--- title: "Asking Good Questions" id: "768" type: "post" slug: "asking-good-questions" published_at: "2024-08-29T11:57:39+00:00" modified_at: "2026-01-09T17:40:45+00:00" url: "https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/asking-good-questions/" markdown_url: "https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/asking-good-questions.md" excerpt: "What happens when you ask a question? You get an answer. But what happens when you ask a good question?" taxonomy_category: - "General" --- # Asking Good Questions *by Jake Smolarek* In this Article: 1[Questions and answers](#questions-and-answers) 2[Your future depends on the questions you ask](#your-future-depends-on-the-questions-you-ask) 3[If you don't ask, you won't get it](#if-you-don-t-ask-you-won-t-get-it) 4[The Questions Leaders Are Afraid to Ask](#the-questions-leaders-are-afraid-to-ask) 5[The Billion-Dollar Question](#the-billion-dollar-question) 6[The Courage to Disrupt Your Own Status Quo](#the-courage-to-disrupt-your-own-status-quo) Last updated: 9 January 2026 ## Questions and answers What happens when you ask a question? You get an answer. What happens when you ask a good question? You might get an even better answer. And if you ask a good question at the right time? You have the chance to get a profound answer. So, if you ask a good question, at the right time, to the right person, the answer could be *life-altering*. We ask questions all the time without even realising it. What time is it? Can you pass the milk, please? What’s for dinner? These questions are unlikely to change your life. The serious questions, the ones which require thought and consideration, are the ones which might change everything. Asking the right questions is an essential part of [progressing your professional and personal life](https://jakesmolarek.com/) , and, for that reason, knowing which questions to ask, when and to whom is an important skill to learn. ![Question sign on a black board](https://jakesmolarek.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/article-11-hero.webp) ## Your future depends on the questions you ask We start learning to ask questions at a young age. In school, students learn to ask questions to further their knowledge and understand basic subjects. New recruits on their first shift learn by asking others for help. Innovators ask their clients questions to understand their needs. Questions are crucial to growing your knowledge, and with more knowledge comes the chance to advance. Questions don’t just increase your knowledge. They can help solve problems. If you’re not satisfied with your job, what do you do? Complaining might feel good in the short term, but it won’t fix anything. You *ask*. You ask for more responsibility. You ask if there’s anything you can do to improve your performance. Or, you can change everything and ask for a new job somewhere else. book your free initial consultation session! [Get in touch](#contact) ## If you don’t ask, you won’t get it No one’s going to read your mind and assume what you need or want. **You’re going to miss every shot you never take**. Asking is the first step and means you have a shot at making a change. I know that asking can be scary, intimidating, and off-putting. But if you don’t ask, you’ll never get anything. So, even if you are terrible at it, ask. If you continue to ask, you’ll improve your skill. Eventually, someone will say yes or tell you the thing you needed to know. Even if you’re at the top of the professional food chain, you still need to ask questions. Ask the people you work with for help. Ask your customer base to understand what they want. Ask yourself if you’re doing everything you can to reach the success you’re looking for. There are endless reasons why we have to ask questions. To acquire knowledge, to guide a conversation, and even to identify and solve problems. The list goes on. As we grow older, we can forget to continue asking questions. Not because we think we know everything, but because we forget that sometimes, we all need a little help. After all, growth is a continuous process. To make progress, to reach success, and achieve your full potential, you have to ask. You could be just one question away from changing your life. ## The Questions Leaders Are Afraid to Ask > In the corporate world, we are trained to ask strategic questions: *How do we scale? What is the ROI? Where is the market going?* But true high-performance leadership requires the courage to turn the interrogation light on yourself. > > The most dangerous trap for a successful individual is the echo chamber. When you are the boss, people stop asking you the hard questions. They tell you what you want to hear. If you stop asking yourself the uncomfortable questions: *Am I actually happy? Is my team loyal or just compliant? Am I building a legacy or just a bank account?* You are flying blind. > > Growth stops the moment you prioritize comfort over truth. The quality of your life is directly proportional to the amount of uncomfortable truth you are willing to accept. If you aren’t asking questions that make you squirm, you aren’t growing; you’re just aging. ## The Billion-Dollar Question > For High-Net-Worth Individuals, the silence is often loudest at home. It is easy to ask tough questions in the boardroom, but it is terrifying to ask them at the dinner table. > > Many wealthy parents avoid the most critical inquiry of all: *Has my success actually handicapped my children?* We assume that providing abundance is an act of love, but rarely do we ask if that abundance is killing their hunger. > > This is not just a parenting issue; it is a succession crisis. If you don’t dare to ask how your wealth impacts your family’s psychology, you cannot prepare them for the future. You must be willing to [dive deep intonavigating wealthy family conflict & succession to find the answers](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/raising-lions-in-a-zoo/) > . Without asking these hard questions now, the answer will eventually be given to you by lawyers and conflicts when it is already too late. ## The Courage to Disrupt Your Own Status Quo > Whether you are navigating a complex family legacy or simply trying to break through a plateau in your career, the principle remains unchanged: silence is the enemy of progress. > > We often stop asking questions because we are afraid of the answers. We fear that asking for feedback will reveal our incompetence. We fear that questioning our path will reveal we’ve been climbing the wrong mountain. But comfort is a deceptive drug. It keeps you safe, but it keeps you small. > > The most successful people I work with, from CEOs to [rising entrepreneurs](https://jakesmolarek.com/entrepreneur-coaching/) > , share one common trait: they have an insatiable curiosity that outweighs their ego. They don’t ask questions to look smart; they ask questions to shatter their own delusions. They understand that a question is not a sign of weakness; it is a battering ram that breaks down the doors of uncertainty. > > So, take a look at your life right now. Where are you settling for ‘good enough’ simply because you haven’t dared to ask how to make it ‘great’? Stop waiting for permission. The answer you are desperately looking for is waiting for you, but it demands that you speak up first. Be the person who asks. Be the person who disrupts the silence. Share with others. Share on FacebookShare on WhatsappShare on LinkedinCopy LinkLink is Copied!Share on Email - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-real-law-of-attraction-in-action/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-real-law-of-attraction-in-action/) [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-real-law-of-attraction-in-action/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-real-law-of-attraction-in-action/) previous ### [The ‘real’ Law of Attraction – in action](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-real-law-of-attraction-in-action/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/networking/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/networking/) next ### [Networking](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/networking/) [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/networking/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/networking/) [Back to articles](/articles/) About the Author ![Jake Smolarek](https://jakesmolarek.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/tile-about-me.webp)Jake Smolarek [Life Coach](https://jakesmolarek.com/) , [Business Coach](https://jakesmolarek.com/business-coaching/) , Entrepreneur Jake Smolarek has over 18 years of experience and more than 27,000 hours of coaching delivered, working with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and high-performing professionals. His signature frameworks, including **Vision GPS** and **Learn → Practice → Master → Become a F*cking Legend**, to name a few, have helped clients achieve extraordinary results. His work has been featured in *The Times, Yahoo Finance,* and *Business Insider*. [Read more about Jake Smolarek](https://jakesmolarek.com/about/jake-smolarek/) . Recent articles - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/psychology-of-negotiation/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/psychology-of-negotiation/) ### [The Reality of Negotiation: The Psychology Behind Terms, Pressure, and Regret](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/psychology-of-negotiation/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/influence-and-persuasion-psychology/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/influence-and-persuasion-psychology/) ### [Influence and Persuasion: How Human Decisions Are Made, Resisted, and Changed](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/influence-and-persuasion-psychology/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/founder-bottleneck-scale/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/founder-bottleneck-scale/) ### [The Founder Bottleneck: How to Build a Company That Runs Without You](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/founder-bottleneck-scale/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/time-management-architecture/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/time-management-architecture/) ### [Time Management Architecture: The Operating System Behind High Performance](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/time-management-architecture/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/leadership-operating-system/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/leadership-operating-system/) ### [The Fundamentals of Leadership: The System That Builds Elite Operators](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/leadership-operating-system/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/why-morning-planning-fails/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/why-morning-planning-fails/) ### [Planning Your Day in the Morning Is Already Too Late: The Tetris Effect](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/why-morning-planning-fails/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/procrastination-high-performers/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/procrastination-high-performers/) ### [Procrastination: Why High Performers Hesitate And How to Rebuild Speed](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/procrastination-high-performers/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/imposter-syndrome/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/imposter-syndrome/) ### [Imposter Syndrome: The High Achiever’s Glitch in the Operating System](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/imposter-syndrome/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-addiction-to-achievement/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-addiction-to-achievement/) ### [The Addiction to Achievement: The Structural Flaw in Perpetual Growth](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/the-addiction-to-achievement/) - [https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/raising-lions-in-a-zoo/](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/raising-lions-in-a-zoo/) ### [Raising Lions in a Zoo: How Abundance Kills Hunger, A Guide to Wealthy Families’ Conflicts, Power And Succession](https://jakesmolarek.com/articles/raising-lions-in-a-zoo/) I have spoken at [https://www.ox.ac.uk/](https://www.ox.ac.uk/) [https://www.imperial.ac.uk/](https://www.imperial.ac.uk/) [https://www.gre.ac.uk/](https://www.gre.ac.uk/) [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/](http://www.bbk.ac.uk/) [https://www.uwl.ac.uk/](https://www.uwl.ac.uk/) [https://www.lse.ac.uk/](https://www.lse.ac.uk/) [https://www.ox.ac.uk/](https://www.ox.ac.uk/) [https://www.imperial.ac.uk/](https://www.imperial.ac.uk/) [https://www.gre.ac.uk/](https://www.gre.ac.uk/) [http://www.bbk.ac.uk/](http://www.bbk.ac.uk/) [https://www.uwl.ac.uk/](https://www.uwl.ac.uk/) [https://www.lse.ac.uk/](https://www.lse.ac.uk/) Contact Me & Book Your Complimentary Consultation Session address Davies Street, Mayfair, London W1K phone number Mobile: [+44 7738 514 600](tel:+447738514600) email [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#771e191118371d161c12041a181b1605121c5914181a)