Several years ago, I studied the motivational speaker/ author Anthony Robbins.
To say that it was a life- changing event would be to put it mildly. Although a couple of decades have past since I listened to his 30 day course (on cassette!) and read his two best sellers in paperback, I can confidently say that there has never been a day that has passed that I haven’t used SOMETHING that I learned from him.
The genius of Anthony Robbins is his ability to study successful human beings (Everyone from Ghandi to Michael Jackson to Michael Jordan to Bill Clinton) and then to recognize the common traits that they all have. The thing that always stayed with me was his assertion that the ONLY thing that separates successful people from those who are less successful…. is the quality of the “Questions” that they ask.
Life is nothing more than a series of decisions. “What time should I get up?”…. “What should I have for breakfast?”…. “What to wear?”… “Should I go to work?”… “….go to the gym AFTER work?”.
Losers ask themselves things like….. “Why do I always have to be so busy?”… “How come bad things ALWAYS happen to me?“… “Why don’t they give us more time for lunch at work?”… etc….
Winners ask things like “How could I POSSIBLY get in a workout this week when I have to work 12 hours a day?”… “What could I pack to bring for lunch at work tomorrow that will help me to stay lean?”… “What can I do for 30 minutes after work to reduce my stress before heading home for the evening?”
Now…. asking BETTER questions is the first part of the equation. Let your mind run wild and come up with as many answers to your great question as possible. Some won’t make any sense, some will be easy to apply but inefficient and then the GREAT answers will move you in the direction that you want to go in.
When Oprah Winfrey committed to run a marathon, she was filming up to 15 hours a day. She initially shrugged her shoulders and said…. Oh well… I guess I just don’t have the time to train for this. Too bad. Her trainer looked at her and asked her; When could you POSSIBLY do your training if you are working from 5am to 8pm? She answered (with great sarcasm)… “I guess I could train at 4am and then again at 8pm!”
And that’s exactly what she did.
She trained at 4am and then again at 8pm. And then she ran a marathon.
Better questions. Better outcomes.
The QUESTIONS are always the answer. (…you just might not LIKE the answer!).
–Ernie Schramayr Owner All Canadian Fitness
All Canadian Fitness 