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ask for directions, then you
and my husband Patrick are twins.
I
wish for you only cars with navigation systems and grocery stores with
only end caps…and for everybody else, here are some simple solutions to
get the answers you seek:
- Decide
what you want to know or want to have. It’s difficult to get an answer
if you don’t know what the question is. In this story, I wanted a
directory of counties.
- Narrow
the search. Make an educated guess where the answer might be. Who is the
most likely person to have the answer for this question? Can a search
engine help you find the answer? This time, I found my answer on the
third try.
- Don’t
be afraid to ask for help. The world is full of salespeople who are paid
to help promote products and answer questions. Some of them have even
been trained with accurate information. Still others have learned
erroneously what works and what doesn’t and are more than happy to share
their opinions. When purchasing a lawn mower earlier this year I
purposely asked two male shoppers (non salespeople) “If you could have
any lawnmower here on display which one would you choose and why?” They
both picked the exact same mower based on their personal experience and
gave me reasons why that mower would outlast and outperform another
machines by ten years. Guess which mower I bought?
-
Research your options. Make it a habit to ask where can I find one? How
much does it cost? Is there a free version? Can I get one on sale? If
the one I want is unavailable, is there something else I can use as a
substitute? Which model is the best version for me?
- Check
out
www.Epinions.com where you can find numerous third-party reviews for
merchandise, pricing, ease of use, reliability, return ability,
replacements, substitutes etc.
- Change
your questions if you can’t find the information you need. If you’re
getting useless answers, your question(s) may be to blame.
- Go to
www.libdex.com which is an index of 18,000 or more libraries in the
US offering useful information, or go to
http://www.247ref.org/communities.htm for a list of libraries
offering 24/7 live help through a national network of reference
librarians who know where to find some of the most hard-to-find
information.
It’s been said that what you
don’t know can’t hurt you. I say that what you DO know can certainly
help…and possibly save time and money. All you have to do is ask.
Angela Oberer © 2008, Oberer is the author of the "Be Well Series". You can send your questions and
comments to her at:
Angela@WordsofWellness.com
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because when you're well...everyone wins!