Three tips to fire up your business intuition

True magic happens in our businesses when we unite what we intuitively understand with real-world knowledge of our market or industry.

by Nathalie Ekobo — 

Using your intuition to guide you is not necessarily what you would first think of when creating a plan for your business. After all, this kind of knowingness is not taught in school. Business calls for logic, plan, structure and action — nothing to do with following a hunch or a gut feeling. In one case you use the left hemisphere of your brain; in the other, you switch to the right, which allows for irrational senses, such as creativity and intuition.

What is intuition? Intuition is knowing something is true, but not knowing how you know it. It is like having bubbles of information pop into your head. Who blew the bubble? How did it enter into your brain? You have no clue, but you know, and maybe you can sense (like goose bumps on your skin) that this hunch is true.

Do you have to be a psychic or a medium to tap into this inner wisdom? Of course not; anyone can develop this skill. You would approach it as a muscle that needs a good workout. And by doing simple exercises, you can access your intuition and get better and better at using it for success.

Want proof? A number of the world’s top movers and shakers are very well attuned to their intuition and have used it to propel their businesses forward. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Lee Iacocca, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein, to name a few, all used their intuition to achieve even more success.

Lee Iacocca once confessed: “The only mistake I ever made was not listening to my gut.” Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer, is direct and to the point: “And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.”

“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself.” Oprah often offers this advice on her show. She says that intuition led her from a news anchor job in Baltimore to hosting her own talk show in Chicago, and making smart business decisions along the way. “For me, intuition has been a major force in my life, and I am grateful to all that is God that I have been smart enough to listen to it,” she says. “Intuition is what first told me I needed to have my own studio. Intuition told me that I needed to own myself.” When we look at the results, it is obvious that if we don’t follow what our little inner voice is telling us, we may miss something.

True magic happens in our business when we unite what we intuitively understand with real-world knowledge of our market or industry. We create synergy that enables us to be able to make the right decisions, create new ideas that will generate money, envision new trends, know whom to hire, whom to partner with and how to avoid mistakes. This powerful combination of intuition and business mastery creates momentum, success, and saves time and money.

How to get in touch with your intuition

1. Ask to receive intuition, a message, answer, picture or idea. It may seem too simple to be true, yet it works. Set your intention. Ask frequently to receive messages. The more you ask to get pictures or ideas in your mind, the more you will receive them. They will show up sporadically at first, but if you don’t attach too much energy such as impatience, struggle or frustration to them, before you know it they will come more and more abundantly, giving you precious information and details.

2. Choose the right question(s). Sometimes we do not get responses because we don’t ask the right questions. Look at your agenda. Be true to yourself. Why do you really want to know this? Is this the real question to ask about the issue, or can you express the question in a different way? Try to reframe your question and see if the response is affected.

3. Create quiet time for meditation, prayer or relaxation where you’re focused inward. The answers are already inside you. So, take some time to be quiet. Turn off your phone; get rid of any distractions, and breathe or pray. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You needn’t purchase any method, special music or pillow. You don’t need to set aside one hour if your schedule doesn’t allow it. Just take a few minutes on a regular basis to connect with your inner self.

Listen to your inner wisdom. From the messages you get, create a plan and put it into action. By doing just this, you have formulated a detonating cocktail and become unstoppable.

And if you already do all this and use your business intuition quite frequently, then the next step is to use your intuition to create systems in your business. This will allow you to attract your ideal clients, work fewer hours and make more money. With your intuition as a partner, you can establish a business that is totally aligned to your true self and define (and live) the lifestyle you really deserve.

Nathalie Ekobo, M.A., M.S., L.M.T., helps people develop their intuition in businesses and make focused decisions to transform and enrich their lives and bottom lines. She also does energy clearing and conscious or spiritual entrepreneurship, teaches classes and books private sessions. [email protected], www.bemagnifique.com or 602-881-3040.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 28, Number 2, Apr/May 2009.