Hey everyone, it’s the day before I start my shift again and today we’re going to talk about George Kinder’s Three Questions.

George Kinder’s Three Questions

First of all, who is George Kinder?

Well, he’s kind of famous for being a life planner. However, he is kind of most famous for his “Three Questions”. These questions were designed to help people narrow down what they really want in life within the context of money.

Here are the questions:

Question 1

Imagine that you have enough money to take care of your needs, now and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything?

Question 2

Imagine that your doctor says you have only five to 10 years to live. You won’t feel sick, but you’ll never know when death will come. What will you do? Will you change your life? How?

Question 3

Now imagine that your doctor says you have only one day left to live. Ask yourself: What did I miss? What did I not get to be or do?

What’s the point?

The point of this exercise is that just about every person’s answers will be different. Also, the answers for each question you might think will be the same, but because of time and uncertainty, they will be different.

Also, it’s a probably a good idea to do these questions with your significant other so you can understand each other’s priorities.

Did you do these questions?

No.

At least, not these exact questions. I kind of answered all these questions before over the course of the last 20 or so years of my life. My “answers” to these question became more refined upon meeting and marrying my wife, having kids, buying a house, etc.

Interesting, so it kind of helps you figure out what you may regret?

Yes.

That’s kind of the long and short of it. I would advise that you take the time to write down your answer to these questions separately from your significant other.

You may be surprised what you actually write down when you do these questions. What we think we want and what we actually want may be different when forced to make them somewhat permanent — written down on paper. Also, make sure you use pen to demonstrate you are committed to your answer. Your answers will be refined over time, but it’s good to see where you are and where you were.

Hmmm, what do you mean?

What you and your significant prioritize may be different, and that’s fine. Most likely you value very similar things, but the order may be different. You may both value free time and travel. However, some of us may value free time more than travel. Some prefer the opposite. Others may want to be as close to family as possible which may not be as important to some.

Can you give me an example?

Sure.

A friend of mine and his wife recently did these questions. I think it was expected that they agreed on things like free time, travel, and family. However, I think something that may have been unexpected was just how much my friend wanted a sports car. All of his questions involved something about wanting to own a sports car.

To be quite honest, I had no idea such a thing was so important to him either. However, that’s the whole point of these questions.

What do you really value?

What will you regret not doing or not having?

The important thing is that after doing the questions they made plans to prioritize what was important to them. He is actually seriously looking into getting a sports car — one he really wants and has always wanted. More importantly, they are both on board with it. Also, both of them are prioritizing vacationing and visiting family more. This has become a bigger priority for the both of them, which they will aggressively pursue after travel is safe again.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

What about you? What do you want?

I have long since realized that I am a simple man.

For me, the freedom of choice is more important than anything. As such, while I do like (and want) to travel — I want to do it on my terms without a schedule hanging over my head.

For example, I don’t want to go on a trip to Europe for 3 days, spending one day getting used to the time difference, visiting a bunch of tourists spots in 2 days, and then rushing home. That is not my idea of traveling or a real vacation. I’d much prefer to go to a certain locale and do it for more than a week, but only that place, like just Italy or just Japan — at a leisurely pace.

As such, my wife and I have renewed our passports. We will also apply for passports for the kids soon as well. Additionally, we are also saving up time off to try to make an Italy trip or Japan trip happen in the near future. I was hoping we could do it for 7-10 days, but we’ll see.

Also, we do want to see our families on the coasts as well. We wanted to see them this last year, but couldn’t. So we are hoping for maybe the end of 2021 or early 2022.

Are there any specific possessions you want? Like, your friend really wants a sports car… what do you want?

I’ve kind of been over this, but I’m not a car guy. I thought I was, but I’m really not. The idea of having a nice sports car is kind of lost on me now. Would my wife and I drive Porsches if we had them? Of course. However, we don’t need them or even really want them compared to the other things on a priority list.

The only thing I kind of want is a new computer, but that will happen eventually. However, once again, it will happen on my terms — when I feel I need it and the price is right.

TL;DR

George Kinder’s Three Questions are good to help you figure out what you value in life.

Do the questions separate from your significant other and write them down in pen.

Compare your answers and talk about it.

You will probably be at least a little surprised.

-Sensei

Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

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