How my suitcase is changing the world

This is a picture of my last suitcase way back when it was new. When I realised the only suitcase fitting my requirements was a boring, ordinary, navy blue, I asked a young friend to get creative and she painted it for me.

It had my logo on the back, the symbols from my website on the front (long gone now!) a question on one side and a statement on the other.

Of course one reason to do this is a not very subtle HANDS OFF! to fellow passengers. But the real reason is that I believe in the power of portable public intervention.

We went everywhere together. Every time I walked through an airport, sat on a train, strolled through a different city or rolled up to a café I was subtly tracking people noticing. And every time I wondered what happened with the question I was asking the world.

I think the world is giving us signals all the time. And we are choosing the messages we give each other in the clothing we wear, the things we have around us and the stories we tell.

The question is -- how conscious are you of the story your life is telling? And are the questions you're asking helping you to become more conscious?

My question goes rogue 

When I got my latest suitcase last year, I no longer had a young friend who was skillful with a paintbrush in my orbit. But I have imagination and I dove into the treasure trove of Etsy.

I got two luggage strap makers to take me on and make something outside of their catalog of embroidered names.

The strap that said: "We live in a story & that means we can change it." arrived in my letterbox and I clicked it on to fly to Frankfurt. I picked up the second strap from my friends there and prepared to fly on to Ljubljana.

When I arrived, the first strap was still on the bag, but the second one was gone. I immediately went to the bored looking young man behind the counter to ask for help. He didn't look like he wanted to be helpful, but when I described the luggage strap his eyes lit up and he sprang into action.

We never found the strap. But I like to think my portable public intervention -- the strap with the words "What question could change your life?" -- is out there, still doing its work. 

I imagine to myself that every time someone picked it up or looked at it, the question was working.

I wrote back to the strap maker and told her the story. I said: "We had a short, but intense relationship." And I'm still smiling.

Who knows what doorways that question is opening, even now... 

What questions have changed your life?

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Knowing how to find, craft, sharpen and use powerful questions is at the heart of transformation and a key leadership skill at work, at home, in the community and in your personal life.

Come and be in learning around questions with me in The ART OF POWERFUL QUESTIONS! The series of events begins in October, both in-person and online. Find out more here.