An Interview With Debbie Ford

Debbie Ford, New York Times #1 best-selling author, is an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal transformation. Her previous three books, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, Spiritual Divorce, and The Secret of the Shadow have been translated into twenty-two languages and are used as teaching tools in universities and other institutions of learning and enlightenment worldwide. She is the founder of The Ford Institute for Integrative Coaching, a personal development organization that trains committed individuals with the skills, distinctions, and processes to facilitate a unique and powerful form of coaching. Her work is available through the Institute and the hundreds of certified Integrative Coaches who utilize her proprietary blueprint to support individuals in leading their greatest life. Her website is www.debbieford.com.

Why did you write "The Right Questions"? What put you on this path?

Debbie I have been in the personal development field for over ten years. As a coach and a facilitator of the Shadow Process, I have had the opportunity to witness people’s transformation as they embrace undiscovered aspects of themselves. I also have been struck by how often I see people gain tremendous inner awareness and yet year after year get no closer to reaching their goals and creating the things they want in their lives. What became clear to me is that what determines whether we will wind up fulfilled or frustrated is not so much the insights we receive, but the choices we make on a day-to-day basis. Unless we make new choices we will not create different outcomes. "The Right Questions" give us the awareness and the inspiration to choose wisely.

What are the "Right Questions"?

Debbie "The Right Questions" are a series of ten powerful questions that bring to light the positive or negative consequences of all our actions. Designed to be asked in the moment before you make a choice, "The Right Questions" show us whether the choice we are about to make will move us closer to our goals or leave us further away. By honestly asking and answering these ten questions we take back the power to create our lives exactly as we desire.

There are so many books on questions. What makes these the "right questions?"

Debbie Each of the "right questions" involve an "either/or" component. Asking these questions brings awareness to our choices and allows us to see the results that we can expect from our actions. Most of us aren’t aware that there are consequences for our actions ? some positive and some negative. "The Right Questions" awakens us to the impact of our choices. And once we are aware that the choice we are about to make will have a negative consequence, most of us will choose something different for ourselves.

Why is it important to ask ourselves these questions?

Debbie These questions are extremely important if you are truly committed to creating the things you desire in your life ? whether you want success in your business, more intimacy in your marriage, or more health and fitness in your body. "The Right Questions" are for people who want to take back the reins of their life and move deliberately in the direction of their dreams. Often we act automatically, without looking to see whether the choice we are about to make is leading us toward the future we desire. "The Right Questions" expose the truth. When answered honestly they reveal what we are really committed to. They bring us face to face with the reality that we are the ones who are creating our day-to-day lives. One thing I know for sure is that suffering is the result of conflicting commitments — of saying we want one thing and continually making choices that head us in the opposite direction.