Why Are Manhole Covers Round?

Recently I stumbled across a list of Microsoft Interview questions and was amazed by how the questions challenged me to look beyond the ordinary. I share some of the questions for you here in the hopes that you also will recognize the spark of creativity that is required to solve these fascinating puzzles.

Questions 101

The experts tell us that we each have somewhere around 60,000 thoughts every single day. What most people don't realize is that the average person asks themselves the same questions over and over again.

Same question. Same Answer. Within this pattern is a trap of monumental proportions.

A true treadmill.

"Why does this always happen to me?"
"How come I never have enough money?"
"Will my business ever be successful?"
"Why aren't I making any sales?"

Boring! Tragic!

There is much to be learned by understanding that the quality of your life depends upon the questions that you constantly ask yourself. If you want to experience the type of life you truly deserve we need to shake things up a bit the Microsoft Way!

Focus the Microsoft Way!

Bill Gates is a puzzle aficionado. I was fascinated with this because puzzles were originally created as a means of hiding or disguising knowledge by breaking the wisdom down into smaller pieces. Long ago I learned that the best teachers were those that asked the most intriguing questions. Needless to say, the same can be said of companies.

This list of questions is fascinating and will definitely stretch your boundaries. Remember?.think outside the box, look at them as a puzzle and search for the possibilities. The sky is the LIMIT! May the creative force be with you!

"Why are manhole covers round?"

"How many gas stations are there in the United States?"

"How are M&M's made?"

"You have been assigned to design Bill Gates bathroom. Naturally, cost is not a consideration. You may not speak to Bill. What would you do?"

"How would you explain how to use Microsoft Excel to your grandma?"

"Explain a scenario for testing a salt shaker."

"How would you design a coffee-machine for an automobile."

"How would you go about building a keyboard for 1-handed users?"

"How would you build an alarm clock for deaf people?"

Interesting aren't they? Were you disturbed by these questions? Or were you fascinated by the possibilities they presented? I can understand why Microsoft is such a successful organization when creativity of this nature is expected right from the first job interview.

Internet Marketing Expert, Mark Hendricks said it best when he stated; "Problems have solutions, they are made that way."

Apply this logic to your life and business!

It seems that the software developers Microsoft first ask themselves, "what is it that you want to experience?" Then, they build a belief system to ensure that experience is supported and created. This is incredibly shrewd knowledge that we can all apply to our lives and businesses.

Upon first reading the questions I couldn't help but sympathize with those prospective employees who had perfect scholastic records but lacked the imagination to confront the possibilities. Success in life often has very little to do with book smarts. Great technology starts with great attitude.

So what is it that you want to experience in your life or business? Believe it or not, limitations live only in your mind. But if you use your imagination, your possibilities become limitless.

Those individuals who live truly fulfilling lives discover that they have managed to challenge their current realities by confronting their imaginations for what is truly possible. When I worked through the above questions I quickly discovered that "HOW" I confronted a problem determined the RESULT I could achieve. How quickly can you change your beliefs about what is possible?

Albert Einstein once said that "the mind that solves a problem is very different from the mind that first confronted it." From this simple statement we can begin to appreciate that within every question lies either a prison of limitations or an endless series of possibilities. The choice is clearly yours.

So the next time you are confronted with a problem in your business or personal life that seems monumental, I challenge you to ask yourself?."Why are manhole covers round?"

That ought to change your focus around long enough to be able to look at the problem through a new set of eyes.

Harald Anderson is the co-founder of Artinspires.com a leading online gallery of Motivational Posters. "When Art Inspires, Dreams Become Realities. His goal in life is to become the kind of person that his dog already thinks he is. http://www.artinspires.com/