Comments on: I Guess I’m Interested In People

By: frogsinatree

frogsinatree — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:08:38 +0000

Hi Nate,

I think this is a fantastic post, and it resonated with me in a huge way, as I am coming to realise that I am interseted in people too! I think we, your followers, all are on some level.

I think I may have mentioned this before but one of my very favourite questions to ask someone new came from a very dear friend and colleague of mine. She asked me, on my very first day of work with my office:

"If life had no limits, where would you be and what would you be doing?"

This question gets right to the heart of an individual's passion.

Sometimes you, as the asker, will have to guide the individual a little bit to remind her/him that life has NO limits - money is not an issue, education is not an issue, recognition or status is not an issue, housing, food, clothing, absolutely nothing is an issue because life is limit-less - to get at where he/she would be and what she/he would be doing.

The insight you gain about that individual from this one question is mind-blowing. Very powerful. I love to use it as often as I possibly can.

Thank you for this post and for reminding me to stop telling my story and start listening to the stories of those around me. A wonderful reminder.

~ Kate

By: frogsinatree

frogsinatree — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:08:38 +0000

By: Nate St. Pierre

Nate St. Pierre — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:44:27 +0000

Thanks, Sarah. I'm going through a tough situation myself right now, and I just asked myself these questions, and I think a couple of them helped a little bit.

By: Sarah Joy Albrecht

Sarah Joy Albrecht — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:56:38 +0000

When talking to people about tough situations in their life, I like to ask …

“What did you learn from your experience?”
“Did anyone help you? What did they do?”
“What gave you hope when you were at your worst?”
“What thought or event put you back on your feet?”
“What would you share with others who are going through a similar situation?”

Not only do these questions guide the conversation toward the positive, they also help people realize that they can make a difference regardless of their circumstances.

Enjoyed this post, Nate. Thanks

By: Nate St. Pierre

Nate St. Pierre — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:03:48 +0000

Thanks Matt – always nice to know you're down there watching out for me.

By: Nate St. Pierre

Nate St. Pierre — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:03:01 +0000

I will say that the high school and college kids in our group have been some of the most inspiring people I've met. They can really surprise you sometimes…

By: Nate St. Pierre

Nate St. Pierre — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:02:18 +0000

Yep Heidi, that's exactly what I'm talking about. It's fun, isn't it?

By: matt

matt — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:25:48 +0000

Excellent post Nate, thanks! Even more fun that hearing about someone's passion for starting something new? Watching them actually grow it into something that fits them oh so well. Keep up the great work with ItStartsWithUs.

By: Nicole Rios

Nicole Rios — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:49:11 +0000

Hey Nate, hope you're doing well I really enjoyed reading this post. I don't have my own favourite question to ask someone, but I think “What is your passion?” or “What do you love doing?” might turn into it. Hopefully I'll get real answers (considering most of the people I've met lately can tend to be party-loving uni students) and learn a lot. I think as we meet people who are older and who have had more experiences, the question of passion and excitement can produce much more interesting answers. That's not to say that teenagers can't have a beautiful passion of course. There's so much we can learn from all types of people, especially when you get out of your comfort zone.

By: heidimassey

heidimassey — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:28:37 +0000

Hey Nate,
I love this post. I do branding workshops for Jobs for Youth. These low income 17-24 year olds have graduated the 8 day program and are looking for something more in their job training. So we provide a 5 day workshop. My favorite portion of the week is when I ask the participants to tell me what they are passionate about. I prepare the group by telling them to look for smiles, sparkling eyes and an energy that suggests they could talk forever about the topic. Then we know they are truly talking about their passion.

That is what you are describing in this post. It is a highly undervalued idea but one that should be a guiding light for us all. So many people can't even say what they are passionate about. But it is key to ultimate success and happiness.

So thank you for bringing up this topic and reminding us all how important it is.