What if I Had To?
How Could This Be Possible?
And 7 More Transformative Questions

The 5 AM Miracle Podcast, hosted by Jeff Sanders

Episode #587: What if I Had To? How Could This Be Possible? And 7 More Transformative Questions

Jeff Sanders
Good morning and welcome to the 5 AM Miracle! This is episode #587: What if I Had To? How Could This Be Possible? And 7 More Transformative Questions.

I am Jeff Sanders and you have reached the podcast that is dedicated to dominating your day before breakfast. I am a keynote speaker and corporate trainer. And if you wanna learn a lot more about that, head over to jeffsanders.com/speaking.

Now in the episode this week, I'll break down how to approach problem solving through the lens of asking and answering a few thought provoking questions. Let's get to it. Questions are the spark to breakthroughs.

Asking great questions is the thought provoking, brainstorm, boosting and life altering process you need to go through if you wanna solve some of the most difficult problems in your life and work. So let's go discuss a whole bunch of those.

I brainstormed myself a few thought provoking questions this week and I wanted to make sure that these questions really tapped into the heart and soul of problem solving. The core of what it means to get to the heart of the matter. And by that I mean, let's imagine a scenario where you are struggling through something difficult.

You have got a major problem, a persistent nagging issue or just a common everyday problem, but you're trying to figure out a new way to solve this problem, a new way to tackle it because the way you've been trying, your common methods are not working. Right, the reason why we want to ask and answer questions at the very kind of surface level value here is because our approach that we have now is not effective. We have hit a dead end and something has caused us to be stuck and our goal is to get unstuck. And through all the trial and error that I've had over my life with all kinds of goals and problems to solve and issues to work through, one of the most important, if not the most important process I go through is what I call a 360 perspective for problem solving. And by that I mean, I'm gonna try more than one thing. I'm not just gonna try the one thing that I set out to try, the one method or one strategy, I'm gonna have more than one. And as you have two, three, 10, 12, you find that you have more of a 360 or multi-dimensional problem solving strategy that allows you to tackle something difficult from as many different angles as is necessary.

o the goal here is not to ask questions just for fun. Our goal is to solve the problem and move on. And the kinds of questions that I have put together here this week are designed for you to be able to ask the ones that are important, get the answer you're looking for and then move forward. It is very common to get yourself stuck in the kind of banter or maybe academic thought process of being able to say, you know, I'm just gonna go through my entire life, all my problems, all my issues, and just think through everything. It's kind of the ready, aim, fire approach where you're aiming all the time, you're planning all the time, you are procrastinating because you're planning all the time and you're not actually executing. I get myself caught there all the time. I'm one of two people. I'm either the go, go, go all the time, don't think, don't plan, just move. That's one side of my brain. The other side is the opposite.

It is don't move, do nothing, just plan and think and process and plan again and rethink your plan and do it over and over again and I never pull the trigger at all. So our goal here is neither of those, right? The goal is a happy medium of execution when it matters, but strategy to make sure your execution makes sense. And these questions should give you, if things work out well, some great strategy, some great thought provoking questions that gets your brain moving and gets you into the right actions, the effective actions to get your goals accomplished. So with that preamble in mind, let's begin with the very first question, which is the top of the show I just mentioned, what if I had to? In other words, you've got something that you have not been doing, something you have procrastinated on, a problem you have just simply said, I'm gonna put that off to another day. And what I'm asking you to do is to force this into action and ask the question, well, what if I had to do that thing that for whatever reason I just am not doing, right?

What if there was no escape plan or failure was not an option? One example I've used in this podcast for quite a while now is the marathon metaphor of imagine you're training for a marathon, but you're a little nervous to do the long run. You're a little nervous to attempt to push yourself to that full 26.2 miles, and you have found yourself doing the easy stuff, a little three mile run here, five mile run there, but you've never really challenged yourself to go the full distance. Well, what if, let's imagine this very unique scenario, I put you into a car and I drove you 26.2 miles from your house, and I dropped you off and said, good luck, buddy, see you later. What would you do? Well, assuming you had, let's say a bottle of water with you and a granola bar, would you be able physically to run yourself back to your house? In other words, if you were forced to run the marathon, could you do it? Or more importantly, would you try?

