My Twenty.... Intro

About 8 or 9 years ago I wrote a book called ... well... My Twenty Questions... It was more of an experiment. I came up with twenty simple questions for people to answer. I had help from my buddy Russ Perry. He made a website for me that would receive the answers to the questions. I spammed everyone I could and asked them to go to the site. I was amazed how many responses I received... from old and young... and from all over the globe.



I know we all have our own experiences and thoughts as individuals but I was curious, if faced with the same set of questions, how many of us would answer in the same manner. What I ended up with was completely different than what I expected. It’s always that way, but over time I just forget to expect the unexpected.

I guess you should know a little about the twenty questions that people were asked to respond to. They were written down in my truck on the way to work. I was very surprised to find that total strangers that were receiving my request for answers to a survey were taking time out of their lives to sit down and answer these twenty questions. All twenty questions seem simple on the face but when confronted with them, they are truly reflective and complicated.

Out of all of the patient people that responded to the “My 20 Questions” spam, approximately 60% of people answered all of the questions, Just about 20% answered most of the questions and the remaining spattering of percentages went down and around from there.

It was interesting to find out during the course of collating the information; my e-mail project reached most areas of the United States and some areas beyond. I was therefore pleased to be able to use a material from a variety of global locations.

It was also motivating to note the variations of age groups that participated in my experiment. I was retrieving responses from every age group from twelve years of age to eighty-five. I added several voluntary information survey questions to the website so I could get a feel for who was responding.

I guess the most surprising result was that people would bare their thoughts and experiences to a total stranger. In most cases they did not know who sent the request e-mail, but they took the time to try and answer the questions as truthfully and honestly as possible.

I can honestly say that I truly enjoyed this experiment and am very appreciative to everyone that participated. In the beginning, we called this an experiment in honesty. It was that, but it also allowed everyone that took it seriously to search deep and recall memories of the past and reflect on who they are as individuals. I will show you an example by sharing with you the questions ask to all… and the answers that came to my mind. Just as a matter of interest, I answered the questions myself before I sent out the first e-mail.

I have come to the conclusion that we all have to take time to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go in life. I really believe we need to slow down and reflect a little more and rest in our place in this complicated world. In general, it seems that we are all a bit sentimental toward our loved ones and our family. That gives me a good feeling. I hope it does the same for you.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed putting it together.


Shannon R Killman