One Story. One Lesson. One Better Week.
Have you ever noticed that the most successful people seem to ask the most questions?
That wasn’t always obvious to me.
Early in my career, I thought successful people had all the answers.
Then I had the opportunity to spend time around people like Tony Robbins, Werner Erhard and, later, Darren Hardy.
What surprised me wasn’t how much they knew.
It was how much they wanted to learn.
- They were constantly reading.
- Listening.
- Asking questions.
- Looking for ideas they could apply.
- They were students.
That changed the way I looked at success.
Instead of thinking, “Someday I’ll know enough.”
I started thinking, “I hope I never stop learning.”
That shift has probably done more for my career than any sales technique or recruiting strategy I’ve ever learned.
One of the greatest gifts of my job is that I get to talk with interesting people every single day.
- Loan Officers.
- Branch Managers.
- CEOs.
- Entrepreneurs.
- Top producers.
Every conversation is an opportunity to learn something.
That’s one of the reasons I started my What’s Working Now podcast.
People assume I’m doing the interviews to teach others.
The truth is…
I’m one of the biggest beneficiaries.
I get a front-row seat to hear how successful people think.
I get to ask the questions I’ve always wanted to ask.
And every single interview leaves me with at least one idea I can apply.
Sometimes it’s a new business strategy.
Sometimes it’s a mindset shift.
Sometimes it’s simply a better question.
As many of you know, one of my favorite sayings is:
Success leaves clues.
Books leave clues.
Conversations leave clues.
Mentors leave clues.
Life leaves clues.
The question is…
Are we paying attention?
One of the reasons I’ve always loved reading is that it’s like sitting down for coffee with someone who’s spent years learning something you want to understand.
For the cost of a book…
You get decades of someone else’s experience.
That’s an incredible return on investment.
The older I get, the less pressure I feel to have all the answers.
- I’d much rather stay curious.
- Stay teachable.
- Stay open.
Because the moment we think we’ve arrived…
We usually stop growing.
And I don’t ever want that to happen.
This Week’s Thank Goodness It’s Monday Challenge
This week, learn one new thing.
- Read one chapter.
- Listen to one podcast.
- Watch one TED Talk.
- Ask one person a question you’ve never asked before.
Then ask yourself:
“How can I apply this today?”
Knowledge is valuable.
Applied knowledge changes lives.
Until next Monday…
- Keep reading.
- Keep listening.
- Keep asking.
Because the best investment you’ll ever make…
Is in your own growth.
And remember…