"I know why you're here, Neo ...
I know because I was once looking for the same thing.
I was looking for an answer.
It's the question that drives us, Neo.
It's the question that brought you here.
Welcome to @dwyl! We are stoked you found us! 🔍 > ❤️ > 🎉
In order to get to know each other better, we are each going to answer a few questions.
Some of these questions will fell very "personal". The answers are yours to keep and reflect on, be honest with yourself.
The questions are meant to make you think. Write down the first thing that comes into your mind, your first thought is usually the most accurate reflection of what you are truly feeling.
It should take you one "pomodoro" (25 minutes) to write your answers. Don't spend more than a few minutes on each question otherwise you are "over-thinking" it. The point is not to write an "essay" for each answer, just a few sentences is more than "enough".
There are no "right" or "wrong" answers, these are your answers, they are "right" for you at this point in your life.
These are personal questions we will be asking all our future
"core" team members. It's important essential to have answers.
@dwyl We don't believe in having formal interviews
with "brainteaser" questions like
"How Many [Things] Are There in [Location]?"
e.g: "How many yoga teachers are there in the USA?"
or "How many taxi drivers are there in New York City?"
These types of questions have their place and are useful
deductive reasoning exercises.
They are insightful for understanding how people think
and systematically approach challenges they haven't encountered before.
But they have limited relevance to understanding why people think
a certain way or what people think about most often.
We are way more interested in people's
answers to the "Why?" questions than how
they implement a particular algorithm on a whiteboard.
We feel that knowing who you are as a person
is the most important thing in a working and friendship relationship.
With that in mind here are the 20 "intro" questions: (the first question is "logistical" and helps us improve our efforts to find like-minded people. Thanks!)
# I discovered dwyl:
Meta: we love knowing how, where, when and why people discover dwyl. It helps us know works in spreading our mission.
# the *reason* I am here today is:
Meta: this is for you to understand your own motives for being here.
Is there a place you would rather be, person you would prefer to be with, or activity you would rather be doing?
# I would rather be ...
# I would rather be ... *because*:
Meta: the purpose of this question is for you to understand what your priority is long-term so you can ensure to focus on it. i.e. "DWYL: Don't Waste Your Life!"
# The list of most significant people in my life:
Meta: understanding who the most important people in your life are, is essential for knowing what to/not focus on.
Who is the person in who most encourages you to keep improving in life? (the person can be "in" your life or "out" of your life, alive or deceased.) If you have a list of people list them in any order and then number them later.
# the list of (one or more) people who most encourage me to keep improving is:
If you do, write it down. If you don't feel that you have a personal mission, write down a mission that you most identify with.
# my personal life mission (or a mission I strongly identify with) is:
Meta: the purpose of this exercise is to help you discover if you are already pursuing a mission in your life. If not, that's perfectly fine! It's just good to get a "snapshot" of your thinking.
If you could dedicate your time to solving a particular challenge/problem however big or small, personal or "world", what would it be?
# I would most like to spend my time solving the following challenge:
Meta: the purpose of this exercise is to help you discover if you are already pursuing a mission in your life. If not, that's perfectly fine! It's just good to get a "snapshot" of your thinking.
If you had a "mega millions" windfall of $100M (USD) and never had to think about money ever again, what would you spend your time doing? List as many things as you can think of.
# If I won the lottery, I would spend my time doing:
Meta: This question might sound "cliché", but it's surprisingly insightful as a "proxy" for what you find meaningful in life. If you didn't have to work for money, and had "enough" cash in the bank to do anything with your life, what would you do? Would you spend your life travelling? Start a family with your significant other? Solve a specific world problem? Again, there no "wrong" or "right" answers! Just write what you feel/think you would do.
Are you already doing anything of the things you listed above?
# List the things you love doing, which you already do:
Meta: This question might sound "cliché", but it's surprisingly insightful
This is not about "religion" or "faith", it's a matter of understanding how you approach life.
# I feel that life ...
What is a lesson you have learned in life "the hard way" that you wish you had known earlier? Your answer can be in any aspect of your personal or professional life. As a guide, the thing you would tell your younger self if you could that would have the most impact on their life.
# my most valuable life lesson is:
Describe an instance where you had to make a decision or faced a challenge that was particularly difficult.
# my most difficult decision or challenge was:
Meta: coping with extreme difficulty is character building and sharing how you handle difficult decisions or challenges is insightful for yourself and others.
Have you ever failed to make the most of an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that you later regretted?
# the most amazing opportunity I missed out on was:
Meta: this is not a question about "retrospective" opportunity spotting, like "BitCoin" or "Buying Amazon Shares". It's about a chance to go somewhere or do something that was a one off thing that you wish you could go back and take with both hands. This is insightful because if you have never missed an amazing chance, you won't know how to spot it when a "Golden Ticket" is offered to you. Again, there is no "wrong" answer here and it will depend a lot on what stage in life you are at.
12. What have you made a conscious choice to say 'no' to even though it was a great opportunity; and why?
Saying "no" to superficially great opportunities can be one of the most difficult things in life, give an example of where you have made this decision consciously and explain why if possible:
# I have said 'no' to:
Meta: Saying 'no' is hard, even to things you don't want to do, but it's even harder to say no to things that you really want to say 'yes' to. This is about helping you recognise that everything you say 'yes' to has an opportunity cost and to think more critically about whether you need to be saying 'no' more in future.
You don't need to write the name of the person, just write down the reason why you are no longer in contact with the person. If you don't have an example for this question, count yourself lucky!
# The reason the relationship "broke down" was:
Meta: this is useful for you to know why and/or how you have been hurt in the past, if you have "scars" how do you deal with them. Was it all the other person's "fault", what would you have done differently in hindsight? Learning from people is way more important than technical skills, people can make-or-break organisations or your life far more destructively and unpredictably than a "bug" in the code. How you deal with that is far more insightful than how you solve "bubble-sort".
If you did not have an answer for #13
or if you have a criteria that would be grounds for an "instant elimination",
what would that be:
# My list of reasons why I would no longer speak to someone:
Meta: if you are the type of person who always forgives people; that is admirable; You have achieved a "higher state". Most people have a "line" that if someone crosses, they will no longer be "welcome" in their lives. If you have such a "line", what is it? The reason this question is relevant is to understand what ethics/morals/standards people hold without going a deep philosophical discussion.
# An important truth, few people agree with is:
This leads neatly into what we are building in "Phase One" ...
Do you have insightful questions you have thought about in your own life or been asked by someone?
Please share!
Share on Twitter
Share on Facebook
Share on Google+
Share on LinkedIn