Whilst there were some pretty smart writers, thinkers and philosophers in Ancient Roman and Greece the period after the fall of the Roman empire was comparatively pretty dim.

For centuries after the year 500 AD the majority of Europe found themselves stuck in a period of intellectual darkness and economic regression. A period of humanity now considered so somber it defined an entire age…

The dark ages.

However at the end of the 17th century and sparked by the likes of Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton and Francois Marie Arouet the darkness was pierced.

An intellectual and scientific revolution had occurred.

We found ourselves in the age of enlightenment.

Whilst you’ve probably heard of Francis Bacon and almost definitely heard of Isaac Newton the name Francois Marie Arouet might be one you might not have heard before.

The reason for this is Mr Arouet didn’t use his real name.

When he wrote, like Dr Seuss, Lewis Carroll and George Owell after him, the name he was famous for using wasn’t his real one.

He was famous for his nom de plume, his pen name.

The pen name he used was Voltaire.

Voltaire was an interesting fella.

He was famous for his wit, prolific writing and commitment to the freedoms he believed in.

He was known for being an early civil rights advocate, his fight against the old traditions of France and for his battle for the working and middle class to get a fairer deal at a time when they paid all the taxes so that the aristocracy could live the life they were accustomed to.

and

Voltaire like many great thinkers, although he could be overly verbose at times, also seemed to have the ability to explain an idea in a way which pieced through the waffle and get to the point. Quotes like…

“I do not agree with what you say….but I’ll defend to the death you’re right to say it”

“Doubt is not a pleasant, but certainty is absurd”

and, my personal favourite…

“Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers”

and Voltaire’s not alone. Many of the great thinkers of humanity believe that asking the right questions is a better route to understanding than just jumping to solutions.

From the aforementioned Francis Bacon (“Who questions much, shall learn much and retain much”), to famous astronomer and all round smart bloke Galileo (“The authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual”) and even modern day surfer types and acoustic guitar based crooners like Jack Johnson seem to have more recently got in on the act (“Questions, I’ve got some Questions. I want to know now.”).

Okay, so maybe Bacon and Galileo might have more intellectual heft than a fella who wrote an album which accompanied the movie “Curious George” (a film about a trouble making monkey!) but as a dad with two daughters who quite like simians I’ll take inspiration from wherever I can get it!

However, and after this talk about questions, philosophers and, em, surfers let’s get to the point.

When it comes to thinking about our “ideal lives” (a subject I’ve talked about in far more detail in this blog which is worth reading this if you haven’t already) the questions you ask yourself will allow you to expand on your vision of this future and provide clarity on what you want your life to look like.

Ultimately the questions you ask yourself will be deeply personal (only you know what your ideal life looks like) however I want to help.

So, let me share some of the most interesting and incisive questions I’ve been lucky enough to learn the importance of over the last few years. I’m hoping there going to be as useful for you as they have been for me…

If you could design your ideal (day/week/month/year) what would you spend your time doing? How would you break this down into the time spent doing different things?

(to get the most value out of the question I’d suggest you should answer it each time for each frequency)

If you only had one more (day/week/month/year) to live how would you choose to spend this time?

What’s your legacy?

What’s the legacy you want to leave behind?

If you’re only remembered in one paragraph, what would you want that paragraph to say?

…..and I’m know when it comes to the questions you could ask yourself there’s many many more (many of which will be in my upcoming book, The Money Manifesto, which will be out early next year)

However one thing you might be wondering is, in all these questions Chris, there is no mention of money. How are these questions relevant to my financial affairs?

The answer is simple…

The best way to understand what you want to achieve with your money is to first understand what you want to achieve with your life.

I hope the great thinkers of the age of enlightenment would agree…

If you would like more help and information on understanding what you want to achieve with your money please call us on 08450568959.