The answer tends to be yes. The answer tends to be if we have the right guardrails in place, if we have the right boundaries, if we have the right scenario that puts us into a situation where we are forced into success, would you succeed? I think so. I think for most of us, that tends to be what happens is that we are more capable than we give ourselves credit. We have more ability to do more than we think. We just sometimes need that little nudge. A good example was just earlier today, you know, it's a summer day, my kids are actually home right now on summer break, and I took my girls to the park this morning, and my oldest daughter has training wheels on her bicycle. And she is at the age now where those training wheels need to come off. I know it, my wife knows it, my daughter knows it. Maisie is aware that these training wheels have an expiration date, but she's wanting to hold onto them. She has this like tight grip that I don't want to take that risk. I don't wanna ride the bike without training wheels. We all can see it, the nervousness, the fear, the apprehension, but that's the next step. There is no other step. We have to just rip the bandaid off and give her the opportunity to fail, if that's what happens, to fall over and pick herself back up and keep riding, keep trying to ride. That's the process.

We all go through this for so many things in life. And this literal case of learning how to ride a bicycle, that's a common example used, but like that's where we are right now with her, but that's might be where you are as well with your goals. Like, are you holding yourself back? What if you had to ride the bike with nothing to support you? What if it was just you? What if you were 26.2 miles from your house? What if your business had succeed? What if, what if, what if? This is what will force you into thinking creatively about, well, if I had to, here's what I might try. If I was forced to, yeah, I think I could do this. That line of thinking will cause you to take new action that will lead to your success. And if you don't ask this question, you're gonna stay where you are. You're not gonna move.

And this is the problem. If I don't give my daughter the chance to fail, to take off those wheels that are keeping her up, she might ride a bicycle with training wheels for far too long. Now, I think eventually on her own, she would get there, but we can push that forward faster if we just make the move now. Let's not wait. Let's not have growth be five years down the road if we can grow today. So what if I had to? What if there was no escape plan? What if failure was not an option? This what if question can push you forward faster than most questions will. All right, question number two, kind of piggybacks on the first one. The second question, how could this be possible? Or in other words, one step further, if I had to, what would I do? Or have others done this before successfully and could I copy them? So if you ask the first question, right, what if I had to? Well, you might answer that question by simply saying, well, if I had to, I just would. But the second one says, well, yeah, okay, you just would, but let's get some details here. Get some specifics.

Where will you be? What do you need in terms of resources? What do you need in terms of time? Like what do these details look like that will craft together a very specific workable plan? One thing that I have seen with a lot of people, myself included, is that if you ask them about a fear of theirs, if you really dig into procrastination, why have you not done X, Y, Z? The general answers tend to be based on worst case scenarios. Well, I don't wanna have to face the fear 'cause it could be really hard. Things could go wrong. It could be really embarrassing. There could be awful things to take place. I just, I don't wanna go there. Or it's too hard. There's so much work involved.

It's complex and crazy. Yeah, we all have excuses, right? But that's not really the question. The question is, if we had just a couple of details, a few specifics, okay, well, this complicated project, well, where would you need to work on a difficult thing? Well, I could go to the library, right? Have some focus. I could bring some, my backpack with my laptop and some headphones. Like, okay, so you've got a few pieces together. I could schedule an hour on Saturday morning and just go and work and that's it. One hour and then I leave. Okay, you've got a snowball effect in place. You've got a few pieces to begin the process, to chip away at this hard thing. We're not asking the question on day one, what does perfect look like here? What's the full A to Z story here? This is an all or nothing fallacy.

We are not asking the question, can you do the whole thing in one sitting? We are asking the question, how could this be possible? Or in other words, how could I start today? If I had to begin today, what would I do? Do I need more details? Do I need locations? Do I need resources? Do I need time blocks? Yes, yes, yes, we need all these things. So start with a few of them and map these things out and then begin to figure out what it might look like. And part of that process could be to research other people who've done this stuff before. 'Cause here's the key thing, almost every problem that you have to solve, someone else has already solved it. And someone else has already been down this path before. They've written books about it. They've recorded podcasts about it. There are answers out there. So if you are stuck on something and you're stuck because you just haven't given any effort yet, I know what that feels like.

