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Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one.This one is from AnnaMaria Turano

AnnaMaria Turano is co-author of the book STOPWATCH MARKETING: Take Charge of the Time When Your Customer Decides to Buy (forthcoming from Portfolio in January 2008) and an Executive Director at Marketing Consulting Associates (www.mcaworks.com), a strategic marketing consulting firm based in Westport, Connecticut. Their clients have included MasterCard, Verizon, Gillette, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Goodyear, Payless ShoeSource, and many other major companies.

AnnaMaria’s Quought:

“Who (not just what) do you want to be when you grow up?”

AnnaMaria’s reason for her choice of that Quought

This question addresses what a child wants to be thought of as an adult - including the unique personality traits and types of relationships/friendships.  This question asks a child to describe their desired emotional success which should build on the typical “what do you want to be when you grow up” question which parents/teachers/friends ask a child to help them define their desired career/financial success.

More about AnnaMaria

1. Blog: http://www.stopwatchmarketing.com/blog/

2. Book: http://stopwatchmarketing.com/

3. Consultancy: http://mcaworks.com/

Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one.This one is from David Meerman Scott

David Meerman Scott (born March 25, 1961) is an online thought leadership and viral marketing strategist and the author of three books on marketing. Based in Boston, he is a speaker at conferences and corporate events and runs seminars about marketing around the world.

Scott’s ideology “the new rules of marketing & PR” is that marketing and public relations is vastly different on the Web than in mainstream media. He says that the “old rules” of mainstream media (which he asserts do not work on the Web) are about “controlling a message” and the only ways to get the message into the public domain using mainstream media is to buy expensive advertising or beg the media to write about you. He says that the rules of marketing and PR on the Web are completely different. Instead of buying or begging your way in, Scott says anybody can “publish their way in” using the tools of social media such as, blogs, podcasts, online news releases, online video, viral marketing, and online media

“How will you create a career that will make you happy?”

When I was young, people talked about work and happiness as two separate things. You worked and that brought in money which you could then use for happiness. But then when I got into the work world I noticed a few people who were very happy AT WORK. How could that be? As I probed, I found out they made a career that made them happy. I’m fortunate that my work now provides happiness for me. I’m glad I found it and I wish someone had asked me about it much earlier. (I have already asked this question of my 14 year old daughter… several times!)

1. Website: www.davidmeermanscott.com

2. Blog - www.webinknow.com

Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one.This one is from Dr. Delaney Kirk

Delaney J. Kirk, Ph.D., SPHR is currently a Visiting Professor of Management at the University of South Florida-Sarasota.  Previously she taught for 18 years at Drake University.  She has conducted teaching workshops at Columbia University, Duke University, University of Washington, Graceland University, University of Nebraska, and the University of Akron, in addition to numerous academic conferences.  She was the featured expert for the Chronicle of Higher Education’s online chat on classroom management, and has earned the prestigious Drake University Board of Governor’s “Excellence in Teaching” Award.  Her book, Taking Back the Classroom:  Tips for the College Professor on Becoming a More Effective Teacher (Tiberius Publications, 2005) is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.  She answers questions on teaching and classroom management at www.delaneykirk.com

Delaney’s Quought

“What are you doing to enjoy this day?”

The reason for Delaney’s choice of that Quought

In the book, Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert gives examples of how we spend our lives doing things we think will make us happy in the future instead of living in the present.  I find myself obsessed with my “to do” lists with little time to go for a walk in the sunshine or spend time with friends.  So my question to my younger self would be, “What are you doing to enjoy this day?”

Delaney’s Recommended Links:

1. Patti Digh who vows that, ” In 2008, let’s show up like magic for someone every day. That could mean showing up in a funny hat, a phone call, a small gift, a handmade card, playing Candyland with children instead of checking email, the lighting of a candle in someone’s name and holding them in your thoughts, a sweet letter, a thoughtful note, a reaching out…Show up like magic in your own life. What would that look like for you?

2. Donna B. Miller who developed this artwork to share with others: “Every day is Day 1.  Every single, stinkin’ day.  Each one.  Today. Tomorrow. The next day.  Not as punishment or failure, but as gift.”

Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one.This one is from Stephen Hopson

Stephen is a former award-winning Wall Street stockbroker turned motivational speaker, popular blogger, author and the first deaf pilot in the history of aviation to earn an instrument rating.   His speciality as a speaker is teaching people how to turn adversity into success and achieve the impossible.

Stephen’s Quought

“Why do you think you were born deaf?”

The reason for Stephen’s choice of that Quought

The reason why I wish I was asked this question is because it would have helped me understand at a very early age that we are all born the way we are for a spiritual and divine reason.  Being asked that question would have led me to realize what my purpose was at an early age. It might have led me to accept my hearing disability at a much earlier age.

More about Stephen:

Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one.This one is from Dr. Nick Morgan

Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America’s top communication and speech coaches. A passionate teacher, he is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas – and then delivering them with panache.  He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents.  He has coached people to give Congressional testimony, to appear on the Today Show, and to take on the investment community.  He has worked widely with political and educational leaders.  And he has helped design conferences and prepare keynote speeches around the world.

