Can you tell me where you will be ten years from today. More than likely, with a certitude of 99.99%, the answer is no. I’ll leave a .01% for anything that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. We will call this .01% the exception to the rule. I’m sure you can assert an interesting and convincing argument of where you would like to be in ten years. But if you examine the phrases, you will see a big difference between “will be” and “like to be”.

Can you tell me where you were in your life ten years ago? More than likely, with a certitude of 99.99%, the answer is yes. I am sure there will be little arguing where you were in your life all those years ago. You can probably recount the events and include all the relevant characteristics, and qualities identifying each highlight. All this with clarity, color and total confidence. Imagine that, with total clarity and confidence. Don’t you wish you can describe your future with that much accuracy and ease. I’m not at this point in time going to say whether it is or isn’t.

In the blink of an eye, years can pass by. And it isn’t until you have that abrupt moment realizing how much time has passed. Do you see the same person when you look back? Hopefully you don’t see the same person today as you did ten years ago. If you feel that you do, how does that make you feel? Who cares, the real question is what are you going to do about it! Do you want to be the same person five years from now! Or do you want to be someone who succeeds and inspires.

As you have observed, I have dispensed more questions than I have bestowed my opinions. But in order to elicit and obtain some information to exploit or make use of, the asking of these questions, and more, are very important. In order for you to be conscious enough for the right change, you need to ask not just any question, but the right questions. And asking these questions is more of an art form. By asking yourself the correct questions, you will have a greater chance of getting an answer which will allow you to make a difference. You are asking a question for a purpose. The purpose could be to discover what progress you are making, or what your successes or failures are.

And you have to be very careful of the questions you ask. Ask the question with an imprecise method, and you can do more harm than good. As I said, asking questions is a form of art a type of science. For example, if you had to describe yourself to someone in a letter, which one of these questions would help you to describe yourself better, Who am I or What do I stand for. If you are trying to manage your time better, which question would elicit the most effective or desirable answer from yourself: What will I do with my time or What matter the most to me at this point in time. Questioning is an art, so start learning how to ask the right questions.

Today, right here, right now, how do you envision yourself? What do you imagine are your future possibilities? What is the perception of yourself at point zero, today. Do you see yourself in a position or a time in your life where you want to be. Has life become so easy for you that you don’t need to move forward. Have you become so comfortable with the way things have been all you do is just fantasize or hallucinate about moving forward. Or have you created anchors in your life which prevent you from moving forward. Living an easy and comfortable life prevents you from creating an end goal for yourself and allows your surrounding environment to create and end goal for you. And anchors are distractions in life which prevent you from seeing an end goal and moving forward.

You can’t live life on your own terms if you refuse to grow, if you refuse to move. It is also very easy to get caught up in our lives and often with the anchors, difficulties, dilemmas and confusions. This only makes it seem more impossible to know what to do or how to advance with your life. Have you asked yourself what holds you back? Have you asked yourself what you are afraid of? Sometimes you’ll look at your past and you will think you are seeing your future. That needs to stop. If you look at your past, for any reason, it should be to measure how far you have come. To learn from any successes or mistakes you have made and to build upon them.

Learning, as well as living is continual. It will never end, and it never should end. You should always work on evaluating yourself either every so often or after a major event in your life. During this time you don’t have to do any deep Socratic thinking. All you have to do is see where you are, where you were and the path that got you to this point. That is it, three simple steps, find two points in your life and analyze the path taken. It shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to really go over this stage of your life. The reason why it may take a couple of hour is because this will give you time not only to reflect on the past but to prepare or make any adjustments for the future.

The solutions to your problems or dilemmas are always in front of you. The answers were never purposely hidden from you. The cunningness of this skillful act is knowing how to correctly word your questions in order to find the solution to help you move forward. To help you take further charge of your life. I’m not going to tell you “to” take charge of your life. Because you are already in charge of your life. You are always in charge of your life. Whether or not you just chose to either do nothing with it or consent to someone else to take charge of your life. You chose to stay the same because you may think there is some external force which prevents you from doing what you want to truly be. You chose to stay the same because of your fear. You chose to stay the same because it is easy. You cannot fail if you do not try, nor can you succeed in obtaining success.