before I could say anything, I glanced around at Alexa's office. Her office was very grand. The room seemed even bigger than the living room.

I looked at the floor of the office I had just walked through, and saw a green carpet, soft and smooth to the touch. In the center of the office was a large coffee table made of walnut wood.

“Sit down,” Alexa gestured and verbally told me to sit down. Then Alexa herself sat down in the empty seat and prepared to listen to what I had to say.

"Now... tell me, how can I help you?"

As soon as Alexa finished speaking, I pointed to the envelope on the table and said, "That's my resignation letter. I'm sorry I can't continue, Alexa."

At this point, Alexa picked up the envelope and pushed it in front of me.

“Take this resignation letter back. I know all about your situation better than you do. I want you to work for me for at least a few months. I want you to accept what I say, Ben.”

Alexa said what she had to say and waited for me to respond. After a moment, she continued:

“Many years ago, I faced adversity like you. I didn’t shy away from it, I just faced it head on. At that moment, I realized that if I wanted to succeed, I needed to make a fundamental change. I had to work hard and work hard. It didn’t come easy to me to become a CEO. During that time, I met a man named Joseph. He asked me simple, fundamental questions. Those questions opened up doors that I thought I would never be able to walk through.

Joseph asked me another important question. “Are you willing to take responsibility for your own mistakes?” He continued, “Try to forgive yourself if you are willing. Try to laugh, smile, and be happy. Find the values ​​in your experiences and apply them to your practical benefit. Try to learn from what happened and make the necessary changes.”

Alexa happily told me about the above, including how she and Joseph were able to work together successfully, and how Joseph had transformed not only her life but also the life of her husband, Stan, and how they had achieved great success in all areas.

According to Stan himself, it was Joseph's guidance that enabled him to successfully transform all of his company's operations and grow.

I finally understood that asking questions can change your life, and changing your questions can change your life. CEO Alexa gave me a very valuable piece of advice. Her advice was hard for me to understand at first, but when I thought about it carefully, I realized it was a very meaningful piece of advice.

You will soon understand what I mean when I say, “Questions are what change people’s lives.” The next thing I want to say is that I want you to work with my good friend and mentor, Joseph. That way, you will make significant progress in a short period of time. So, I will meet with Joseph. Let’s schedule a date and time for you to meet. I can assure you that working with Joseph will be beneficial for you.”

This situation has become a matter of reflection for me. Will I now have to decide the course of my life? I no longer have plans to quit my job. I am only anxious about meeting Joseph.

Alexa noticed my confusion and smiled. Then she continued:

“I call Joseph an inquiry coach because he changes the questions he asks. The questions he changes are the questions that change our lives.”

After a while, Alexa handed me an envelope. And she said this:

“Now, I have written a prediction of mine in this envelope. You must not open this envelope until you and Joseph have finished working together. I want you to open it only after you have finished your work. I want you to open it only when I tell you that it is time to open it, and when you open it, you will read it. You will accept what I say, right, Ben?”

After he finished speaking, Alex handed me Joseph’s business card. I flipped the card over and saw a large question mark “?” written on the back. It was really disturbing to see it. I had a lot to think about. The thought of working with a man with a large question mark on his business card made me feel depressed. Questions like, “Is he a man who goes against my beliefs? What kind of person is Joseph?” started to race through my mind. After a while, I walked back to my office. My head was spinning. I sat down in the chair behind my desk. What should I do next? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? What should I do? The questions kept coming back to me.

My eyes wandered aimlessly to the office walls. I kept hearing a quote from Albert Einstein. “Question everything.” Everyone understood that if the leader was right, there would always be the right answer, and that it was time for me to find out for myself whether I was right or wrong.

As I sat in my chair , I looked again at Joseph's business card that Alex had given me. Another thought occurred to me: Alex had never asked about my wife, Grace. Alex loved my wife very much. Alex had even been there for our wedding.

I noticed how upset she was when she saw that my wife and I were struggling financially. I looked back at Joseph's business card and thought about how much Joseph had helped Alex and her husband Stan. Then I thought about where I was going next and decided to follow Albert Einstein's advice: "Question everything."