Chapter 4 Questions - alvernaz.comalvernaz.com/CLOUDS/Clouds 2010 - Chapter 04.pdf · Chapter 4 –...

CClloouuddss … Questions

CClloouuddss – © 1985-2010 by Bil. Alvernaz [email protected]

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If isn’t was, maybe would be?

Chapter 4 – Questions

… stop insulting your intelligence and start stimulating it!

So here we are, you looking for the answers to the questions and

enigmas haunting you. Lurking somewhere in the wake and residue of what

normally goes on in that gray matter behind your two bright, kind, probing

pupils skipping their way through these strands of letters, punctuation, and

spaces are, indeed, all the answers and revelations you seek (and then

some!).

Take enough of these words seriously and you will be able to craft

yourself a virtual pouch of insight to sling over your shoulder. It should have

(if you have been paying close enough attention) just about everything you

will need to find your way, including field glasses, a pocket knife, maps, and

even a sewing kit (all virtual, of course). That should then result in you not

having to worry about anything except being a diligently persistent observer

who participates in whatever you so choose. Hopefully, that will lead to a

habit of you consistently paying attention as you participate in the Art of Life



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more and more. And, the Art of Life is simply living life the way YOU want to

(not whatever everyone else thinks you should do).

What you need to focus on most is “attention,” not being the center

of it while being more mindful of it as to what is going on all around you

(including in back of you, below you, and, most especially, above you which

is where clouds come into the picture). While your sole/soul responsibility of

observation might not sound like much, it is the single most important

“dynamic of the equation” here for you ... one we need to talk about a little

bit more (and something you really haven‟t been doing very well at all). Of

course, this is all based on the assumption that you finally start seeing

clouds in the context of reading them and looking at them as something “up

there” dotting and punctuating the sky as it relates to your life.

The answers to carving out your own unique Art of Life identity,

exactly the way you want your life to be, amid all of the Millennium Residue,

can potentially reveal to you exactly what you need to know … and it all

begins and ends with knowing how to read clouds. What each person

extracts from these words (and the clouds) will be different. The reason for

that is because what you have before you, once you “get it” in terms of

reading clouds, is an amazingly simple-to-use, complex-to-initially-find

entryway to universal perspective, perception, and celestial communication.

You aren't supposed to agree with everything presented here. Maybe

you will, maybe you won‟t. Don‟t try to agree or disagree … JUST THINK! You

agreeing or disagreeing isn‟t what matters. What matters is that you get

your “brain in gear” … that will lead you directly to the crucial point of

getting you to think about all that you otherwise hadn't considered (and that



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is when you will start seeing what you haven‟t seen, even though it has been

right in front of you all along).

So much of your “problem” (and the main reason why you constantly

and incessantly torment yourself with many seemingly unanswerable

questions) is that you have adapted (and numbed) yourself to consistently

overlooking and/or ignoring so much of what you should be have been

paying attention to. And, for an extremely large percentage of your life,

you‟ve been so busy trying to please other people that you no longer

consider what it is YOU want, who YOU want to be, or how YOU really want

to live your life.

That‟s why you haven‟t come close to “tuning in” to reading clouds.

Simply put, you haven't been looking at things (especially clouds) in

the right way. That's what causes all of those dull, empty, aching feelings

deep inside of you, the ones haunting you like demons through sleepless

nights, gnawing away at the back of your mind during various mundane

activities, and biting especially hard on your sentimentality through all of

those never-ending, nostalgic gatherings like family and class reunions

(funerals, too). When hopes and dreams melt away (most of the time,

without you even realizing it), disappointment and incredible loneliness,

mixed with a monster dose of insecurity and self-doubt, easily get tangled up

with all of that vulnerability you think you keep hidden so well (but people,

somehow, still keep taking advantage of).

Those extended periods of just “lying there awake” for so many “long

nights until dawn” are the byproduct of your mind struggling with all of the

self-induced conundrums you have meticulously created, perpetuated, and

tangled yourself up in.



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You think you‟re the only one who has problems sleeping “through

the night?” Millions of people, all around the world, have problems sleeping.