That's just fear talking. That's all that is. They will have excuses. Oh, I'm really busy. Yeah, yeah, we know. But the real answer is you haven't tried yet. You have not tried it. If you did, imagine what would be possible. Imagine the progress you could make even in a focused hour. One focused hour could change this whole project overnight. So that's what we're going for here. Just figure out a couple of those starting line details and ask that question. How could this be possible? What might a path look like? What might a few paths look like? Right, once again, perfection is not the goal. Ideal is not the goal. Just any workable solution. Even if it's complicated, even if it sounds hard, we just need a path, a singular path that says, yes, this is doable. Yes, this is possible. And here is at least one possibility, one plan that might work. Okay, that's the first step. Now from there, we can escalate this to our third question this week, which is what if it were easy? Oh, okay. Greg McKeown has an awesome book called "Effortless", a book that I absolutely love because the concept alone is a game changer. He asked the question in the book, well, what if you could make this thing an effortless thing? What if it wasn't hard? What if it was actually easy to do? What would that look like? In other words, how could this be possible and easy? Or phrase the opposite direction, am I making this harder than it needs to be? Right, am I the obstacle?

Am I the bottleneck? Is this actually not complicated? I just think that it is. Or I want to think that it is as an excuse to keep not doing it. We are our own worst enemies here. We are the bottleneck in almost every case here, but this is why these questions matter. We have to be able to be honest about this whole process and how we are involved in this process. So if you are making this harder than it needs to be, well, just stop doing that. Sounds easier than it actually is, but that's really the question, right? How could this be easy? Here's a path, our last step. Here was a path that could work. Well, here's a second path that's actually doable and simple and easy. Now you may think, well, the problem that I had to solve, Jeff, doesn't have that possibility. There is no easy path. Okay, that could be the case. Well, what's the easiest path? What's the one that's the most doable, the most workable, the one that is possibly the fastest or cheapest or most workable for you now in your current season? Once again, the goal is not perfection or an ideal.

The goal is just something that is tangible. You can sink your teeth into and begin to work on because big goals require a daily adherence, a daily chipping away at the complications. That snowball effect will kick in, but it only kicks in when you do those first initial steps day after day to build that compound effect over time where it will scale and you'll see significant growth down the road. But you start in most cases with the easy steps, right? As a good example here, on most days, my task manager has seven to 10 items on it and I will on every day, single day, every morning, I will prioritize that list and I, without fail, will start doing the easy stuff first. Even though I teach how not to do that and even though I know that the most effective strategy is to do the most effective item first and the rest later, I never do that. I just have trained myself to do easy things first. Now I do so because it builds momentum.

I do so because it gets me moving, especially early in the morning if I'm still tired, if I'm still not fully awake yet, it gets things moving in the right direction. And these things are easy. Generally speaking, they're quick wins. It's send an email or click this button or do something that does not require heavy lift. And I literally do that just to get the wheels in motion. In a very similar way that you might go for a short walk or drink a coffee in the morning, something just to get you moving, get you awake. But easy things are easy wins and wins get you excited for more wins. So this is an addictive process of progress. And that leads to more progress, which leads to bigger tasks, bigger challenges, more important steps. So if you are stuck on something, it could be because you keep thinking about the hard steps. You keep thinking about the thing you don't wanna do as opposed to other parts of this project that maybe aren't so difficult, that maybe are actually doable for you in the here and now. So if starting there, it allows you to wiggle your way around to the hard stuff later, fine. Whatever gets you moving is gonna be way better than doing nothing.

