Seek the answer before you ask the question

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If you have a question about something, before you ask someone to resolve it for you, first try searching online for the answer. You’ll learn more than you asked. I think this simple approach makes a huge difference in your success in today’s digitally-connected life. It creates more self-reliance, teaches you how to craft good search engine questions, and how to discern which answers are useful and which aren’t. The knowledge of the human race is available through the smart phone in your pocket. You have no limitations other than your belief that someone else has to explain it to you. If you get stuck, by all means, ask away. Having put in the time to try means you’ll have that much more appreciation for the person you’re asking, and they will readily perceive this, making it a joy to help you instead of a task. People who have worked hard to understand something enjoy having that time spent validated by the information being useful to others. They don’t enjoy an entitlement attitude of someone who wants the quick path without putting in their own work.

I’ve been in technology since I built my first websites in 1996. Over the years, I’ve worked to help people understand things like the internet and cryptocurrency. I see this pattern again and again. One group of people demonstrate an entitlement attitude where the early stage technology is too hard to understand and use so therefore it’s the technologists’ fault for making them feel insecure about their own inadequacies. This often looks like pride and arrogance in a “I’m too important to waste my time learning this stuff!” kind of way. The other group is appreciative, strategic, and thoughtful. They respect what they don’t know, and they’ve taken reasonable efforts to figure things out on their own before asking for an assist. They have an attitude of gratefulness and humility. They understand they are owed nothing at all and everything they receive is a gift.



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6 comments
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People need to stick to their preferred realms of competence, that's how big parts of society work.

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Then there are those that get bent when you try to find the solution yourself before you come to them.

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Two big paragraphs? Can somebody summarise it for me?

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