Brian Johnson walks through the 100 Questions exercise, adapted from Michael Gelb. Sit with a journal for 45 to 60 minutes and write 100 questions about what matters to you, then pick your top 10 and rank them. Johnson completed it on June 8, 2001, and says his life still reflects those ten questions.
45 to 60 minutes.
100.
10.
Saturday, June 8, 2001.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another Arete. One degree, another micro chapter from my new book, Arete Activate youe Heroic Potential. This is one of my all time favorite exercises. 100 questions. An exercise to create a meaningful life. Michael Gelb wrote a great book called how to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. I can still vividly remember reading it shortly after selling my first business nearly 25 years ago. And it was life changing. Now Michael has a bunch of great exercises and distinctions to help us tap into our potential. Here's one of my favorites. It's called the 100 Questions Exercise. And it goes like this. Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for 45 to 60 minutes. Bring your journal and a pen and start writing down questions. We want 100 of them. Your questions can be about whatever comes to mind. Why is the sky blue? What's my purpose? Whatever you come up with is perfect. Just write them down again. We want 100 of them now. If you're like me, the first dozen or two will come pretty easily. And then you'll need to dig a little deeper. Don't stop until you get to 100. That's part one. Part two. Look at the list of questions and notice the themes that emerge. Maybe you had a bunch of questions about your health or relationships or purpose. Notice whatever categories and themes bubble up. Part three. Now you're ready for Showtime. Look at those 100 questions and pull out the 10 questions you find most powerful and meaningful. Note, it's not supposed to be easy. That's the point. No pressure, no diamonds. Once you have those 10 questions, rank order them from the most powerful question down. I did this exercise on Saturday, June 8, 2001. And my life is basically a reflection of my top 10 questions from that day. Which begs the question, what questions are guiding your life?