Famous people, too. You read about it all the time, along with all of the

drugs involved (that lead to so many other chemical-induced problems).

Shakespeare said it best, “To sleep, perchance to dream.” But,

therein lies the key to this whole conspiracy of people not being able to

sleep. Again, you (and so many others) haven‟t been looking at sleep in the

right way.

First, you need to understand just what sleep is. Sleep is that point of

seemingly suspended animation where your body “shuts down” to replenish

itself. There are four stages of sleep … Studies dating back to the 1930s

started looking more closely at the four stages of sleep. By the 1950s, sleep

studies zeroed in on the REM stage of sleep (known as Rapid Eye

Movement). REM is actually the fifth stage of sleep and this is where you

dream and the real magic (whatever it actually is) of sleep happens to

replenish and rest your body.

When you go to sleep, you work your way through the four stages of

sleep, ultimately getting to the REM stage. That‟s where you recharge your

body and mind. Despite all of the studies, no one is really sure how sleeping

does what it does for you. But, the key point here is that you only need a

maximum of 90 minutes of REM sleep during the night. The rest of the time

you spend sleeping is “getting there” and “coming out of” the REM stage.

So what is really going on all of those nights when you think you can‟t

sleep? You‟ve simply “done your time” in the REM stage and you‟re done

sleeping (probably residing in the REM stage for 60 to 90 minutes which is

the norm). So get a book and read. Or, get up and do something. You‟ve



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gotten all of the rest you needed for that particular night! In reality, when

you “just lay there” torturing yourself trying to sleep, you‟re really just

wearing yourself out mentally. What Yogi Bera said about baseball applies to

so many other things in life, including when you try to “fight yourself to

sleep” … Yogi said, “It‟s ninety percent half mental!”

So, if you start to look at sleep in a different way (maybe even the

“right way”), what you thought was a “problem sleeping,” really wasn‟t.

Think how much more time you will have to do things if you only need to

sleep 90 minutes a night. That said, the qualifying statement here is that

after a lifetime of thinking you needed eight to ten hours of sleep a night and

all of the practice and perseverance you put into such efforts, now it is going

to be hard to retrofit your sleeping schedule. That doesn‟t mean you won‟t

be able to do it. The truth here is that just about everyone, most of the time,

for whatever reason(s), works their way through the four stages of sleep to

REM; and then, after the REM stage, they work their way back through the

four stages again until they wake up (or are abruptly woken up).

If you‟ve ever wondered what is so magical and refreshing about

taking a quick nap in the middle of the day, well, those are the points where

you instantly zoom directly into the REM stage, bypassing all of the other

stages of sleep. So, you maximize that “down” time and really don‟t ever

need too long of a snooze.

In those long, seemingly endless “sessions” when you can‟t sleep,

those are the points where your mind becomes consumed with so much of

"extra luggage" we all drag around, miring us in conflicting viewpoints and

contradictory moral convictions. That causes each of us in our own way, to

ask questions and have frenzied thoughts like:



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“Why does everybody expect so much from me?”

"Is this it - the rest of my life?"

"What am I really supposed to be doing with my life?"

"Why do I let so much bother me?"

"Is everyone always going to let me down?"

"Am I always just going to live from payday to payday?"

"Why can‟t I have fun anymore?"

"Where did all the excitement in my life go?"

"Why don‟t I ever have enough time or money?"

"Why do I spend time with people/relatives I don't even like?"

"How come other people always get the breaks?"

"Why can‟t I just be happy?!?!?"

First of all, maybe, just maybe, you are asking all of the wrong

questions. Maybe you shouldn‟t be asking any questions at all! You need to

backtrack to the truth each time you start pounding your intellect with

questions. Most of the questions you keep rerunning in the caverns and

crevasses of your psyche have nothing to do with the truth (or what things

really are and will eventually be). So before you start surmising about (and

tormenting yourself with) impossible questions (and the ultimate outcomes

you keep imagining), ask yourself the one simple question, “Do I know what

the truth about what will really happen?”

