My father was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to study under Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. One of the lessons Dr. Peale often taught his students was: “When every physical and mental resource is focused, one’s power to solve a problem multiplies tremendously.”
Many people have found that most problems are multi-dimensional. You have probably heard the phrase: ‘What a tangled web we weave’. These questions will give you a marvelous tool to successfully untangle that web and get to the root cause of any situation. Knowledge is power and when you can very clearly see the real issue, you will be able to reach the solution quickly, with ease and grace.
There is a process that you can use to help you keep your focus when facing a problem . We call it the Four Magic Questions These four clarity questions have also been called ‘The Dancing Recipe’ and ‘The Unstacker’.
Many years ago the president of a company, we’ll call him Sam, went in for a physical. After the exam, the doctor told him: “Sam, you are suffering from severe stress. If you don’t change something you’ll be dead in two years – or less!”
Sam was stunned, maybe more so than he had ever been in his life. He realized that his situation was serious and they discussed what his options were. He made a decision and called his executive assistant.
He told her to clear everything off his calendar for the next 10 days and book him into the company lodge (which was not being used at that time of year). He packed a few things and headed out. Sam began by working with this question:
but at the same time make my life less stressful?”
What he discovered over the next ten days, after much frustration and going down many dead end roads, was the “Four Magic Questions”. This marvelous method completely transformed his life.
Sam credits this process for decreasing his stress dramatically. He calls these four simple questions the Dancing Recipe. Some people call it the Magic Dancing Recipe. That’s because it seems so simple and powerless … until you have used if several times and THEN it seems to work like “magic”.
This new idea also made his job as company president easier. Each time an employee had a problem, he would hand them the four questions and ask them to return after they had been answered. Ninety percent of the time they NEVER came back.
Here’s why this series of questions work. Most often when we are stumped, it is because we have more than one issue stacked on the table and we are not aware of it. The magic of these questions comes from helping you realize there are multiple issues.
They help you ‘unstack’ all those problems and identify the root cause. Once you begin to work on the main problem, most of the other secondary difficulties will resolve themselves without any further action on your part.
These four questions are as helpful today as when they were first developed. They work together in combination, giving you a huge advantage for your success. The good news is you can put them to work for you today.
As you go through this process, your thoughts will “dance” back and forth between the questions. You will find that an answer to question #2 sends you back to question #1 again. In fact, it’s normal to repeat questions #1 and #2 several times. Keep at it – that give and take is where your clarity will come from!
Most often you will end up with two or three or even more problems, instead of the single issue you thought you had. At first this looks like a step backwards. However, once the multiple problems are identified, it usually becomes very easy to see which one is the key you are looking for.
Like many others, at first you might find this process seems a little difficult and stilted. Remember practice makes perfect, so stay with it. After using it a number of times you will find that it’s truly magical in it’s power to solve problems!
Here are those “Four Magic Questions”
* What is the problem?
* What caused the problem? (Remember it’s normal to find yourself bouncing back and forth between questions one and two.)
* What are the possible solutions? (Please note you must write down at least three possible solutions. Creative problem solving begins when you have ten or more. Twenty is even better!)
* Which solution do I recommend?
Our suggestion for you today is anytime you are reflecting on a challenge or situation that is not exactly as you would like it to be, ask yourself these “Four Magic Questions”. For even faster results, you can also use these questions in a problem solving mastermind group. They are easy to use and an excellent way to keep everybody on the same page.
1.) What is the problem?
2.) What caused the problem?
3.) What are the possible solutions?
4.) Which solution do I recommend?
Every day we have the opportunity to review and revise our thoughts. Today is a good day to apply these questions to a situation that you are wondering about in your own life.
Work happily and with a smile this month. Each time you find yourself faced with a problem, pull out your Four Magic Questions and take time to unstack and unravel that issue. This small, simple process will bring great satisfaction and marvelous rewards into your life!
About the Author:
John Carpenter Dealey is dedicated to helping people solve problems, recognize (and take full advantage of) marvelous opportunities available to them and helping people reach their dreams and goals with “ease and grace.” Visit his website at: http://dr-mastermind.com/home.php
John enthusiastically started his first business at age nine, joined his first MasterMind group in 1972, and became a “self-made millionaire” by the age of 27. If you would like to learn how to apply these powerful principles in your own life, sign up for a free subscription to MasterMind Tips ezine at: http://www.dr-mastermind.com/
