Right of Admittance Reserved For Those That Ask Masterful Questions

Masterful questions give you access to a world of mastery.

Right of admittance reserved. I’ve always wondered about that phrase. I see it on the doors of cinemas, restaurants, hotels, pubs and clubs. It means that the establishment can refuse you the right of entry if they don’t think you should be allowed in. I have been barred from entering restaurants because there was a private function. Or, I have been refused entry to clubs of which I was not a member. Or, I have only been allowed into a club because I was with someone that was a member. Or I was allowed in only because I had a card or a ticket that identified me as someone that was qualified to come in.

All around us, there are places that we would like to enter but the right of admittance is reserved against us. For some of us, it’s the worlds of the rich and famous. We see the lives of the Clooneys and the Brangelinas and we want in. The closest I get is Clooney’s tequila. Or we interact with people that are highly successful and we think that they belong to a world of natural privilege or genetic advantages. We think they have it much better than we do or they are just plain luckier than us.

I want to belong to the world of mastery.That’s the club that I want admittance into. I don’t just want to visit that place. I want to live there. I want to experience the joy and natural self-expression of being a master of the game. Frankly, I’m obsessed with it. That’s what I think about when I wake up. It’s what I think about during the day. And it what’s I dream about when I sleep.

I’ve been trying to earn the right of admittance into the world of mastery for the past 30 years. I still haven’t found the right answers. But I have found the right questions. I’ve discovered that masterful questions give you the right of admittance to a world of mastery.

You cannot get answers to questions that you’re not asking. Questions are access to the world of mastery, fulfillment and self-expression. Questions are timeless, answers are temporary. The answer to anything may be right for this moment and then it could be wrong immediately afterwards. Whenever you hang on to an answer for too long, it drags you down until you let it go and reach for another question.

It’s tough. Sometimes, you have to let go of answers that have given you security your entire life. You have to let go of the “truths” that have grounded you until now. You have to search for new answers that you may not even like. They may even confuse and terrify you.

“Here be dragons” the ancient maps used to say about territories that had not been explored. Nothing has changed. Dragons are the fears that could smoke you if you don’t take them on. The worst dragons are the ones that you’re not even aware of. They are the ones that destroy you by default. They live inside your ignorance and disguise themselves as bliss. You only feel their fire when someone else earns admission to the worlds you want instead of you.

This is my way of helping you slay the dragons before they slay you, and have fun doing it. It’s sweet when you realize how tiny and frail most dragons are. When you’re being a master, no dragon can stand against you.

The way to mastery is to ask the questions that masters ask.

A master is someone who is extraordinarily effective in their interaction with life and exceptionally happy in their life.They are getting measurably superior results. They attract other extraordinarily effective people to them. They’re always expanding their capacity because they’re always asking extraordinary questions. They take nothing for granted. Nothing is obvious or boring for them. They don’t stand back and observe. They jump in and participate. They live out there where all the opportunities are. They are open and accessible but they are also demanding and challenging.

Masters don’t settle for anything. They probe and push and pry open secrets of success. They discover the magic for themselves. They do the work that needs to be done but they don’t complicate the outcomes. They know when they see it. But they also know that what they see today is just the opening for what they will see tomorrow. They’re always exploring and they’re always curious about what’s around the next corner or over the next hill.

They’re restless and relaxed at the same time. They’re not frustrated by their progress or angry about their obstacles. They don’t resent others for getting in their way. Masters live in the world of what works. They only thing that matters to them is how they can interact with impact.If it doesn’t work, they change their approach. If that doesn’t work, they change it again. On the other hand, even if it is working, they change their approach before they need to change their approach.

Life is an experiment and adventure in equal measure. Masters evaluate the power of their actions while they relish the thrill of going where they haven’t been before.

In the world of the master, internal feelings are not the drivers of their behaviour. They know they are not their feelings. They understand that they often have no control over what they’re feeling.

They can feel disgusted, fatigued, annoyed, angry, disappointed, afraid, nauseous, betrayed, or uncertain. Feelings are generated by every experience that we’ve ever had. Sometimes, they just flood us like a burst water main.

It’s not what you feel. It’s what you do while you feel what you feel.

 For example, I know I had to create this message. I had to write it, film it, edit it, post it, and promote it. There were many moments along the way where I didn’t want to do any of that. I wanted to kick back, relax, cruise, watch TV, play with my dogs, drink a scotch, or just do nothing.

If I obeyed my feelings, this moment wouldn’t be happening. You and I would not be connected. The magic would not be percolating. All the possibilities that we’re creating together would never have materialized.

Wow! Think about that:how many possibilities could you create as a result of acting, not procrastinating?How many people could you inspire? How much more happiness could you experience? How masterful could you become? Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Think about the masters of life that you know. Think about the way that they interact with life. What are their defining hallmarks? Discover their secrets for yourself? Study them. Talk to them. Work with them. Absorb their language. Listen to their vocabulary. Hear their conviction embedded in their words. Then use your discoveries to become a master yourself.

So let me ask you some masterful questions:

What world do you live in?Is it a world of mastery or a world of mediocrity?

What kind of results are you getting?

Are you being fully expressed or are you being half baked?

Are you actually in the game and on the court?Or are you just shouting instructions from the stands?

When you look around you, are you amazed by what you see?Or are you looking at amazing things without even seeing them?

Are you being extraordinarily effective in your actions and are you enjoying an exceptionally high quality of life?

Is there one area of your life where you can honestly say that you are among the best in the world in that area? How do you know?

Are you giving yourself excuses not to perform?Are you allowing your emotions to stop you in your tracks?

Are you being willing to live with regret because you aren’t being courageous enough to slay your dragons?

What do you need to do right now?And I mean right now. Who can you call? What can you write? What can you create? What can you plan? What can you commit publicly to achieving? What can you sign up for? What promises you can you make? How can you be bold and audacious? How can you surprise yourself and amaze others? What difference can you make in the next ten minutes? What can you give? What must you give up?

My point is that just knowing something doesn’t help you. You may not even know what you think you know. You only know that you know when you do something that results in something. I only know that I know when you call me and tell me that I made a difference to you. So tell me right now. Call me or text me on 416-917-6007or email me at mike.lipkin@environics.ca.

You may not be able to change the world. But you change your world right now. Every discovery earns you the right of admission to a new world that’s nothing like your old world. You can enter a new one every day if you’re open, ready and willing to do the work. This is Mike Lipkin and I hope you’ll invite me into your world of mastery. I’ve already invited you into mine. Now go discover yours for yourself.