Passionate Curiosity Is the Game Changer You Seek Curiosity is what fuels the search for new ideas and insights to fuel growth of every sort.
By Stacey Alcorn Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." -- Albert Einstein
Some call me nosey, others deem me highly curious, but I have spent the last decade reaching out to business leaders, entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes and world changers, to inquire about how they have achieved their dreams. I have interviewed more than 350 people and since it's easier to get interviews when there's something in it for the other party, I share their stories in online articles. Real estate is my livelihood, but interviews are my passion. Although I get paid zero for the interviews, nothing has fueled my business more than my instinctive nature to be curious. Here are the five reasons why passionate curiosity has been a game changer.
"Curiosity -- It keeps us moving forward, exploring, experimenting, opening new doors." – Walt Disney
1. Big thinking.
One of the greatest attributes I've garnered from interviewing so many successful business people is that I've learned to think big. When you surround yourself by the likes of Richard Branson, who is commercializing space travel, or Holly Daniels Christensen who has created an experiential jewelry line, Dune Jewelry, or salon guru, Marc Harris who is reinventing the entire salon business model by partnering with massive real estate developers to create in-house salon services for the affluent, you tend to become the type of business person who no longer thinks in terms of what's been done, but rather in terms of what might be possible.
Related: 3 Ways to Foster Curiosity in Your Company (and Why You Should Care)
2. Fresh lens.
As a business leader, it is natural to see the entire world through the very specific lens of your business. Tony Hsieh, author of "Delivering Happiness" and CEO of Zappos, has a very different take on customer service experiences than most because he has built a business around a culture of delivering extraordinary experiences to customers and employees. As business owners, we view everything from our specific business lens, but when we are passionately curious and inquisitive with other entrepreneurs, we start to see the world through their lenses too.
3. New ideas.
Sometimes the best ideas come from other industries. By going out and asking questions of other business leaders, you find new ways to engage employees, build client rapport, and scale your own business.
Related: A Culture of Curiosity Is the Key to Building a Company That Learns to Improve
4. Not so lonely.
Every entrepreneur has major highs in their business, coupled with major lows, and sometimes it's all on the same day. Going through a roller coaster of emotions in business can be draining and lonely, since there's usually nobody nearby who understands what you are going through. If you are sick of feeling lonely in business, reach out and ask questions to other entrepreneurs and you'll soon learn that there are others riding the same exact roller coaster as you.
Related: Curiosity Is the Key to Discovering Your Next Breakthrough Idea
5. Advocates.
What's really cool about interviewing people is that when you ask people lots of questions about themselves, they tend to ask lots of questions about you. In under an hour, you can go from stranger to friend and massive business empires are more easily built with a little help from your friends.
