The skill I'm talking about is searching question. Too often, it seems risky to ask questions:

• “What if they think it's one mute question?”
• “What if it was covered before, and I somehow missed it?”
• Or more generally: “Smart people have answers; kids in school have questions.”

I'm convinced that questions tap into a deeper part of your brain than statements. Statements prompt a reaction: “Is this true or not; do I believe this or not?” in your brain.

Questions open up a whole horizon of possible thoughts. For example, let's say I ask you, “What's an example of something you previously thought was 100% obvious in your business, but later discovered the reality was much more nuanced?” Your thoughts will not be true/false. To answer this question, you need to go deep into your own experiences.

Connected: The most successful people in the world ask questions constantly. Here's how to master the art of asking questions

Here's how asking the right questions saved my trading career

I threw myself into the lesson day trading and there was an initial fate. A year later, I made all my winnings back and then some. I was careful with the money, but no matter how hard I worked, the trend line was not good. At one point, I was deeply in debt, had sold everything I could on Craigslist, and was on my last chance at day trading.

My desire to understand how to survive as a day trader led me to ask the most basic questions: “I've been trading a lot over the past many months. What patterns or factors can I discover about my profitable trades that differ from those in my non-profit?”

I could ask this question because I kept a trading journal. Not only did I have my trading data, but I also wrote my strategy at the time I made each trade.

Long story short: I discovered that my profitable trades had five common denominators. They were related to things like the stock's growth compared to the previous day's closing price, plus other factors related to price, volume and news.

These insights were key to correcting me daily trading ship. Since then, I have not only continued to trade, but also have a business that includes day trading software, learning materials, and an active community of traders. Asking the right questions has continued to be one of my key tactics for gaining knowledge. In fact, it can be crucial to your competitive positioning.

Connected: Get your ego out of the way and ask for help when you need it

Defining your unique selling proposition

yours”USP“It's about how you stand out from your competition. Day trading it's a profession full of brash, boastful traders. Many of them boast some excellent trades. But how have they done, considering all the trades? This is a question that few of my competitors have published an answer to. Even novice traders know that no one enjoys an uninterrupted streak of trading conquests. So I asked myself, “How can I differentiate myself from all the other day trading offerings?” I found an answer to my question – be more transparent. This prompted me to publish audited brokerage statements covering every single one of the 20,000+ trades I've made.

I continue to do daily summaries of my trading, including when I get kicked in the butt.

Connected: Asking for help can be the key to your success

I ask three other types of questions

1. Ask for confirmation. Let's say I've just gone over some detailed guidelines and goals with someone in my organization. I don't have to wonder if we're on the same page because I can ask, “We've been through a lot. How would you put into your own words what we're trying to do?” I will have my answer very soon and can make adjustments if necessary.

2. Pursuit of targeted learning and problem solving. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. But I've found that it's not the sheer number of hours that matters; that's what you're doing in those hours. Are you mindlessly hitting a ball or practicing a specific swing? If you are trying to improve your sales, then deliberate practice involves asking yourself questions like, “What are all the unique ways I can find where master salespeople address the objection of, 'I'll have to think about it and get back to you.'” Another example: ” Why is my ubinar attendance higher than ever, but mine conversion rate are you slipping?”

3. Targeted planning. If I feel overwhelmed by the hundreds of things on my list, I ask, “Which three projects will have the greatest effect on my goals?” There is an even more fundamental question: “Where do I want to be in three months?”