And that typically for most people is the biggest challenge. Something is always better than nothing. All right, question number four. This is one I've asked on this podcast before and one that I tend to go back to when times are really tough. I tend to lean on this next question if I'm really going through something difficult, which is what would the hero of my story do now? Now this has kind of the underlying assumption that your life is telling a story. And it uses a really great metaphor that you are the hero, that your story being told out, the life story you are playing out each and every day is one of drama. It's one that's an epic adventure over time. And the best movies, the best stories that are told tend to have drama. They have an inciting incidents. They have this building an escalation of conflict.

They have this massive challenge and then a resolution at the end. Well, in this big escalation of the challenge, that's most of our lives, we in theory are the hero of this story being played out. And let's just pause here. You are the hero, nobody else is. And if you believe that someone else is the hero of your story, you are gonna be waiting around for a very long time for someone else to save you. This is one of the biggest personal growth lessons that are taught by everyone all the time, which is personal responsibility of everything in your life, wins and losses. The best parts, the worst parts, they're all on you. For better or for worse, you are responsible for everything in your life, which also means you get to be the hero. You get to be the one that saves the day. You are the one who will have that brilliant insight that will push yourself forward. That will make that an awesome new plan and we'll see it through. What would your best self do in this scenario? What if you had those resources available, that energy, that enthusiasm, that plan of action?

What if you were prepared to slay the dragon? Do you have the big sword? Are you ready? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, right? There are plenty of days where my hero is very sheepish, where he does not wanna get out of bed. I know that feeling too. But let's just assume for the sake of argument that you are that hero and you do have access to what you need to make the next best move. GTD, David Allen, the Getting Things Done philosophy is begging of this question, what is the next action? What is the next best thing to do or just a next action to take that will push you in the right direction? Well, the hero of your story, in theory, let's imagine the best case scenario, your hero is smart and savvy and resourceful and is able to do things that you on most days are not willing to do. Well, this is empowering.

This is a mind trick. This is literally a brainwashing of yourself, which is to imagine that the best part of you is gonna take action. And the sheepish part of you is gonna sit back and watch this. I've heard this play out before with actors. I grew up doing a lot of theater. I have a degree in theater. I know what it's like to play a character on a stage. And one very common strategy utilized by lots of actors across the globe all the time is this, I'll call it this like fake confidence, which is that the character is able to do things that the actor as the person is not able or willing to do. So for example, I don't sing that well. I'm not the best. I'm fine, I'm pretty average. But if I sing on stage and I'm doing so as a character, honestly, I could do that all day long and not really feel bad about it because it's not Jeff Sanders singing, it's this character. The character is the one doing it, not me. Well, it's an out-of-body experience. It's asking the question, what if there was somebody else with a different costume on, a different mask on, different makeup on, someone else was doing this? It wasn't me personally, it's the character. Well, the hero of your story is a character. It's not real. This is a metaphor, but yet there's incredible power in a metaphor. There's incredible power in faking it.

Now, I'm not gonna argue you fake your life success, but what if you could do so as a mental trick to get it to take action you otherwise would not do, but your hero might? That's a lot more compelling. It's a lot more interesting. Your hero might make that sales call. Your hero might give that speech. Your hero might apply for that job or ask out that girl. Whatever the case is, your hero has more confidence than you do. Your hero doesn't have all these flaws. Your hero is able and willing to do things that you would never do. So let your hero do the work. Let your hero take all that risk 'cause it's not you. And that separation is a powerful mental trick that is wildly effective and shockingly necessary at certain times in life. And you don't need experience acting or doing theater or being on a stage for this to be true. You just have to be willing to entertain this fictitious thought long enough to let yourself lean in to this false reality to cause you to do things you otherwise would just say no to. That's all this is. It's a mind trick, but it works. Test that theory. I think you'll love it.

All right, question number five. This is one I have also used in the podcast before and one that I personally tend to use usually around the new year when I'm setting new goals and also when I'm changing seasons. So if I just finished a big project and I'm between projects and trying to figure out what's the next best move. And the question is, would my future self approve? In other words, like let's say for example, one year from today, would you be proud of yourself for accomplishing this next goal you're considering? Being able to once again, kind of remove yourself from your present reality and looking at a future version of yourself then looking back at today is a separation tactic that gives you the chance to really ask the question from a bigger picture perspective, what am I trying to do here? And you're not trying to be distracted by the day-to-day changes of life, but really the bigger picture at play of if this very significant thing took place, would I care? Would I be proud? Would I really want this done? Or does this feel kind of fluffy? Another perspective on this same scenario will be asking this type of question. Which is worse for you? Trying and failing today to achieve a goal you're after or having regret in the future because you did nothing? One of the most common regrets people have at the end of their life cycle is inaction. It's not trying.

