Intuition,amp,#58,The,Entrepre DIY Intuition: The Entrepreneur's Secret Weapon

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

You have permission to publish this article electronically or inprint as long as the resource box is included. Please notify meof publication by sending a website link or copy of yourpublication to [email protected] Count: 835 words, 65 characters per lineThanks,Claudette Rowley ==============Intuition: The Entrepreneur's Secret WeaponClaudette RowleyCopyright 2003"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. Therecomes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what youwill, and the solution comes to you, and you don't know how orwhy." - Albert EinsteinI remember the first time a boss asked me, "What's your gutfeeling?" Before I was a coach, I was a social worker, at thetime employed by the state of Idaho in the child protectiveservices department. This was the first time someone had askedme to include my "gut" or intuition in my decision makingprocess. As I began to use my intuition, I noticed that it wasusually dead-on right. My intuition allowed me to know thingsthat my rational mind couldn't.As an entrepreneur, your intuition is your secret weapon.Entrepreneurship requires risk taking, not to mention frequentforays into the unruly jungle of the unknown. Not knowing whereyour next paycheck is coming from, putting your ideas out intoworld, and facing "make it or break it" decisions on a regularbasis are all situations entrepreneurs face. Developing yourintuition is critical to your entrepreneurial success. Sometimesit's all you've got.What is intuition?Intuition is simply knowing something without knowing exactly howyou know it. In other words, intuition is a form of innerguidance. Connect back to a time that you had a "gut feeling"about something - the job that you knew you shouldn't take, eventhough it looked good on the surface, or a relationship that justfelt right for you. That's your intuition talking to you.When I talk about intuition, clients often ask, "How do I tellthe difference between my intuition and the other voices in myhead?" Often the "other voices" are the loud-mouthed opinions ofthe inner critic. For those of you who aren't familiar with theterm "inner critic", it's the voice that says "What a stupididea. No one is going to take you seriously." Or "You just madethe biggest fool of yourself. Now everyone will know that youare a fraud." In contrast, intuition feels like a gentleinternal nudge. It doesn't feel bad because it's not based infear or judgment.How do I hone my intuition?Listen, practice and trust. Because intuition is largelyintangible - it can't be seen, felt or heard in a concrete sense- it works better when you trust it. Intuition and your faith init are closely tied together. You must first trust yourintuition before you see the results of it in your life. Sooften, we want guarantees or tangible evidence before we trust.Believe me, once you start incorporating your intuition into yourbusiness and personal life, you'll never go back! It's one ofthe most valuable skills in an entrepreneur's tool kit. We allhave it, and many of us even hear its message, and still wedismiss it. How many times have you thought, "Something kepttelling me that was the wrong decision to make. But I made itanyway 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 makenotice the part that your intuition plays. Do you use it and noteven recognize it? Do you hear its message and ignore it? Atyour next set of crossroads, I challenge you to listen to yourintuition, trust it and follow it. After all, trusting yourintuition is simply another form of trusting yourself.------------------------------------------------------------------Claudette Rowley, coach and author, helps professionalsidentify and pursue their true purpose and calling in life.Contact her today for a complimentary consultation at 781-676-5633or [email protected]. Sign up for her free newsletter"Insights for the Savvy" at http://www.metavoice.org.