Keep that question in the forefront of you mind. Use it to combat all

of those questions you fret about when you can‟t sleep (or when you‟re

driving or whatever it is you are doing while simultaneously thinking).

Because the ultimate truth about truth is that most of the time you don‟t



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have enough information as to what the outcomes will be for those questions

you just feel you have to keep asking yourself over and over.

Here is an example of what you need to stop doing … and how to stop

doing it:

You‟ve applied for a job. You‟ve talked to the recruiter for the

company and everything sounds great. The recruiter not only asks you to

submit a more detailed resume, but that recruiter “clues you in” and tells

you exactly what else to include on your reworked resume as well as how

and where to add in key phrases.

You do all of that. Submit the resume, along with references, and a

summary sheet of your skills. Then you don‟t hear anything back. NOTHING!

That‟s when you start with the questions about “What went wrong?”

At that point, you don‟t know that anything went wrong. You‟re

making assumptions, because you don‟t have all of the details/facts. And,

that means you couldn‟t possibly know the truth. That recruiter told you

what to do and you did it. Just wait to see what happens next and “move on

with things” in your life instead of obsessing about what went wrong, what

more you should have done, who else got the job, why weren‟t your

credentials good enough, and so on and so on and so on.

Maybe you‟ll get the job. Maybe you won‟t. That is the truth until you

hear otherwise. If you don‟t get the job, LET GO, and move on. But, here is

the critical factor for ALL of those cases where you do something and then

wait for what happens next. BEFORE you do anything, approach whatever

you do from the perspective of DO YOUR BEST, DON‟T CUT CORNERS, and

BE AS THOROUGH AS POSSIBLE. If you do those three things, then the rest



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will take care of itself. Most importantly, you won‟t have any regrets “looking

back” in relation to “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”

If someone else got the job or there is an outcome other than what

you wanted from any particular situation, learn from it, and move on.

Replaying things over and over in your mind that you don‟t have any control

over (especially in relation to the truth) isn‟t going to do you any good … and

it is definitely going to keep you from reaching the REM stage of sleep … or

doing so many of the “other things” that you should and could be doing.

There is no way to know what the future will bring (until you start

reading clouds and, even then, there are no sure things). But, if you do your

best – absolute best – at whatever it is you do or attempt the first time

around, then there isn‟t anything else you could have possibly done in any

situation.

When it comes to questions, there is only one question superseding

all the rest. It just happens to be the one you have most control over, but

tend to overlook, ignore, or otherwise put on the “back burner” most of the

time.

That question is the question of all questions and only YOU have the

answer to it.

“What do I really want?”

Answering that requires dealing with the truth and all that surrounds

you. It will also lead to you “mapping out a plan” to get from here to there.

And, if you are already “there” (i.e., where you want to be, doing what you

want to do), then you need to look closely at how to keep it all going. So,

yet again, we come back to PAY ATTENTION.



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Actually, once you learn to read clouds, you won‟t be asking many

questions at all, because everything you seek to know is elegantly and

readily available right there in the clouds (or Thought Streams). But, if you

must pursue answering a myriad of questions (if there really are any

answers to them other than many more questions that lead to yet more

questions), it all comes back to you and your perspective ... that‟s where the

“magic answer” of reading clouds comes into play.

Of course, this won‟t make any sense until you can, indeed, read

clouds. But, more than anything else in your life (even before you attempt to

read clouds), you have to make it a point to live your life, not being an

observer, but by being a participant … which brings us back to the Art of

Life, which is, quite simply, living the life you want to live, untethered and

unfettered … essentially happy with who you are and what you are doing.

The real issue here isn't answers, per se'. It has more to do with

understanding, awareness, compassion, courtesy, fun, and NOT a trace of

animosity. In other words, you need to focus on the Art of Life, which is all

about living your life, and not waiting around for others to "guide you,"

"push you," “bully you,” or "help you." You know what you really want to do

and not do (provided you think about it). You know, instead of letting all of

those non-answerable questions grip your perspicacity (look it up, because it

is the exact word you need to deal with on this matter of questions you

shouldn‟t be pestering yourself with).