People don't tend to regret trying and failing, but they definitely regret not trying at all. So this question of would my future self approve is really asking the question, would my future self be mad at me for not trying? I think the answer would be yes for most things that matter, right? Trying is gonna be so much more effective than not, obviously, that's what leads to success. But not trying is a bad addiction. It's a bad habit. Not trying, procrastinating, never giving the effort, finding the excuses, yada, yada, yada. We know this story. We know how it plays out. Which is, it doesn't. It doesn't work. So this question of would my future self approve of my action is just another way of asking the question, why am I not moving forward now? What is stopping me, really? What is truly holding me back from just saying yes? Because my future self, I guarantee you, will be so happy if I just did the thing, if I just got the ball rolling, right? Even ask this question now. What are your thoughts on you a year ago? Look back at what you did last year at this time. Look at projects that you accomplished, things you were involved in, right? Personal objectives you saw through, habits that you ditched that were bad, new ones you began that were good. You're proud of yourself for the work that you did last year and you're probably upset with yourself or regretful on things you did not try at all with. That's the test.

We can see it and use this right now. We can always look back with hindsight and nitpick our lives to death. And the goal is not that. The goal is to make better choices each and every day that allow our future selves to be proud of us now, to really say, man, I figured it out. I went through a tough season, I sacrificed for a while, I got some amazing success under my belt, and look at what happened because of that work that I did. That's the question. That's the scenario we're trying to enact. It's doable, it's possible, it's fun, but you gotta move. You gotta move. All right, question number six. Also one of those podcasts I've discussed many times, one that I use all the time. What's your one thing? Or from the book, "The One Thing," what's the one thing such that by doing it, everything else is easier or unnecessary? The book from Gary Keller and Jay Papazian called "The One Thing" is a must read, by the way, an amazing book.

But the question they pose in there is one I think is necessary to prioritize effectively. It's one of asking the question, if I have 12 projects I could pursue in theory, well, which one of those is the most significant? Which one of those will change my entire life if it gets accomplished? Yes, it would be great to do all 12, but that's not the question. We don't have time for that. Nobody has time for all 12 projects, but we do have time for one. And so let's make that choice the right one, or a good one, one that is significant, one that propels us in the right direction. So another way to view this, what new options might exist in my life if I successfully accomplish this next goal? Right, we're trying to open doors, make things possible, really have a grander horizon because we're making choices that set us up for some grander success. I love when I'm able to do things that give me more potential. Yes, focus and decision-making will cut things off, but when we begin this process, we're brainstorming and asking what we could do. We wanna have all options available to us. That's freedom right there. And the question of the one thing is one of filtering that freedom.

It's saying, because I have so many possibilities and could do almost anything, well, I need to do the hard work of making that choice, of saying no to 99 things so I can say yes to the one thing that gets my full attention in this next season. The good news around this is that you can make this decision over and over again, right? This one thing failed, okay, forget it, onto the next. This one thing wasn't the answer, okay, great, onto the next. And speaking of that, that brings us to our next question, number seven. So what? And by so what, I mean, years ago, I read a book from Brian Tracy, very famous public speaker and author. And I think I heard this from one of his CDs as well.

But one very common phrase that Brian Tracy used in the world of sales is, "Some will, some won't, so what, next." And he literally means that. Some people will buy from you, some will not. So what? Move on to your next prospect. And this is a concept that I use all the time in life, whether I'm applying for a job, doing actual sales calls, considering different projects I could pursue, a new diet I might try, new fitness program. It doesn't matter what it is. Some of these things you will try will be effective and those are awesome. Some will not work for you. And it's great to know it does not work as well. And then the conclusion from that is honestly, so what? On which ones work and which ones don't, let's just move on to keep finding the ones that do work. It is this nonstop pivot process.

