Recently a friend gifted me a new book, and as I’ve poured over its pages I’ve found myself experiencing the fruits of a book well-written:
- I feel inspired and energized.
- I share details of what I’ve read with others.
- I act on what I read by contemplating its content, applying it to my life, and looking further into details it references.
The book? It’s written by Warren Berger and is called, “A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas.”
One of its questions, which struck me as I read more yesterday, is particularly helpful when a person is at a crossroads, deciding one thing over another: “When I look back in five years, which of these options will make the better story?”
How great is that?
As I sat contemplating the various ideas swirling in my mind, one thought led to another, which led to another, and prompted me to text this to my sister:
“Reading a great book on the power of questions. My wandering mind led me to the revelation that Monica [my sister’s eldest] will be going to university in 8 years. Francis [my sister’s second oldest] is 8 years old and look how quickly that has passed. Only 8 more years with Monica under your care. What do you want those 8 years to look like? No need to answer me. I’m just sharing the concept of the book.”
Or consider this question documentary filmmaker Roko Belic once asked,
“Why is it that people who have so little and have suffered so much seem to be happier than other people who are more fortunate?”
He sought the answer to that question and shared it with others in his inspiring documentary, “Happy.” I never heard of the film until it was mentioned on page 191 of Berger’s book. But I was so intrigued by the reference that I went home and asked my roommate a question: “Want to watch the documentary ‘Happy’ tonight?” She said yes and we both were hugely inspired.
“Happy” was the second movie we watched as a result of this book. The first film we watched a couple weeks prior. It was a small reference on page 35. The question this time was, “What if a car windshield could blink?” Berger answered that question by telling about Bob Kearns, the inventor of intermittent windshield wipers. His story was featured in a 2008 film called “Flash of Genius,” about how the Big Three car companies infringed on Kearns’ patent. Watching that film caused my roommate and me to ask, “Did the real story really happen that way? What happened to his family? Does there come a point where prudence should compel us to stop fighting injustice?” These questions, provoked as a result of the film (and the subsequent Google search we did at the end to learn more), led to a very thoughtful conversation about life.
Berger’s book is great because not only does it ask the reader questions, it inspires the reader to ask their own questions. These questions will lead us on a journey to answers that will enrich our life—if we are willing to step into the adventure of the unknown. So what question will you ask yourself today?
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