The right question carries half the solution to the issue. Every successful person began their course after answering specific questions. If you are at the onset or the middle of your journey to success you must remind yourself of these questions for you or your company to remain relevant at all times.
Pick a pen and paper and journey with me as we navigate the questions that billionaires, Presidents, CEOs, religious figures, and all public figures answered before and after their greatness.
Why do I Exist?
Existence is common between great people and the average man. At the end of their life, the impact they would have had will display who between them knew of their existence. A man like Steve Jobs died after making an impact that will last generations after him because he answered the question “Why do I exist”.
Answering this question gives you a vision of what you want to become or produce. Once you get the vision, you get direction, and a determination to follow this direction is ignited within your soul.
After answering this question, the images that come into your mind give your soul the power to endure and strive when challenges come. Do not venture into anything worth success without having a vision of what you want to become in 5, 10, or 20 years.
Who are the beneficiaries of your solutions?
The person you become or the product you produce is often a response to a need projected by people. Before the iPhone was introduced, Steve Jobs observed that people carried several gadgets to meet their needs: a phone for calls, a camera for taking photos, and a Walkman for music.
In his mind, he saw a device that could meet all these needs. In January 2007, he pioneered the release of the first iPhone that changed the history of technology and humans. Before coming up with this generational solution, he saw people who could benefit from his solution.
The strategy Stev Jobs employed can be done by any person. Your vision must respond to a SPECIFIC need or problem. When you are looking for the beneficiaries of the solutions you offer, I would recommend that you also answer the following questions
- What does your target audience need or what problems do they have that you can fix?
- What are some of the things they want to achieve?
- What are some of the ways they can meet their needs?
- What cost are they willing to pay to get their needs met?
Once you answer these 4 questions, your mind begins to form a blueprint of the type of person you want to become or the product you want to pioneer. The answer to these questions will lead you to the next question.
What tools/skills/resources do I need?
When you get to answer this question, your mind already has an image of the product or the person you want to become. The challenge now is gathering the raw materials that will help you fashion your vision into reality.
The system of life is designed to make available resources that meet all your needs in exact measure and at times more than enough. This life design works for those who know it.
For 29 years the nation of Kenya was ruled by a single political party. Any rise of a party that opposed the ruling party was quickly swept under the rug. Kenyans understood that having multiple parties would meet their vision of having a democratic party.
They fought on regardless of the resistance from the ruling Party. In 1991, then-President Daniel Arap Moi consented to the needs of the Kenyans. Kenya is now said to have one of the most progressive constitutions. This achievement started with their quest for multiple parties. The system of life bowed to the persistence of Kenyans and gave them the tools to build what they needed.
By default, he who has life and a vision has the resources, to make their vision a reality. Immediately you know the skills, resources, or tools you need to meet the needs of others, life will give them to you if you persist.
What is the most important aspect of the vision to do now?
Every goal comes with a series of uniquely organized steps that guide the vision bearer toward realizing it. The vision bearer must know what to do at a particular time. At this stage, he does not have the luxury of doing many things.
No matter what stage you are in life, there is something you can do that will take you closer to your dreams. You MUST know what you want to do at that time.
When the most influential person in the world, Jesus Christ, started his pursuit to save the world, he lived in the lowly estates in Galilee. His position in life did not deter him from seeing his vision. He started by calling and teaching 12 people the true doctrine of life.
Jesus started with what he had and where he was. Now, more than 2,000 years later people are still speaking of what he did. His vision came to pass. He taught us that no situation is void of things that can change your life forever. When you realize these things, start doing them immediately.
Who does What?
By the time you are asking yourself this question, you have more than one person actively involved in bringing your vision to reality.
You must realize that you cannot do everything by yourself. At this stage, the power of delegation comes into play. Delegate as much as possible and clearly define positional roles to avoid conflict of interest.\
Answering “who does what” will save you from burnout and allow you to focus on duties only you can do. If you desire a thriving family answering this question will get you halfway towards getting it. Once children reach age, the parents should start allocating defined responsibilities for getting the house running well.
Once the parents stop worrying about getting the house cleaned, garbage taken out and the dogs being fed, they will focus on important matters like financing bills, paying school fees, and building next-generation wealth.
What are the distractions to avoid?
Never forget the second question’s answer. It is the foundation of your values, ethics, code of operation, and code of conduct. Continually meeting target beneficiaries’ needs keeps your business, vision, or personal life from going backward.
AVOID everything that demands compromising from the values you created. Kodak Company was the go-to company in the mid-90s for photography needs. The company failed to grow beyond the 20th century after failing to answer the second question.
People’s needs had switched to digital but Kodak stuck their guns on hard copy. Their fall proved that offering solutions to people’s needs is a foundational factor for keeping people in business.
Although having great success is exciting, it should not shock us as much because history records millions of people who have had success. All of them left us with clues that led them to great success and those who followed the template also had success. The template they had for success included a clear vision of their purpose for living and a system that actualized and sustained their vision.
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