Intuition: The Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon

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Claudette Rowley
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Intuition: The Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon
Claudette Rowley
Copyright 2003

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There
comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you
will, and the solution comes to you, and you don't know how or
why." - Albert Einstein

I remember the first time a boss asked me, "What's your gut
feeling?" Before I was a coach, I was a social worker, at the
time employed by the state of Idaho in the child protective
services department. This was the first time someone had asked
me to include my "gut" or intuition in my decision making
process. As I began to use my intuition, I noticed that it was
usually dead-on right. My intuition allowed me to know things
that my rational mind couldn't.

As an entrepreneur, your intuition is your secret weapon.
Entrepreneurship requires risk taking, not to mention frequent
forays into the unruly jungle of the unknown. Not knowing where
your next paycheck is coming from, putting your ideas out into
world, and facing "make it or break it" decisions on a regular
basis are all situations entrepreneurs face. Developing your
intuition is critical to your entrepreneurial success. Sometimes
it's all you've got.

What is intuition?

Intuition is simply knowing something without knowing exactly how
you know it. In other words, intuition is a form of inner
guidance. Connect back to a time that you had a "gut feeling"
about something - the job that you knew you shouldn't take, even
though it looked good on the surface, or a relationship that just
felt right for you. That's your intuition talking to you.

When I talk about intuition, clients often ask, "How do I tell
the difference between my intuition and the other voices in my
head?" Often the "other voices" are the loud-mouthed opinions of
the inner critic. For those of you who aren't familiar with the
term "inner critic", it's the voice that says "What a stupid
idea. No one is going to take you seriously." Or "You just made
the biggest fool of yourself. Now everyone will know that you
are a fraud." In contrast, intuition feels like a gentle
internal nudge. It doesn't feel bad because it's not based in
fear or judgment.

How do I hone my intuition?

Listen, practice and trust. Because intuition is largely
intangible - it can't be seen, felt or heard in a concrete sense
- it works better when you trust it. Intuition and your faith in
it are closely tied together. You must first trust your
intuition before you see the results of it in your life. So
often, we want guarantees or tangible evidence before we trust.
Believe me, once you start incorporating your intuition into your
business and personal life, you'll never go back! It's one of
the most valuable skills in an entrepreneur's tool kit. We all
have it, and many of us even hear its message, and still we
dismiss it. How many times have you thought, "Something kept
telling me that was the wrong decision to make. But I made it
anyway because intellectually it made sense."

How might I notice my intuition trying to get my attention?

* Body signals - Your body gives you a tremendous amount of
useful, intuitive information. For example, when your
mother-in-law visits, does your stomach tie up in knots? When
you feel passionate and alive, does your chest feel warm and
open? Body signals offer us valuable information designed to
let us what works for us and what doesn't.

* "The Gut"- Some people do feel their intuition in their
physical gut. When I first started coaching and learning to
access my intuition fully, I'd picture a string connecting my
heart to my abdomen as a way to connect with my intuition.

* Pictures in your mind's eye - Sometimes, I see an image in my
mind's eye that is an intuitive message.

* Dreams - The week after my son's birth, I had a difficult
decision to make. One night, the lyrics to the song "Heart of
Gold" by Neil Young appeared in my dream, reminding me that the
intention with which I make a decision is far more important
than the decision itself.

* Energy - Many of my clients use their energy levels as
intuitive cues. If your energy spikes at the thought of one
choice, while it plummets when you contemplate another, the
decision is clear.

* Just as a feeling, a hunch - a more generalized feeling that
one choice is better than the other. Sometimes for me it feels
like an internal tug.

The next time you have an important business decision to make
notice the part that your intuition plays. Do you use it and not
even recognize it? Do you hear its message and ignore it? At
your next set of crossroads, I challenge you to listen to your
intuition, trust it and follow it. After all, trusting your
intuition is simply another form of trusting yourself.

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Claudette Rowley, coach and author, helps professionals
identify and pursue their true purpose and calling in life.
Contact her today for a complimentary consultation at 781-676-5633
or claudette@metavoice.org. Sign up for her free newsletter
"Insights for the Savvy" at http://www.metavoice.org.