The Database of Important Questions

Mark McKinney
Written by Mark McKinney on
The Database of Important Questions

It’s been a while! Apologies for the MIA, but, I’ve been busy thinking about a question…and I’d like to share it with you now: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? 

This open-ended question caught me a little off-guard a few months ago, and I felt a sudden need to answer it. So, I started reviewing all the notebooks I had kept over the past decade. These notebooks spanned from High School to college, from launching a startup to my Master’s degree, and now to my new career in advertisement tech.

Nearly every single idea, observation, quote, principle, and finding I thought was useful I wrote down — a process that had become a life staple. But, in all this information gathering, I realized that some of the most important information I had ever recorded had not been pithy remarks or wise one-liners. Instead, they had the form of well-timed questions.

Right now answers are typically valued over the pursuit of the answer — the conclusion is prioritized over the developmental process. Yet, the best discoveries come from constant, unassuming inquisitiveness.

I wanted to build a web app that holds these vital questions so that they’re on hand at the right moment…something called The Database of Important Questions. It’d be a repository for everyone to use from when they have downtime to when they’re making big decisions — a place where the immediate answer isn’t demanded, but good processes are celebrated.

Every question in it has meaningfully helped me stop, think, and readjust my course in life for a better end. Along with each question, I’ve added small snippets of context to inspire you in how you can apply it in your own life. Of course, just like our personal development, it’s not static. More questions will be added, existing questions will be made more insightful, and old questions will take on new meanings. But, at whatever stage you find DBIQ, I hope it helps you in your endeavors!

Talk soon!

Update: Already, it’s been super cool to see visitors from all over the world — Cape Town, Rome, London, Saigon, Casablanca, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Jakarta to name a few! We hope to see you there!

Mark McKinney

Mark McKinney

Hey there, I'm Mark. I graduated with a Master's from High Point University in North Carolina where I studied Entrepreneurship and Strategic Communication. I'm currently a Technical Solutions Engineer at Permutive.