Your main problem is you have spent too much of your time thinking

(or not thinking) about other things, looking for (or trying to avoid) things to

worry about, and seeking (or not seeking) answers to questions you basically

torment and torture yourself with over and over again. When, really, all



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along you should have been channeling your mental energy more

productively. That is exactly what reading clouds is about – producing

positive, productive, efficient, and effective mental energy that will

rejuvenate your spirit … and make great things happen.

If you've ever wanted a second chance to start over again in your life,

the essence of reading clouds and then channeling that supercharged mental

energy into your Art of Life is exactly that. The insight you will gain from

reading clouds reveals precisely what it is you want, in realistic, tangible,

“the real truth” terms of making things happen (i.e., having the truth on

your side). That will lead to you instantly seeing the roadmap to move

forward with a whole new perspective clearly pointing the way for you. Look

at reading clouds and perfecting your Art of Life as your ultimate GPS

navigational system for mapping out your course without any “traffic jams”

getting in the way and keeping you from reaching your destination.

That virtual pouch you created earlier to sling over your shoulder will

become more and more full of useful "brain power" tools (that don‟t need a

single bit of explanation) once you start reading clouds and seeing how easy

it is to believe totally and completely in yourself, your judgment, and the

path you have chosen (or are about to choose) from tens of thousands.

Don‟t look to others for answers or assistance. Look within yourself!

Until you learn to read clouds, life will continue to be a series of odd

quirks, leading to an ambiguous, serendipitous rendezvous or two (or three

or more) during the course of doing the best you can to chisel out what

works best for you in life. But, still, all of those questions will be right under

the surface, waiting to muck up your consciousness.



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I didn't set out to unravel so many of the perplexing threads in life's

thick, velvety fabric. It just happened to happen because I learned how to

read clouds. And, now, by me sharing with you what I found out, you can

learn (if you want to) how to corner and absorb such influences, not by mere

happenstance, but by extending your line of sight into the realm of pure

mental potential – that is, the Art of Life, based on reading clouds.

What happens once you start reading clouds is different for each

person. So don‟t expect your experience to be close to or anything like mine

(or anyone else‟s). That‟s not how the Art of Life works. It will all depend on

YOUR mind and how it works (or what IS NOT working and thus needs to be

jump-started). Things won't just magically occur. You have to make things

happen and that requires a fundamental shift in how you live your life. But,

therein lies the solution ... and, that simply is living your life, paying

attention, while not worrying about being the center of attention. It‟s time to

stop just “getting by” and start sculpting yourself into YOUR Art of Life.

Be forewarned that forgetting about all of the questions, as well as

associated headaches and heartaches, and just going "out there" to live your

life does NOT come without certain "tariffs" (some people would sadly

choose to look at them as restrictions, limitations, and risks). In other

words, like so much in life, there are prices (cosmic tolls, if you will) to pay

in different ways if you want to walk lightly and oh, so discreetly upon the

surface of the earth to “find your way,” as well as clearly see who YOU really

are and what YOU really want. Misinterpretations (many of which easily

wedge themselves between you and what you want) can lead you down a

wrong or distorted “conclusionary trajectory.” You‟ll find (and walk along)

many of those throughout life‟s pathways.



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You can choose to stay tethered to the same place in whatever reality

you (and many “helpful” others) have so carefully created, thinking that it is

comfortable (but, most of the time painfully predictable). Or, if you're not at

all satisfied with what happens (or doesn't happen) in your life, then start

doing something about it! If there are many points where you feel you could

have done better, then start approaching things from the standpoint of

"giving it everything you've got" each time you do something. That kind of

enthusiasm and passion is infectious so you will impress a positive impact on

others, too.

Although it might feel safe, don't stay trapped within your limitations

(most self-imposed, some erected like elephantine barricades by others -

usually stemming from the "help" of friends or relatives). Just about all of

the obstacles (most of which really aren't there other than in your mind) you

have managed to collect have come about by default each time you chose to

ignore or elude making decisions, no matter how large or small. For some

reason it always works out that the smallest of decisions we chose NOT to

make ultimately have the biggest impact on our lives.

