“So why did you go bankrupt?” I asked my mentor-man.
“Because I was a drunk. But really, because I was greedy. I equated power with speed. I should have done half as much twice as well.”

Note to self: Slow down, your time is coming.

“Why did you partner with her?” I asked the mega-firm CEO.
“Because every time I brought an idea to her, she made it better without losing the spirit of my reasoning. She consistently inspired me to be impeccable.”

Note to self: Partner with people who make you feel more like yourself. Seek the excellent ones.

“Why did you walk away?” I asked lonely dude at the cocktail party.
“Because I was afraid of having what I wanted. I left too soon. I regret it.”

Note to self: Self-sabotage is a b*tch. Stay the course. Open up to being truly satisfied.

It’s easy to find out what people are up to. But finding out why they’re up to it is where the wisdom and innovation are waiting. My mentors’ mistakes have saved me money and heartache.

Knowing the reasoning that steered people’s failures and successes not only flattens my learning curve into a smooth highway, but it shakes up my thinking—and ideas begin to surface.

Forget restraint and shelve your fear, and endeavor to really know more about the person in front of you. Analyze motivations. Dig deeper.Why did you sell? Why did you change your mind? Why that price? Why now?

Asking Why is the most simple and powerful act of connecting that you can make.
@DanielleLaPorte (Click to Tweet!)

There is a lesson behind everyone’s motivations that can affirm your sensibility, shatter your beliefs, or spark your next Big Thing.

Danielle LaPorte is the creator of The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul — the book that turned into a day planner system, a top iTunes app, and an international workshop program. A Desire Map workshop happens every weekend somewhere in the world. Author of The Fire Starter Sessions and the wildly popular #Truthbomb series, Danielle is also the co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan and co-host of the Beautiful Writer’s Group podcast.

Entrepreneur Magazine calls her “equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass…edgy, contrarian…loving and inspired.” A speaker, poet, former business strategist and Washington-DC think tank exec, she writes weekly at DanielleLaPorte.com, where over four million visitors have gone for her straight-up advice — a site that’s been deemed “the best place online for kick-ass spirituality,” and was named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes. The Huffington Post named her Twitter feed as one of the “12 of Wisest Twitter Accounts Worth Following.” You can find her @daniellelaporte just about everywhere.