Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas.
—Henry Ford, founder of The Ford Motor Company
Michelle is one of my clients who clearly loves her work as a social media consultant. She’s one of those enviable folks who has potential customers flocking to seminars and paying her large retainers to work with them and their companies. She tells me that intuition is a large part of her business success:
I pay close attention to what I feel excited about. I believe that a feeling of fun, enthusiasm, and joy is a message from my intuition about what to move toward. These feelings guide me to my next steps in both my business and life in general. I guess I could say they act like my intuitive business plan!
My intuition tells me things before my head figures it out. I ask my intuition questions such as, “What do I need to know about this potential business opportunity?” or “What does this client need in order to grow their business?” In addition to getting “feelings” about things, the answers come in short phrases that pop into my head.
I asked Michelle to elaborate, and she did:
I have an intuitive process when I’m making a business decision. I sit in a comfortable chair in my office and shut off my phone and e-mail. I use an old-fashioned yellow lined pad of paper and a pen for this exercise. At the top of the page, I write something about the business direction or choice I’m seeking guidance about. I close my eyes and simply state in my mind, “I need information.”
Short phrases and fragments of information come to me. It feels different in some way than just my everyday inner dialogue. It might say “Try this” or “Beware of that.” If I’m lucky, I get a whole social media campaign idea that downloads in one fell swoop. I can tell when it’s a winner because I feel excited about it. The enthusiasm is my confirmation that I have an idea that will be a big success.
I’ll give you an example. I had a corporate client that had a reputation as being a bit boring and staid. They needed to spice up their image a bit to appeal to a younger audience. Most of the social media messaging was coming from the CEO who generally posted things about statistics and earnings, etc. While doing the intuitive exercise I just described, I heard the words “Try a cartoon.” What most people didn’t know about this CEO was that he rode a Harley. The image I received was a caricature of the man on his motorcycle. I thought we could use it to replace his dull, standard photo on all his social media profiles. I felt that hit of excitement and knew I had a winner if only I could convince him. Much to my surprise, he loved it! Once we implemented it, his fan base and those of the other company executives skyrocketed.
The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek root entheos, meaning “God within” or “guidance within.” You might call it enthusiasm, passion, interest, zest, vitality, or energy. However, as Michelle suggests, it provides an important clue whenever you’re trying to make a decision. Jonas Salk, the inventor of the polio vaccine, may have been thinking about this when he said, according to BrainyQuote.com, “It’s always with excitement that I wake up in the morning wondering what my intuition will toss up to me, like gifts from the sea. I work with it and rely on it. It’s my partner.”
It makes sense on some very logical level to pay attention to your enthusiasm, whether you’re thinking about a career change, a hiring decision, or working with a certain client. Simply put, if something feels exciting or has a lot of vitality, it’s an indication from your intuition about the direction to follow. Conversely, if a decision makes you feel drained, bored, or enervated, it’s a strong signal to move away from that choice.
This sense of enthusiasm is most critically important when you’re contemplating a change in career direction. Brian had been an agent in the life insurance field for more than 30 years. He consistently won awards from his company as one of the top-10 agents in the country. He was making a great living, he had the acknowledgment of his company and respect from peers, and his clients loved him.
Life was bliss, right? That’s what Brian kept telling himself every morning when he got out of bed. He says, “I should be happy. I’ve achieved everything I ever wanted. What more is there?” Yet he couldn’t shake the feeling of malaise he had begun to experience almost a year earlier at an awards ceremony honoring him for his achievements. “Here I was at the top of my game and I felt like s---. It got so bad, I even talked to my doctor about getting on antidepressants. And I’m the quintessential optimist! Everyone who knows me knows I’m up, positive, cheerful. The glass is always half full for me.”
He remembers picking up the book Managing Upside Down by Tom Chappell, the CEO and co-founder of Tom’s of Maine. A phrase leapt out at him. It was one of the seven “intentions” mentioned by Chapell to help managers achieve far-reaching results. “Envision your destiny! Imagine your future with your head and your heart,” it read.
Brian said he had never before thought of himself as a co-creator of his life. “I had a job. I was good at it. I made decent money. I provided a high-quality service. That was who I was. I had followed the path of least resistance in my life and had the good fortune to have it work out. Now it wasn’t. Life just felt boring. I’d lost my passion. That phrase encouraging me to ‘envision my destiny’ got me fired up! I began to examine my values with particular attention to where I felt a glimmer of enthusiasm and vitality.”
Brian decided to accelerate the process of self-discovery by working with me to help him follow his intuition to a new career. As he diligently worked on the idea of a new vocation, he saw he could integrate many of the aptitudes he possessed that had made him successful, and reconfigure them in a new career.
I asked him to put aside for now the question of how he would implement his choices. That would come later. I explained that often people put the cart before the horse; they try to decide how they’re going to achieve something before fully deciding what they really want. By doing that, they usually manage to talk themselves out of whatever initially excited them. The phrase, “that’s just not realistic” has doomed many an intuitive impulse right from the start.
Following is a list of questions I asked him to think about as he reflected on various vocational options. You may want to get your notebook and write down the answers for yourself. This technique works for a variety of issues. It doesn’t need to be a career-focused concern. Try it out when you’re making your next hiring decision, when contemplating working with a new client or when you’re trying to figure out how to approach a potentially difficult conversation.
Think of the options you have before you. List at least six in your notebook.
Which one(s) are you drawn to?
Is there one that leaps to your attention?
Do one or more of the choices feel draining or enervating?
Do you feel a sense of excitement about one over the others?
Is there a visceral response you receive about pursuing this course of action? (A physical sensation is one of the ways that intuition communicates.)