When it comes to risks, well, most people opt to never take any (no

matter how enchanting the "rewards" off in the horizon of the future appear

to be). Make it a point to take a risk or two and you won't believe the

incredible rush of excitement and other mental sensations. Oh, yea, at such

points you will feel more alive than you ever have! Oh, and, say, you‟ll be

accomplishing things, too … things you never imagined doing!

More than anything else, stop being afraid. Most people don't even

know that they are afraid or even what they are afraid of. They just sense

something (usually unknown territory) and freeze up. Doing that leads to



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missing out on so much in life, all of which comes back at some point to bite

hard deep inside of you as regrets. Once you let fear take over in your life, it

can easily smother out your existence ... but only if you let it. Tied closely to

all of this is your sense of confidence and self-worth, which too many people

don't take advantage of. Think about all you have to offer and just how

much of a positive difference you can make and then proceed from there.

That brings us to the one ultimate question that overrides all the rest.

It all has to do with so much that we tend to look for and wonder about

when it comes to meaning in our lives and just what we are doing here (or

supposed to be doing here). This question also is nested in much of what

keeps us from doing what we want and being who we want to be – fear,

dread, uncertainty, and peril (all neatly wrapped up in the whole “Heaven

and Hell” thing), and, well, so much more (or less).

IIss tthheerree aa GGoodd??

That question (uttered or mentally jostled with) is the one query we

all “fall in line with” before we even know what is going. Our parents or

relatives (even our friends) answer it for us, mainly by taking us to church,

enrolling us in Sunday School classes, and doing so many other things for

us, all without each of us ever getting a say in the matter. Sooner or later,

though, that “God inquiry” becomes central to the questioning of values and

life.

Organized religion has capitalized on this whole God subject in a very

capitalistic way. The discussion about God (before you even start questioning

if she/he is really “there”) and religious customs, habits, and requirements,

along with how many thousands have died in the name of religion, is better



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suited for another time and place. However, for now, right here, let‟s just

address “Is there or isn‟t there?” and then we‟ll go on from there.

Reading clouds is the closest you are ever going to get to God (or

whatever you believe in as a higher power). Because of the inter-laced

Thought Streams tied to clouds (which are covered in great detail throughout

this book), there are channels and mental pathways that can take you

directly to whatever it is you believe in – here on Earth, in the present, the

past, the future, Heaven (whatever that might be), and even Hell (whatever

that could or shouldn‟t be).

The key word is “belief,” tied to YOU being able to read clouds. And,

on that subject of “belief,” the matter of God is much like the topic of Death

… whatever you believe it to be, that‟s what you‟ll find when you get “there!”

I‟ll come back to the subject of Death, in an exhaustively detailed example of

how this “belief thing” works, further on … Chapter Twelve for anyone

keeping score).

For now, just know that once you learn to read clouds, so many

things will become crystal clear … including exactly what you consider God

and so much more to be (or not be). But, before you ever “look into the

clouds,” you‟ll need to fine tune your perception and perspective. It‟s all in

how you look at things!

One day, you just need to turn your head slightly sideways, open

your eyes very wide, and then somehow you will be able to peek through an

extremely small crack in the elaborate facade you have built all the way

around you like a well-fortified fortress. When you finally “get it,” you will

know, without a doubt, the exact place to start making changes in your life.

You've already made at least one change that had led you to HERE where



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you are right now of this mental space looking into and beyond the play of

words. Welcome to the beginning of YOUR Art of Life. It just keeps getting

better and better, but only if you never give up, never give up, never give

up.

