6 questions that makes you rethink life

most of the time you need more questions than answers in life.

it still surprises me how being asked the right question by someone else can help you solve a problem you’ve been stuck on yourself.

the person who taught me this the most is Nikki Langman, who had done so much intentional work on herself from battling drug and alcohol addiction to becoming an ultramarathon runner and now an international keynote speaker.

she taught me that I don’t need more podcasts to listen to, another book, or another mentor.

I just need better questions to ask myself. ever since I started having conversations with my 78 year old self…

recently, I was reminded of this again with my Startmate application and the questions they asked me reflect deeply on the “why” behind what I do.

our minds are constantly running background tasks… full of thoughts, ideas, problems and dreams. taking the time to ask ourselves good questions is a way to process and synthesise all the chaos.

so I wanted to share some questions that my 78 year old self asked me. I hope they make you think as much as they made me think.

and if there are questions that have changed the way you see the world, please share them in the comments or dm me. I'd love to turn this into a collective question bank that we can all come back to and reflect on :)

(1) what would you define as a wasted life? And what scares you most about not achieving the thing you want?

my answer:

My worst life, a wasted life, is one lived mimetically and mindlessly. passing exams, getting a job, getting married, and having children just because everyone else is following that path. A life where we never stop to question ourselves or pursue what matters to us the most. My worst fear is wasting the opportunities my parents sacrificed to give me. They gave up their own goals, left their home, and family so I could have a better education and future. I want to make that sacrifice meaningful. For me, wasting time and not using my opportunities to multiply the blessings I have to help others to also grow and multiply their own blessings is a wasted life.

(2) if your life were a movie, would you watch it or ask for a refund?

the more terrifying the dragon, the more epic the story. lately, I feel like I've been battling duck sized dragons and have been stuck in an endless battle. so… no, I will be asking for a refund.

I learned the importance of choosing what to suffer for because choosing what to work on is more important than working hard. Why? you can climb the ladder quickly, only to realise it was leaning against the wrong wall. you can win a game you never consciously chose to play.

I'd rather fight a terrifying dragon than spend my life in an endless battle with an army of duck sized ones.

(3) what’s a problem you think about more than most people around you?

the problem I think about day and night, even in my dreams... is how can we build a world where people can become irreplaceable by building a unique combination of skills through their own learning path?

our goals, resources, starting points and problems are all different, yet we’re often given the same path. and I constantly experiment and learn how can we build a unique skill stack and curriculum around our circumstances, so we can learn what is relevant to where we are and who we want to become.

(4) if you stopped chasing “busy”, what would actually make your life meaningful?

3 things that makes me feel alive every day:

(1) working out
(2) writing
(3) praying with my family

(5) what would you do differently if you knew you wouldn’t get a second chance?

feeling like I have all the time in the world → adding more urgency.

I would have the goal each day of having nothing left in the tank.

no love in the tank
no work in the tank
no energy in the tank

to go to sleep empty and knowing I have done and became the best I can be for the day.

squeezing out every bit of potential.

then wake up and do it again tomorrow.

(6) how would you like to change the world? how would you make it happen given all the resources?

after high school, I couldn’t afford to go to university. I was terrified of falling behind, going homeless, and becoming useless. but that experience taught me how to make the most of what I had. I built my own curriculum around my goals, the problems I wanted to solve and the resources I available to me. I am building a world where everyone can build their own path based on what they want to achieve, the problems they want to solve, and who they want to become. If I had all the resources, I’m going to build a small team of linchpins who are highly capable, adaptable and can own problems end to end. instead of building a large team around repetitive work, i’m going to integrate ai powered systems that manage different functions of the business that my team can leverage on. And the end goal is simple, to give millions of people the ability to create their own curriculum and take ownership of their education. I believe if people take ownership of how they learn, they can take greater ownership of their lives. I would invest my time and resources in deeply understanding learners, educators, and customers. I would shadow students, teachers, coaches, educational creators, and self-directed learners to understand their life. Based on that, I’m going to build a system/tool that integrates into their life and make it a natural part of their life, like brushing their teeth or eating. my goal is to not to make learning feel like a chore but to feel like play.

thank you for learning with me. if you have any questions that has helped you see the world differently, feel free to share it in the comments and I would love to learn from you :)

~ rea