Ask the Right Questions

“My role and gift in life is not to teach, preach, or convince anyone of anything. I am here to empower others to get their own answers, access their true dreams, and overcome anything that gets in the way of making those dreams a reality.” – Dr. Bruce D. Schneider

This is the essence of coaching. This is also the essence of me. I was never one that felt like I had the answers to other people’s problems, but I always knew how to help. I always found myself asking more questions than providing what I thought were the right answers. What I think is right, may in fact not be right for the other person. And in the end, someone who is asked the right questions and comes up with the answers to their own questions is more likely to follow those answers towards success.

Have you ever had someone tell you what to do? And do you always listen to those people who tell you what to do? Hopefully the answer to the second question is no, not always. Sure, we listen to “experts” all the time, but even the “experts” can be wrong. People sometimes need to experience things for themselves to come to a full understanding or appreciation. So even if the person you are listening to is right, it may not be right for you to follow blindly. Even mistakes can be valuable. In fact, a foundation principle from the Institute of Professional Excellence in Coaching is one that many people have a hard time with: “There are no mistakes.” To this point, if I may pull a quote from The Dark Knight, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.” It is the experience that we gain from our mistakes that help us grow and become stronger. Our experiences help define who we are.

In failure, we learn. In success, we celebrate. And if success were so easy, everyone would have it. But here’s a little secret…success is, in fact, easy to obtain. Sometimes you just need to ask the right questions in order to find it. Or maybe you already have it, but are not asking the right questions that define what success is to you. In either case, self-discovery will lead you there. Whether you need a personal coach to get you there or you can get there in your own way, true success brings a sense of pure happiness and fulfillment. For those reading this, I wish you to ask the right questions of yourself and find the kind of success that only you can define. I wish you to find the kind of success that aligns you with your true goals and your true self. After that, everything else simply falls into place.

Coach Randal Suozzo, CPC, ELI-MP