The starting point for you, as we straddle the significance of long-

jumping our way through the intent of these words, is as simple as first

taking a deep breath. YES, you should do that RIGHT NOW! Then breathe

out slowly. As you gradually release that air, try to let go of all of those

confining, restrictive, hampering attitudes churning and gurgling inside of

you. When you breathe in deeply, hold that fresh air in your lungs for a

moment or two (longer than usual), and then let the air out very slowly. If

you do it right you should be able to hear a melodious harp being strummed

by sensuous fingers curling their way across gossamer strings. At the very

least, you should sense the sweet smell of roses and orange blossoms. A

soundless, scentless void at this point means you might want to carefully

move your neck from side to side S * L * O * W * L * Y before continuing

on. Another deep breath or two wouldn't hurt either.

It all comes back to revitalizing your perspective so you can look

differently at the same things that have always been there. Perspective is all

in how you look (or don't look) at things! All you need to do now is work

your way through the collected combination of words in this tome. You can

read it in whatever order you wish, but it is best to take things in the order

they are presented… that will gradually ease you into what it is you need in

the way of visualization to read clouds. It will also make sure nothing gets

overlooked. Keep your mind well sighted; so you don't miss the slightest

detail, angle, or clue.



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Don‟t forget there are hidden messages even in the design of the text

on different pages. It all comes back to paying attention. And, remember

that what's presented here will mean different things to different people –

just like what the clouds have to offer. You're not supposed to agree with

everything. All you have to do is think about it all in terms of how you look

at the Art of Life and what would work best for you in terms of YOUR Art of

Life.

Cruising through countless, expansive boulevards of words and

phrases in the middle of zipping between the chapters and vignettes, you

soon will begin to see things specifically mapped out for YOU, all based on

what you think is best for you from your own perspective. If you want to

focus on a specific question (out of all of the rest of „em), then you should be

asking yourself yet a key question YOU definitely can answer, "What is in my

best interests?" If you work for a company, the question becomes, "What is

in the best interest of the company?" In either case, answering the question

will lead to a roadmap and plan of action. That‟s how you make things

happen.

The most important part in all this (i.e., the whole point to the Art of

Life) is you have elevated your mind (and perspective) to a new transitory

vista, high on a promontory above any cloudy visions, where you can see

more clearly than ever before into the depths of who you really are and what

you want. It's like having an ornately marked compass, a precision crafted

pelorus, and a brass sextant (none of which you need to know how to use)

to automatically take care of course corrections by actualizing magnetic

forces, tracking fixed star positions, sighting landmarks, headings, and

bearings, and then locking on to navigational beacons you probably wouldn't



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have been able to see; and all the while, providing you with the right of way

at any and all unforeseen diversions, abstract or otherwise. This is what

reading clouds and the Art of Life is all about and it is as simple (or complex)

as you want it to be.

Beyond the explanations and clarifications, the end result here is YOU

gaining complete control of your life by using oft-neglected areas of your

mind like a magnet to pull together the various and assorted bits and pieces

of who you really are (and want to be). That other part of your brain you

have wasted so much time in wouldn't have been able to make any sense

out of all of this.

Of course, the entire concept of reading clouds and the Art of Life is,

at best, unusual for "the written word." But, really, how much have any of

the other books done for you in terms of "quality of life" and, well, to be

blunt, YOUR Art of Life? Odd quirks have intentionally been "thrown in"

among the play of words here to not only puzzle you, but also to catapult

you high up to a pleasant place you can escape to whenever you choose to

do so ... and all the while, you will be thinking and processing information

and data in new, inventive, and imaginative ways.

The play of words against each other upon a backdrop of descriptive

and contradictory juxtapositions is what exercises and works your mind

enough to sweat out new (and, for far too long, hidden) thoughts, ideas, and

interpretive meanings. The goal here is to bring words back to life,

stimulating your mind to equalize time measurements and the disintegration

of harnessing thought processing. You want to learn how to read clouds?

Well, the answer to that question is simple – YOU‟RE ON YOUR WAY!



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The questions in your life will never go away. In fact, as each year

goes by, there will be more and more questions. A big part of the reason

people end up second-guessing themselves so much is that they preoccupy

themselves with unanswerable questions. But, questions do serve a purpose.

Selecting the right questions to answer, out of so many haunting you, is

what leads to finding your way. And, finding your way just happens to be

what we‟re going to have a look at next.

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