I was lucky enough to sit on a plenary panel and run some mini-workshops at the Queensland Government Small Business Week Event yesterday in Logan City and talked to a lot of small business owners about how to use their intuition to keep them on track and expand their business.

You don’t always hear a lot about intuition in business forums and I really enjoyed sharing my perspective about this topic with others in the room. You see, I believe we all have the capacity to access our intuition and it can help you in all facets of your life – personal and professional. You could call it your secret superpower. It’s that inner knowing (also known as your gut-feeling) that tells you where the opportunities are and gives you signs on how to move forward.

But your intellect (the reasoning of your mind) is also really important as well because it helps you take mere ideas and make them a reality through research, strategy and implementation.

If you rely on your intellect alone, you’ll miss opportunities to explore, expand and learn. If you rely on your intuition alone, you’ll be unable to bring your ideas to fruition in a tangible way.

When used together, your intuition and intellect can help you innovate your life and your business.

Your intuition can be an invaluable tool in helping you to spot opportunities and make effective decisions for your business. Unfortunately, we’re not always taught how to connect to our intuition and that means we often don’t hear it.

Yesterday I shared my top 10 ways to start connecting to your intuition and I thought I would post them here to. Perhaps they will help you to expand your business or help keep you on track.

  1. Give yourself some regular alone time. When you are busy, busy, busy your intuition can’t be heard above the noise of all your other thoughts. Make time to be alone without the company of other people or technology.
  1. Meditation is a great way to clear your mind of the daily clutter of existence. In its simplest form, meditation is about being completely present in the moment. Start by simply sitting quietly for five minutes and focusing on your breathing, in and out. Clearing your mind makes it easier for your intuition to have a voice and allows the ideas to bubble up to the surface.
  1. Notice the repeating patterns in your life. The Universe will frequently give you hints about opportunities but if you’re not paying attention, you might miss them. So when it seems like the same information is turning up repeatedly, take notice and explore it further.
  1. Be honest with yourself. There are lots of avenues you could explore that might make you money but, if you don’t really enjoy the work (or the outcomes) then, ultimately, you’re going to be unhappy. Listen to your inner voice.
  1. Build your self-awareness and stay in alignment with who you are. It can be easy to be taken off-track with the ‘next best thing’. Always check in with yourself and ask, ‘Is this in alignment with who I am and what I really want to do?’
  2. Allow yourself to explore the ‘crazy’ ideas. You’re an entrepreneur so that means you’re not meant to do the same thing forever. You’re here to explore opportunities so, if you get a feeling about something, follow it.
  3. Always trust yourself first. Other people will have valuable advice and knowledge to share but you need to listen to your inner voice and do what’s right for you. Listen to your gut feeling and don’t ignore it if it’s telling you to walk away from a ‘sure thing’ or go for something other people have dismissed.
  1. Keep a notebook and write down those seemingly ‘crazy’ ideas that come to mind. Sometimes the Universe will give you a hint of something but it’s not time yet…but you will need the details for later.
  1. Notice how your body feels when you’re exploring a new opportunity or just in your daily work-life. Your body will respond intuitively when you are ‘in flow’ (on the right track for you). You will feel lighter and more energised. When you are not in flow you will feel dragged down, more negative and overwhelmed.
  1. Notice how things shift when you’re ‘in flow’. If you’re on the right track then things will move more easily, obstacles will be less frequent and you will generally be able to achieve more. However, if you feel like you’re constantly hitting roadblocks, try stopping and asking your intuition, ‘What’s really going on here?’ There might be something wrong with your process, or the product or service you’re developing, or it could just be the time is not right yet. When you feel like you’re being repeatedly obstructed, there will inevitably be a good reason.