Nick’s Quought

What are the 3 gifts your parents have given you that will be most useful to you in your life?

More about Nick:

1. Book: Give your speech, change the world

2. Website: Public Words

Background:

This is part of the Quought for the Day - 2008 Series.

Quought = Question that provokes thought!

The question I asked thought leaders and my very smart friends is:

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

I will be posting answers (which will be Quoughts) one by one. This one is from Sally Pera

Sally Pera is the founder and CEO of PeraConnect. PeraConnect focuses exclusively on personal career building, offering a suite of services for high-level executives and professionals. These include Personal Career Building Services and Career Building Skills Seminars, incorporating ongoing consulting, introductions and business development outreach.

Disclaimer: I am fortunate to have Sally to be a fellow Board Member in one of my portfolio companies Jiffle.

Sally’s Quought

I wish passionately that someone had asked me early on how I intended to raise my children and had required from me answers in detail.

Sally’s reason for choosing that Quought

I have no real regrets about how I managed this, and the world easily sees that my children  are pretty amazing, still I think had my levels or awareness been deeper, I might have done things a bit differently and even better !!!!

More information about Sally

Sally Pera: Pera Connect

Beginning of 2007, I created a project called “Quought for the day” and requested several thought leaders to contribute a quought for my blog.

Quought = Question that provokes Thought.

The project was VERY successful and well received mainly because of so many interesting Quoughts from several leading thinkers.

My Squidoo lens on Questions has details of all the Quoughts for 2007.

Here is the link to the Squidoo lens:

http://www.squidoo.com/questions

This year, I am continuing the tradition and trying to feature some more questions that will provoke thought.

I reached out to a number of people that I respect and asked them this question

What is ONE question that you wish someone had asked you when you were young? And, Why?

The response of course is another question with a brief explanation.

Think about the question yourself and I will start featuring questions from several other thinkers soon.

Have a great Friday!

Thank you for reading this blog, some other blog and thank you reading anything that you think will help. You might be reading a lot and thinking about what you read and discussing it with your friends. This is all good but without action none of this is good. Bronowski captures this brilliantly in this sweet quote.

“The world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation”

- Jacob Bronowski

Rob Crawford is Director of Development at The Park School, in Brookline, Masssachusetts, an independent school that two of his four children attend. He presents to and advises educational advancement professionals across the country on possibility-thinking, delighting philanthropists, and
taking action on what matters most. Earlier in his career, Rob was a dedicated middle school English
teacher and coach. He earned a B.A. at Dartmouth College, M.Ed. at Lesley University, and M.B.A. at
University of Michigan. He currently serves on the board of trustees at The Carroll School, in Lincoln,
Massachusetts, and helps run The Wow Institute, in Henniker, New Hampshire.

Rob’s Quought for the day:
“When am I in the zone, and how will I double the time I spend in the zone in 2007?”

Rob’s note accompanying the Quought:
Being in the zone means achieving an unusually deep level of focus on a project or activity that
challenges you in ways you love to be challenged, engages your major strengths, and stimulates your authentic interests. We’re at our absolute best when we’re “in the zone.” This is when we’re fulfilling the promise of our unique gifts, living up to our greatest potential, and giving the world our most spectacular stuff. An activity that puts us in the zone reveals to us an arena in which we have the ability to become one
of the top 1% on the planet. To make a significant impact here on earth, and to enjoy the ride as much as
possible, we must discover what puts us in the zone, then do a lot more of that!

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!

Jnan Dash is a technology visionary and executive consultant in Silicon Valley. He focuses on enterprise solutions such as integration, real-time events, real-time Business Intelligence, Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, open source, and transactional Web (Web 2.0). He spent ten years at Oracle Corporation and was the Group Vice President, Systems Architecture and Technology till 2002. He was responsible for setting Oracle’s core database and application server product directions and interacted with customers worldwide in translating future needs to product plans.

Mr. Dash is a well-known expert in the software industry. Prior to joining Oracle in 1992, he spent 16 years at IBM in various positions including development of the DB2 family of products and in charge of IBM’s database architecture and technology. Mr. Dash is a frequent speaker at industry forums around the world on the future of software technology. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Master’s degree in Systems Design from the University of Waterloo, Canada. He sits on several boards and advisory boards of companies. He is also a charter member of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE) of Silicon Valley.

Jnan’s Quought for the day is:

Have I got the right balance between myriad new ideas in technology, while at other times,  getting my mind to a state of “no thoughts”?

Jnan’s note accompanying the Quought:
In other words, do I have a balance between technology and spirituality?

Related Links:
1. Blog: Trends in the Software Industry
2. TiE - Charter Member
3. Compassites - Board Member

Note:
Quought = Question that provokes thought. Questions are important. Thinking is important. Questions that make you think are very important!

PS:
Squidoo Lens: The Power of Questions!