Life’s Questions

Life’s Questions

The title of a corporate coffee table magazine of a large pharmaceutical company attracted my attention the other day.

“LIFE’S QUESTIONS”

A good seventy-five percent of the magazine carried close-up shots of people – from baby to youth, to the middle-aged and the old – with pithy questions which captured their concerns about health issues e.g. Will I make it? Is there time?

The closing twenty-five percent of the magazine tastefully listed how the firm and its products provided the answers to the questions.

Questions always come first before answers.

I am reminded of the famous words on stickers and tee-shirts in the 1970s – Jesus is the answer, and the equally infamous rejoinder – what is the question?

I believe Jesus is indeed the answer to life’s many perplexing questions, but the point is that we should start by asking the questions before looking for answers.

The best answer to the wrong question will bring no marks – many over-excited students have found this out in major examinations.

In the university of life, we must ask the right questions or we can end up pouring blood, sweat and tears finding answers to what may end up as trivial questions – the proverbial gaining the whole world and losing your own soul.

Many motorists in the familiar territory pay more attention to the speedometer than the compass or GPS. But venture abroad to the unfamiliar ground and the compass or GPS takes higher priority. You will only arrive faster at the wrong destination if you pay attention to the speedometer and neglect the compass.

I am reminded of an advice given when I started out in life – you can be sincere but sincerely wrong. Like the man who painstakingly climbed up the ladder to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall.

So the order of things is asking the right questions first and then finding the right answers.

One of the most helpful books I have read is the Book of Questions. It was about questions of general application to life. Another more recent book I read is entitled “The Race” by the current Bishop of the Methodist church in Singapore, which asked what is the right race in life and provided answers.

I like to focus here on asking the right questions in the area of financial planning, investments, insurance, etc.

Too many people don’t think of asking the right questions and end up getting all the wrong answers – ill-fitting advice and unsuitable and uncompetitive products which didn’t really solve their problems (questions).

The top 10 questions I would ask are:

1)      Who is the best person (adviser) who would consider my interest first and can be trusted to help ask the right questions and find the right and best answers to my financial needs?

2)      What are the things that can happen in my life now or in the near future which will be catastrophic to me and my family?

3) What is my single greatest need if I don’t come back from work to my family today?

4)      How much do I need to save for my children’s education?

5)      How much do I need to save for my retirement?

6)      What do I need to do to remain employable and to do well in my work and career?

7)      What should I do in the area of investments?

8)      What do I have to do in the area of legal liabilities exposure?

9)      What must I do to manage my tax matters better?

10)   Have I taken care of the matters which will arise should I die?

Finding the answers to these questions is not difficult. The key is finding the answer to the first one.

Find the right adviser and he has the answers to all the other questions.

Now, who is the best adviser?

That is the Question.