Are You Asking This

FOREWORD BY BRENE BROWN and POSTSCRIPT FROM BRAIN PICKINGS CREATOR MARIA POPOVA Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passersby for their dollars. When she became a singer, songwriter, and musician, she was not afraid to ask her audience to support her as she surfed the crowd (and slept on their couches while touring). And when she left her record label to strike out on her own, she asked her fans to support her in making an album, leading to the world's most successful music Kickstarter. Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds that there are important things she cannot ask for-as a musician, as a friend, and as a wife. She learns that she isn't alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyzes their lives and relationships. In this groundbreaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of THE ART OF ASKING. Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. THE ART OF ASKING will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love.

To get the best answer-in business, in life-you have to ask the best possible question. Innovation expert Warren Berger shows that ability is both an art and a science. It may be the most underappreciated tool at our disposal, one we learn to use well in infancy-and then abandon as we grow older. Critical to learning, innovation, success, even to happiness-yet often discouraged in our schools and workplaces-it can unlock new business opportunities and reinvent industries, spark creative insights at many levels, and provide a transformative new outlook on life. It is the ability to question-and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully.” In this fascinating exploration of the surprising power of questioning, innovation expert Warren Berger reveals that powerhouse businesses like Google, Nike, and Netflix, as well as hot Silicon Valley startups like Pandora and Airbnb, are fueled by the ability to ask fundamental, game-changing questions. But Berger also shares human stories of people using questioning to solve everyday problems-from “How can I adapt my career in a time of constant change?” to “How can I step back from the daily rush and figure out what really makes me happy?” By showing how to approach questioning with an open, curious mind and a willingness to work through a series of “Why,” “What if,” and “How” queries, Berger offers an inspiring framework of how we can all arrive at better solutions, fresh possibilities, and greater success in business and life.

“Every woman who is struggling to understand the mistreatment she is experiencing in her relationship should begin by reading [this] wonderful book.”—Lundy Bancroft, author of Why Does He Do That? What do you do when the one you love hurts you? Have you been searching for answers to difficult questions about your relationship? Do you feel confused about why your partner seems loving one moment and angry the next? Summoning the courage to ask these challenging questions can seem daunting. You know something is wrong in your relationship, but you are not sure what. If you are beginning to wonder if you are experiencing abuse, this book can offer you support, information, and, most of all, hope as you look for answers. Written by two women with a wealth of experience supporting victims of abuse, When Love Hurts introduces exercises and resources to help you make sense of your relationship, addressing all forms of abuse, including verbal, emotional, financial, sexual, and physical. This practical guidebook is a supportive and nonjudgmental friend to those who don’t know where to turn and is filled with stories from women who have been in the same position. By drawing on your own wisdom and that of the many others who have shared your experience, When Love Hurts can help you find the answers you have been looking for.

This Element is an excerpt from The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers (ISBN: 9780137144242) by Terry Fadem. Available in print and digital formats. Learn how to ask the questions that really matter--and get the answers that matter to your business. Managers do not need answers to operate a successful business; they need questions. Answers can come from anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world...Today, the real job of management is determining what the business needs to know--and the who, what, where, when, and how of learning it.

Did you know that asking a new kind of question can immediately change your life? One morning in 1997, college student Noah St. John was in the shower when he asked himself a question that changed his life: Why are we trying to change our lives saying statements we don’t believe . . . when the human mind responds automatically to something even more powerful? That’s when he invented the stunningly simple yet amazingly effective method he named Afformations—a method that’s since helped tens of thousands of people around the world to attract more money, lose hundreds of pounds, find their soul mates, grow their businesses, and dramatically improve their lives, with just four simple steps. The Book of Afformations isn’t just another book on abundance. It’s a proven, step-by-step guidebook to living the life of your dreams. Inside this book, you’ll discover: • What the Belief Gap is and why it’s keeping you stuck • How a struggling insurance salesman increased his income by 560 percent in less than a year—and found the love of his life—using this method • How a 13-year-old girl cured her chronic insomnia using this simple technique—in just one night • What they told you about the Law of Attraction that’s just flat-out wrong • How to quit smoking and overcome depression without drugs or therapy • The 2 most effective questions of all time, and the 1 question you should never ask • How to create instant superstar performance in yourself and everyone in your organization • And that’s just the beginning . . . Are you ready to join the Afformations Revolution?

We often think of Jesus as someone with all the answers. But over and over in scripture, he asks questions, seeking to engage with people and genuinely interested in their responses. Matthew Croasmun challenges readers to consider this book as an experiment—an opportunity to see whether God is real. He invites us to enter into conversation with Jesus by answering the questions Jesus asks in scripture. The goal is not to come up with what we think are the right answers but to respond honestly to Jesus' questions. Each chapter of this six-week study contains five readings. Each reading follows this format: A Bible passage with a question Jesus asks in bold type A short reflection designed to help you engage with Jesus’ question as he asked it in the Gospels and as he asks it of you now Space for you to continue the conversation with Jesus. Written in a warm, encouraging style, this thought-provoking and imaginative book will certainly give readers entry points into conversation with God, and they may find themselves experiencing a deeper relationship with the divine than they ever thought possible.

The act of questioning is the primary speech interaction between an institutional speaker and someone outside the institution. These roles dictate their language practices. "Why Do You Ask?" is the first collected volume to focus solely on the question/answer process, drawing on a range of methodological approaches like Conversational Analysis, Discourse Analysis, Discursive Psychology, and Sociolinguistics-and using as data not just medical, legal, and educational environments, but also less-studied institutions like telephone call centers, broadcast journalism (i.e. talk show interviews), academia, and telemarketing. An international roster of well-known contributors addresses such issues as: the relationship between the syntax of the question and its discourse function; the kind of institutional work that questions perform; the degree to which the questioner can control the direction of the conversation; and how questions are used to repackage responses, to construct meaning, and to serve the institutional goals of speakers. Why Do You Ask? will appeal to linguists and others interested in institutional discourse, as well as those interested in the grammatical/pragmatic nature of questions.

A well rounded young woman searches for love and attempts to find it in every man she dates. This leads not only to heartache along the way, but drama and tragedy.Determined not to fail at love, she continues to give her all, man after man, she never gives up.

Over the course of 30+ years Dr. William P. Kalosieh has counseled numerous individuals, families and couples in the throes of a crisis whether part of normal human development or unexpected and causing the normal balance of routine daily life to falter. Counseling sessions typically favor the emotional over the rational and often preclude the therapist from educating the client about the issue, problem, concern that brought him/her to therapy. In this compendium of articles Dr. Kalosieh writes about not only the issues and concerns he frequently encountered in his practice but also about some notions that have fascinated him for many years. The articles range from personal, emotional development to interpersonal dynamics both normal and abnormal or healthy and unhealthy. The sequence is merely conventional and the reader is at liberty to select a topic or concern he/she wishes to explore. The author does not present a system to interventions based upon his own theory of personality and marriage, rather he utilizes the techniques, strategies and theories of highly regarded experts in various fields of psychotherapy. The articles are intended to be above all helpful to individuals, couples and families as they face the challenge of maturity, communication and raising a family. Promoting a peaceful, harmonious village requires peace of mind and heart in the individuals.