Whether you are graduating from high school, college or just another day of work, congratulations on being you and navigating this unpredictable and crazy life. Wherever you happen to be, I have a question for you about questions. Specifically, are the questions you find yourself repeatedly asking empowering you to grow or are they keeping you struggling and miserable? I ask because I’ve found the questions you ask yourself have a huge impact on where you go in life. If you ask, “How do I go North?” You are likely to find an answer that takes you North. Simple enough. However I’ve found that in life, we often ask ourselves, “How do I go South?” when what we really want, above all else is to go north. Why do we do this? I have no idea. We humans are complicated creatures. You might be thinking, ”Hey Jason, I would never do that.” Well if that’s so, you are far wiser than me and I’m very happy for you. I do know that I’ve asked myself questions that sent me in a direction I didn’t want to go, REPEATEDLY. I’ve labored, in fact I’ve gone to war with myself, trying to answer questions such as, “Why was I the one born with a disability?”, “Why am I the one who doesn’t talk like everyone else?”, “How can I be perfect enough to compensate for my insecurities about my disability?” Those questions sent me on a trajectory of struggle and misery. Indeed, when we ask painful questions, we’re likely to get painful answers. Whereas, nowadays I repeatedly ask myself questions like, “How can I use my disability as a gift?” and “How do I do my Imperfect Best?” Asking more uplifting and empowering questions has changed every aspect of my life. However, the change hasn’t been magic or instant. Once you start asking, “How do I walk North?” because that’s the direction you want to go, you still have to do the work of actually walking North. Constant, daily work. I have speech impediment. I’ve forgotten just about everything I learned about calculus in college and most of my Spanish vocabulary, for that matter. I don’t have a PhD, an MD or an MBA. I’ve most definitely never been in the NBA, and never had the guts to try out for America’s Got Talent. While we’re talking about it, I’ve never run for political office or broken a Guiness World Record, either. But I AM living and breathing. I have talents. I make mistakes. So, I feel qualified to deliver this address. Please tune into this presentation, which will probably give you very few answers, but that will hopefully inspire you to ask yourself better, more empowering questions. _______________________________________________ **Video broadcast available** on YouTube @imperfectbest **Learn more about Jason Freeman** at AwkwardlyAwesome.com
