"Great minds ask great questions."

~ Michael Gelb from How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Everyday

Got a journal? If not, time to get one!

Da Vinci carried his everywhere. So should you.

Jot down your ideas, thoughts, questions, dreams, whatever. As you gain more clarity and creativity, you’ll be glad you did.

[Did you know: In 1994, Bill Gates bought 18 sheets (of the 7,000 existing) from da Vinci’s notes for 30.8 million bucks. Not bad, eh?]

Here’s an incredible exercise for that new journal of yours. It’s called "100 Questions" and goes like this:

Find a comfortable place. Sit down. Write. Make a list of 100 questions you find interesting. Write about whatever’s on your mind. Questions can range from “Why is the sky blue?” and “How can I optimize my health?” to "What are my greatest strengths?” and “What am I most passionate about?”

Odds are that the first few questions will flow and then it will be a little tougher. Fight through the desire to walk away and finish them all in one sitting. Then read through your list and note the themes that emerge. Consider these emerging themes without judging them. Are your questions about Business? Relationships? Self-Growth? Money? The Meaning of Life?

Top 10 Questions.
Once you’ve done that, review your list of 100 questions and choose the 10 that you find most significant. Then rank them in importance from 1 to 10.

The questions I came up with 6 years ago when I first did this exercise have guided my life since. Without exaggeration, this is probably the most powerful exercise I’ve ever done.

So what’re you waiting for?!? Go find some quiet time and start asking those questions! :)

(Extra: I highly recommend the book. In it (along with allllll kinds of other great ideas), Gelb provides a host of other exercises as well as a set of “power questions” including one of the most powerful questions I have ever pondered:

“What if I could find some way to get paid for doing what I love?”

This one simple question has shaped my life more than any other.)

…

[ My questions? On Saturday, June 8th, 2001, I wrote these ten questions:

1. How do I master myself and control my will/how do I become a warrior? [I was into Way of the Peaceful Warrior at that stage.]
2. What is love? How do I live with agape, philos and eros?
3. What is the optimal life? How do I live this life?
4. What is health? How do I achieve optimal health/energy/power?
5. What is important to me?
6. How can I inspire others to reach their potential and to love life?
7. Who are the 10 greatest wisdom philosophers?
8. Who are the 10 greatest examples of this wisdom in action?
9. What is living in the moment? How do I do that?
10. Why is religion so widespread?

Wow. Just typing those out gave me goosebumps… seeing how much they have influenced my life…

I hope you do the exercise!!! ]

Author's Bio: 

Brian Johnson is a (Professional) Student of Life. He used to build businesses. Now he’s building his life while inspiring and empowering others to discover and live at their highest potential.

In his past lives, Brian raised over $7.5 million to finance the two leading online social networks he created: eteamz and Zaadz.

As a 24-year-old law school dropout, Brian created eteamz —which he grew into a company that now (profitably) serves over 3 million teams and their families involved in youth athletics and counts Little League Baseball® as a client.

After selling eteamz in 2000, Brian spent a few years as a philosopher, immersing himself in philosophy, psychology, mysticism and optimal living. He created ThinkArete.com, a site where he began distilling the universal truths of optimal living. Over 10,000 people signed up to receive his daily newsletter, The Philosopher’s Notes, where he broke down the wisdom of his favorite teachers, showing how everyone (from Nietzsche to Buddha to Rumi) is saying the same thing.

In an effort to integrate his philosophical and entrepreneurial selves (yes, he’s a Gemini :) ), in 2004 Brian created Zaadz—a company named after the Dutch word for seed committed to leveraging world-class social networking tools to connect, inspire and empower people committed to transforming their lives and our planet. (Think: MySpace for people who want to change the world.)

Feeling the dharmic pull to immerse himself back into studying and living the universal truths, Brian sold Zaadz to Gaiam, Inc. (Nasdaq: GAIA) in the summer of 2007.

Before all of that, Brian graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from UCLA where he studied Psychology and Business. He’s been on MSNBC’s The Most with Alison Stewart, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal (a couple times), The San Francisco Chronicle, and various other places on everything from philosophy to business to his vision on how to change the world.

He reads a lot and has fun integrating universal truths into his day-to-day life and also likes to hike, laugh, write, think, draw and teach. He’ll be re-launching ThinkArete.com later this year and publishing his first book: “Areté: The Ten Universal Principles to Living at Your Highest Potential” in early 2009. He’s 33.