It is a question of saying, I am looking for the answers and I am emotionally unfazed by the no's. I'm emotionally unfazed by finding dead ends. I am able and willing to continue to move on. Are you afraid of embarrassment? So what? Move on. Are you afraid of failure? So what? Move on. Do it anyway. The question of so what can be applied a lot in your life. And when you do apply it and it works for you, it is a game changer because it gets you out of your head. It gets you away from the ego, away from that fear of embarrassment, that fear of failure, right? So what? Yeah, things were tough, whatever. Yeah, so I was naked in public, whatever, move on. Right, whatever the case happens to be.

A good example of that, not being naked in public, but feeling that way emotionally. Speaking of singing in public, years ago, this was in middle school. I was, I believe, 12 years old. There was a concert at the middle school I attended and this singing group came to perform for, I don't know, 500 students. And we're all in this big auditorium and I am sitting probably in the fourth or fifth row up front. And I'm singing along, loving what's going on, just really excited about it, very much in my own space. And they saw me singing, the singers, and they pulled me out of the crowd and stood me in front of the entire school and gave me a microphone. And I had to sing along as the lead singer of this band song. I forget what it was at this point, but regardless of what it was, I can't even begin to express, even today, I'm 40 years old. I was 12 back then. I could feel the embarrassment in my bones today. I could feel it. And I just, oh, it was soul crushing because I knew I couldn't sing then. I know I can't sing now. Who cares, right? So what? Jeff, move on.

Yeah, I haven't moved on yet. I haven't. I will. One day I'll get there. But the point here being is that that didn't stop me. That moment of singing in public and feeling embarrassed, it didn't stop me from singing. It didn't stop me from existing. It didn't stop me from pursuing the next class period to go to that day. I moved on. And everyone else in that auditorium forgot about that moment. I guarantee you not a single person in that room that day remembers a single thing about that entire day, let alone me feeling embarrassed for a couple of minutes at most. This is what life is, asking the questions that allow us to move forward. Okay, things didn't work out. So what? Let's just move forward. It's easier said than done, but it's a necessary process to go through to get you to your next step. And speaking of next steps, let's get to question number eight. What if my assumptions are wrong? This is another way of asking the question, what if the principles that I've lived by have changed? What if a choice I made 15 years ago is no longer true?

What if the assumptions about my own skillset today are incorrect for better or for worse? What if I'm living by mental rules that don't actually play out in the real world? Last week on the podcast, I discussed this concept of identity and how this plays out in a thousand different directions. And really trying to figure out, when you question things, what happens next? Who are you as a person? If you are questioning things you thought were just central to your identity. And so this kind of takes that to another angle, another layer here, which is what if your assumptions about your life, your skillset, your abilities, your present state are incorrect for better or for worse?

I ask that question because a lot of times when we're stuck between projects or big life changes, we wanna be able to move forward into the next season on firm ground. We wanna know that our lives are put together well, that there are certain things we can ignore because they're automated, they're in great shape. You know, oh yeah, my house is fine, my marriage is great, my business is wonderful. Like things are good. You want to assume that so you can give all your energy to the next best thing. What I'm asking here is, well, what if the things you have been ignoring or assuming are in good shape are in fact not? Or things you may have assumed are crumbling or terrible are in fact doing just fine? The point of this is self-awareness. The point of this question is to get you to re-examine your life on a regular basis and tap into these questions to really confidently say, yes, I am in good shape over here because I've thought it through.

I rethought it through from the beginning. I reinvented my life in so many new ways. Whether it is a midlife crisis or just simply a new season of your life, I think it's healthy and necessary to re-examine where you are and the things you have taken for granted, the things you have assumed are where they are. What if they're not is an important question because it allows you the opportunity to really be confident. And if you discover, oh, under my house and my crawl space, there's actually a big leak. I've been there before recently. I know that feels. I thought the house was fine. Yeah, it wasn't fine. Those are important questions, right? No one likes to find out bad news. No one wants to go digging around looking for problems unless you do, unless you like that process and you like it because you know that the outcome of that is progress. You go hunting for problems because that means you can find opportunities for growth and improvements and a better future. Because the opposite is to bury your head in the sand and ignore it and just cross your fingers and hope it all works out. That's not my process. That's not what I teach. That's not what works.

