Back to Podcast

Trust Your Gut

Brief Overview

Have you ever had those situations where you get that funny feeling in your stomach, like your gut instinct is trying to tell you something? Well, that’s what this episode is all about. Listen in to learn how to trust that gut instinct and what to do about it.

Big Ideas

Intuition in Business  [1:30]

Trisha, who is in my impact mastermind, made a post in our group and shared a story of when she hired somebody and immediately knew that it was the wrong hire to make. She had that gut feeling and just knew it wasn’t a good fit. And I could totally relate to that. In the last year, we have hired and let go more people than I ever have in my entire career. There are tons of different situations when you and I as business owners need to learn to trust our gut.

For me, when I’m hiring, if I see signs of ego, greed or entitlement, then it’s an immediate no. I am not hiring that particular person because those three characteristics just do not sit well with me and the culture of our company. But these are things that I’ve had to learn the hard way. You’re going to be in situations when you have to trust your gut for hiring, trust your gut for firing and trust your gut when it comes to JV relationships.

In Episode 106, I talked about collaboration, and how I’ve been approached three times in the last couple months for our upcoming TRIBE launch on April 25. With all three, my gut instinct told me it’s not going to be a good fit. I said no to them all, explaining that we don’t commit to promotions because somebody has promoted for us. We decide on what we’re going to promote based on what is going to be best for our audience first and foremost.

Let the Gut Guide You In Hard Conversations and Decisions [7:10]

There are other times when you’re going to have to trust your gut when it comes to hard conversations. Sometimes it’s going to feel good. Sometimes it’s going to feel funny. When you’re making a deal, you have to remove your ego, but never remove that gut instinct. Sometimes you’re going to have to use your gut instinct and intuition when it comes to exiting a partnership, starting a new business, selling a new business or learning from your friends or peers in a mastermind.

I was part of a mastermind once, and there was one incident that happened that completely violated the trust of the mastermind and I immediately knew it was time to leave because my gut told me I cannot be there anymore.

How My Gut Feelings Influenced My Life Decisions [8:37]

Recently, another consulting client of mine, Lisa K, came to Toronto and we did a one-day VIP consultation for her. Her whole business is all about identifying and recognizing your intuition and then being able to make decisions based on that. We were talking about intuition all day long and I started to see these critical moments in my career where I made big decisions. One of the first big ones that we talked about was when I decided to go down the entrepreneurial path versus the corporate path. My gut way saying, “Don’t go down the corporate path. That’s not who you are.” Even though intellectually everything told me to go and get that corporate job, my gut was telling me otherwise.

There was another big instance when I sold shares of my first software company, WishList Member. I remember that I had this moment when I woke up and knew my intuition was telling me it’s time to sell my shares and move on to the next chapter of my career.

3 Tips on Trusting Your Gut [10:25]

As Lisa and I were going through the day, there were so many different stories and things that were popping up where I was recognizing that I had this gut instinct and I acted on it. So I want to give you three quick tips when it comes to trusting your gut.

Number one, you have to recognize when you’re having that feeling. For example, have you ever been in a relationship when you knew that the person that you’re with wasn’t really the person that you should be with long-term, like they weren’t marriage material? If you know that feeling, you just have to start recognizing it.

Number two, is to identify the direction that feeling is trying to take you. What is that gut intuition trying to tell you? Get clarity and start listening to that.

And number three, is to learn to make decisions based on that feeling.

TRIBE Started With Intuition Too [11:47]

Some of the most pivotal pivots in my career have come from having that gut instinct, recognizing that it’s there, identifying what it’s trying to tell me, and then committing to and making decisions based on it. Speaking of gut instincts, I got a good gut instinct about our upcoming TRIBE experience. If you haven’t joined us yet, go to TRIBEWorkshop.com and register for our free training starting April 25. The first time we ever did TRIBE, I remember this was a gut instinct moment too because I was investing tens of thousands out of my pocket up front to be able to produce the videos and put everything together, but there was this gut instinct that everything is going to work out. And it did.

Also, if you want to learn more about intuition, I highly recommend you go check out Lisa K at IntuitionOnly.com. She has a scientific background so she knows the actual science behind intuition and how it can help you make better decisions.

Learn to Trust Your Gut [14:30]

When it comes to business, there are going to be all kinds of moments when we have to trust our gut. And sometimes it’s not going to make total sense, but the more you can learn to trust your gut, the better you sleep at night and the better decisions you will make.

Memorable Quotes

“When you’re making a deal, you have to remove your ego, but never remove that gut instinct.” – Stu McLaren

“The more you can learn to trust your gut, the better you sleep at night and the better decisions you will make.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

MYB 106 – Collaboration vs. Competition
Lisa K – Intuition Only
TRIBE Workshop

Rate & Review the Podcast

Reviews for the podcast on iTunes and greatly appreciated! They help us build awareness for the show, which in turn allows us to bring value to more listeners like you. Not only that, but they help us better understand what matters the most to you so that we can constantly improve. If you received value from this episode, it would mean the world if you could take a moment and leave your honest rating and review. You can do that by clicking here.