The Decade Ahead: 13 Questions to Build My Vision
I love questions.
Over the last 12 years, I have curated a list of over 1,000 questions that I have asked or been asked.
Questions have a subtle superpower that is fueled by curiosity. Questions clarify situations, they help us lead others, they help us empower people, and they help us dive deeper into understanding ourselves and others. More importantly, some questions simply lead to more questions that birth the concept of contemplation.
To me, contemplation is a practice of living in a question that can never be fully answered. When we are finding the answers, or the next evolution of a question, we are contemplating. The longer I sit contemplating a question, I’ve learned that clarity and certainty show up especially around my commitments.
What I love about questions is that they reframe our perspective of our commitments. Once made, a commitment is not permanent—it is only as good as its daily renewal. This is why questions help us clarify what our commitments are on daily basis.
Living in Jackson Hole has catalyzed me to dive deeper into my spirituality, explore my consciousness, and build the next phase of my coaching business/practice from a place of intention and love.
In this practice, I found myself revisiting a question I asked in 2018 when I turned 30 years old, “What do I want the next decade to look like?”
My underlying response to that question was that the theme for the decade is: Consistency + Persistency.
Since my life has experienced fundamental and identity-based changes in 2020 (I got married, I changed my name, I became a coach, I moved to Jackson Hole, began studying and experimenting with mushrooms, etc.) I decided that it was time to revisit this question with all the experience and wisdom that I have garnered this year.
For starters, I rephrased the question:
From “What do I want the next decade to look like?” → to “What outcomes have I accomplished by the end of the decade?”
This subtle reframe creates more clarity around the desired outcomes I want out of the next decade.
Before I could answer the question, “What am I going to do?” I had to first ask the question, “What do I want?” That shift in focus completely changes how I respond in my life. This transforms my focus. Instead of leaking focus on everyone else’s demands for my attention, or what I’m afraid of, or what might give me pleasure in the moment, to what’s most important to me. The reframe from to-do’s to outcomes makes the goals more tangibles. Focus equals power.
I believe that we speak things into existence; this begins by stating them as though they have already happened. This practice gives me a boost in confidence, helps me envision outcomes clearly in my mind, and fuels me to take the next steps to fulfill my vision. Having a clear outcome fuels my focus. As the old saying goes, clarity breeds confidence.
Then I took my question one step further: I asked myself what is driving me to fulfill these outcomes? Simply stated what is my ‘why’? Asking why gives my outcomes purpose. I find that the more purpose I have in my decisions, visions, and outcomes I aim for the more likely I am to achieve them. The more clarity I have on my outcomes married with a strong sense of purpose the more I become committed to seeing it through.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
As I was beginning to write on a legal pad, I looked out the window to see a fresh blanket of snow on the rocks, when it hit me, “my answers are leading me to more questions.”
This seemed oddly familiar. But from where?
Instantly, I remembered that earlier this year during David Perrel’s Write of Passage course, we did an exercise called the 12 problems. This is a set of 12 problems aka opportunities that we would like to capitalize on framed in the form of questions. This was an interesting exercise that called me to deeply reflect on the multiple dimensions that is my life. I used the framework that David provided us to come up with my own questions, this time I evolved it to 13 questions.
Here are my thirteen questions:
What do I need to do so that can I deepen my relationship with God?
What can I do to deepen my relationship with myself, my family, and my friends so that I am surrounded by optimistic, healthy, curious, successful, and supportive people who give me energy?
What does it feel like to live a life of surrender and discipline founded on love and service?
What can I do to help people achieve freedom and fulfillment so that they can define their identity on their own terms?
What do I need to do to become a world-class coach to be of service to the world and the people in it?
What are the tools, the people, and resources that I need to build a global movement of freedom and fulfillment?
How can I use coaching to communicate the benefits of consciousness and spirituality by writing online, and make it a personally transformational experience?
What do I need to do so that I can grow my audience and still maintain intimacy?
Where can I learn more about mushrooms, neuroscience, nature, and the human body and relate it to my coaching?
What needs to be true so that I can create simple systems in my business that allows me to focus on growing my business without increasing stress and anxiety?
How have mushrooms/mycelium/psilocybin shaped health and wellness in our society?
What did I do to build a personal net worth of $1B+USD to redistribute it in a way that benefits society?
What have I done in the next 6months that has set me up for success in the next 10 years in health? financially? Spiritually? Emotionally? Professionally?
13B. What have I accomplished that pushed me to be a great husband? Son? Brother? Friend? Coach?
Having my desired outcomes clearly articulated in the form of questions tend to seemingly create a roadmap for me as I answer them. As you can see, the big picture starts making the next small steps crystal clear.
This exercise comes down to a simple formula:
Ask better questions → Get better answers → Focus → Live a better life → Contribute→ Ask better questions.
Questions are powerful. Embrace them.
Special Thanks to Kyle Bowe, Lindsey Fielding, and Evian G for their help.