What works is to know the answer, to really truly know it. And you only know it because you did the work to go figure it out. And the last one this week, number nine. This is one I love to discuss in this podcast because it is never out of style. How many number ones are on your to-do list right now? Here's a little hint. It should just be one. For most of us, there are many of them, 10, 12, 15 a day. Number one items kind of goes back to that question. What is the one thing? In any given day or week or month or year or lifetime, there's only ever one number one. And that is the item that has the true definition of success and impact and significance written all over it. What truly matters now? What really is important for you today? If you look at your random to-do list, your average daily list, there are probably many things on the list that are important, but there are very few that are necessary, that need to happen today, that are urgent and important, that are life-changing, that are significant, that are that meaningful.

And if your life is gonna go somewhere, if you're truly going to have a breakthrough, to really bust through into some grand new future, that's gonna happen because you did the few things that actually push you forward there, not the infinite list of tiny minutia that will distract you all day long. So ask the question, is this item necessary? Or is it nonsense? I define nonsense as anything that never has to get done in the first place.

If I skipped it, I would never miss it. That's a really good test of your to-do list. If you took something and erased it and never thought about it again, that's a great sign that you're doing things that could be cut over and over and over. And honestly, that's an awesome place to be because you will get more free time, more opportunity to do more of the things that truly matter. So can you walk away forever from this latest goal, this latest project, your current job, whatever you think is no longer serving you? Is this necessary or is it nonsense? One criteria I've used for a long time is asking the question on a scale of one to 10, is this thing a nine or a 10? Is this thing of real true value? And if the answer is no, you walk away. And if the answer is yes, then you keep that on your awesome list, your list of very few things that matter. And then you can look through that list and filter yet again, until you eventually get down to just that one, number one. The filtering process is complicated, it is time consuming, it is difficult, and it is the work of your life. It is the most important thing to do. If you love Steve Jobs for a long time, like I did, you know, the founder of Apple, one thing he was well known for was this process of really simplifying everything down to the most core elements.

And if his engineers and his team brought him, you know, new software ideas, new hardware ideas, that were in any way cumbersome or complicated or had multiple steps, he was notorious for saying, "Get out of here. "Come back when you have this down to one step, "one button to click, one simple answer. "And once we're there, then we'll know it, "then we can move forward from there." But until then, the work is not done. Until we have that level of simplicity and directness and clarity, we're not done yet. That's your life story. Your purpose, your clarity on what your next actions are, your big next season. It's gonna come from knowing your number one and being so, so dead set that yes, this is it.

Now, that may be a tall order. There may be doing numbers two and three and four for a little while until you figure out what number one is. That's the process to eventually land on that clarity. That's fine. We'll get there. But you gotta start with this assumption in mind that that's where you're heading. That our goal is to get to that level of simplicity and not just live in the muck and all the complications and distractions and minutia. 'Cause that's a disaster. That's overwhelm at its highest order. That's not the intention here. Simplicity, beauty, and clarity. And it all can come from these questions and many more. I asked nine big questions this week. There are probably 900 you could ask. But these are going to help give you a stepping stone into your next season. That foundation to say, I am ready, let's do this. Hope you are. I know I am. And for that action step this week, of course, go ask more questions.

If you're stuck, find a new perspective on the same old problem. Ask new questions, you'll get new answers. Ask tougher and better questions, and you'll get better answers. Because questions are the spark you need for your next breakthrough. Now, of course, subscribe to this podcast in your favorite podcast app or go to 5ammiraclepremium.com for the VIP experience, including an ad-free version of this show. That's all I've got for you here on The 5 AM Miracle podcast this week. Until next time, you have the power to change your life and all that fun begins bright and early.

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