What action do you feel most enthusiastic about? That’s the right direction to follow.
Brian listed his options as follows. I included his notes in parentheses to give you an idea about how this works.
1. Stay in my present job until I retire. (No energy there. Makes me want to go to sleep.)
2. Take some courses at the local college in psychology or a similar topic. (That reaches about a 4 on the vitality meter. Not high enough!)
3. Take a year off and hope that at the end of that time I’ll have it all figured out. (That makes me much too nervous and I’d drive my wife crazy.)
4. Work part-time at my current job and explore options around starting a sales training business. (That one gets the vitality meter hitting high marks!)
5. Investigate becoming a life coach and help other business people explore career change. (That scores a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10. I’m concerned that talking with people about problems isn’t my forte. I’m also not very patient.)
6. Look into joining the National Speakers Association and/or Toastmasters to uncover ways to make a living as a trainer/consultant in sales. (Definitely excited about this.)
After going over this list and discussing it with his wife and several trusted friends, Brian decided his vitality meter was pointing him in the direction of creating his own sales training business. Numbers 4 and 6 were the indicators for him. The thought of completely leaving his current job didn’t feel right. Fortunately he was able to negotiate staying in insurance sales part-time. That gave him both an income cushion and some structure that felt comfortable to him.
I received an e-mail from Brian several months after our initial session. It read, “The vitality meter was right! I have four contracts for sales training this month alone. It’s amazing how when you’re on the right track, business just comes to you!”
To figure out what your vitality meter is indicating to you, set aside time when you won’t be disturbed. Find a quiet, comfortable place and relax. Stay quiet and settle into a mind frame of calmness and peace. Give yourself permission to take 10 to 20 minutes for this exercise. When your mind is still, there are a number of questions you could ask:
What am I yearning for?
What excites me right now?
What’s my right next step?
Or simply make up questions of your own. Listen. Allow your intuition—the whispers in your mind, the deep inner knowing in your heart, the wisdom within—to guide you. Allow the answers to bubble to the surface. You may have a flash of insight, or a nagging feeling that takes longer to explain. Repeat the process again and again. Here are more questions to ask:
What makes me happy? What fills me with passion? What projects do I look forward to? Which activities make it easy to jump out of bed in the morning?
What job would incorporate my passion with service to others? Can I find a role that will help those around me fulfill their goals?
Have opportunities appeared that help me on my journey towards change?
Will my new path allow me to use my unique abilities? Does it honor the individual that I am? Do I feel excited about it?
You’re unique. Listen to your heart and participate in your own life. No one else can fill the role that’s been intended for you. When you’re moving in the right direction, every moment will feel so full that you won’t believe how long it took you to make a change. It does take courage! The confidence will come as you begin to take action.
So start your business, write your book, take time to travel or begin one of myriad things that you want to pursue and the whole world will begin to open up to you. Keep walking toward what truly makes you vital and happy. That’s putting your intuition to work for you!
Put Your Intuition to Work Tip
When you’re trying to make a decision, write down your options. As you review the list, notice how you respond. Which option scores the highest on your “inner vitality meter”? The guidepost you can trust is the sense of openness, ease, and curiosity.
We go the direction we face, and we face the direction we think.
—Jim Rohn, author, entrepreneur, and motivational speaker
When you’re clear you’re headed in the wrong direction, the obvious question is “What’s next?” If you’re like most people, you don’t want to take any action until you have a crystal-clear goal. Many of my clients call me when they’re in that particular limbo state. It’s uncomfortable to feel stuck.
I believe that intuition not only tells you when you’re on the wrong path, it also provides the clues to get you back on track.
What are some things you enjoy? Make a plan to do at least one of those things every day. Think of those small pleasures as part of the direction your intuition is providing to get you back on the right track. This may not make logical sense to you, but do it anyway. What have you got to lose, besides a few moments away from feeling bad? Begin to notice what you feel excited about. That’s a clue about what to pursue.
Focus on where you want to go. If a project has failed, you’re out of work, or you’re experiencing some other form of setback it’s all too easy to rehash the past. Most of the time, that’s wasted energy and will only serve to keep you feeling down. If you don’t have a clear goal, focus on what you know. These might be objectives like “I want a position where I’ll have autonomy,” “I want to feel excited about my work again,” or “I want some clear direction.” When you can state what you want, your intuition will begin to provide guidance to get you there.
Take small steps every day. If you’re in a major life transition, you may be feeling overwhelmed and lacking direction. Instead of trying to figure out the next big goal or plan, take smaller steps. Make your first goal figuring out what you want to do. What might that look like on a day-to-day basis?
Take a class in a subject that interests you.
Read a book on the subject.
Talk to someone who has the type of job you’re curious about.
Speak with someone who has had a similar problem to the one you’re facing.
Hang out with people who are encouraging and upbeat.
Go on a retreat (and take your intuition journal!).
Have lunch with someone whose advice you value.
Volunteer doing something you enjoy.
Join a group or association that relates to your area of interest.
What are you doing that’s on the mark? What are you doing that feels off the mark? If one way doesn’t work for you, be ready to go to another. Many times, the road to success is found by taking a detour.
Cultivate the attitude of having had a wish fulfilled. Success is waiting for you. Use the power of visualization and affirmation to vividly imagine, sense and feel the life you want to live.
I love this quote by Michael Angier that I found on GreatThoughtsTreasury.com: “A successful day: to learn something new; to laugh at least 10 times; to lift someone up; to make progress on a worthy goal; to practice peace and patience; to do something nice for yourself and another; to appreciate and be grateful for all your blessings.”