How to Get the Most Out of Your Intuition

Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favors only the prepared mind."

Some people seem to be born to recognize opportunities long before anyone else even blinks (e.g., Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison). Many people pass by opportunity even when it hits them in the face. Opportunity is frequently driven by the phenomenon known as 'luck'. 

I really dislike the word 'luck'. It's a cop out for trying to figure out what, exactly, happened. How did I end up in this? It must be luck - as if luck was some kind of magical force. At the risk of making this blog entry a rant about luck, I will shift the focus somewhat to simply say that all of us will experience this thing, luck, at some point in our life - many times. If not today, it could happen tomorrow. 

What are you doing about it?

This question should elicit a question from you - usually, "What can you do about it?" If it's a good luck situation, then you should take advantage of it before anyone else does. If it's a bad luck situation, then you should have an exit strategy. Either way, both of these scenarios will require you to be prepared to act, to have a prepared mind.

The prepared mind has two qualities. First, it isn't distracted. This means you should give yourself a chance to focus and be observant. Inevitably this means less day-dreaming, less obsessing, less TV, and less <any activity that requires whole commitment, no interaction, and is a time vampire>. Second, embrace diversity. This is an overused term that usually doesn't come with anything more than a "because it's good for us". I'm not suggesting that you like whatever form of diversity you experience, but rather you should at least experience life from a different perspective. 

Regarding diversity, try a simple experiment: Get a ladder out and put it inside your home. Go up the ladder a few feet off the floor. Now imagine yourself walking through your home trying to go about your day. All of the sudden, a new world is opened up within your existing world - going through doorways is difficult, leaning underneath the sink is difficult, seeing just how dusty the top of the refrigerator is... is disturbing, seeing all of the dust up high is disturbing, try taking a shower, try fitting in the bathtub, etc. You've forced yourself into a new, diverse world and you're instantly seeing challenges.

By minimizing distractions and embracing diversity, you will be able to recognize new challenges, opportunities, and solutions much faster and much more effectively. The next time luck - good or bad - hits, you will be able to instantly evaluate much more than you could before. Why? Because you've prepared your mind. And, most importantly, your intuition will be more attune to your needs because of this.

Why You May Not Click With Someone

Inevitably we all come across that person - the person that we don't click with. It seems that from the moment we met him or her, it wasn't going to fly. Sometimes it's pretty obvious. I once had a boss who, upon meeting her, held out one hand and said, "This is me." She then circled her other hand around the hand that was held out and then said, "This is the universe."

So... the universe revolves around you. Got it.

Sometimes it isn't as obvious. I met a husband and wife who lived in downtown Boston. The husband was a smart, funny, and overall nice guy. He gave off that creepy feeling and I didn't know why. If you're waiting for me to say that he was later caught doing something highly illegal then you'll be disappointed. I hold the belief that the creepy feeling that we get isn't necessarily a sign of imminent danger - rather it's a part of a higher level of chemistry. I really don't think I could be at my best being around the guy and I'm not sure why. I am certain that I wasn't at my best around my ex-boss who insisted she was the center of the universe. I stress the 'ex' part of that.

There are those that you may not click with immediately, but you find yourself warming up to over time. Perhaps it's part of that higher-level chemistry that has finally found a working alignment. Now I'm not going to spout off on an unseen force guiding these dynamics. I will just say that we all experience it and we struggle to explain it.

I, for one, get disappointed with myself for having unwarranted, negative feelings towards someone I just met. Then it hits me - maybe I'm the one who's not aligned with this person. Maybe I'm the one that's causing this negative backlash. A bad day can easily be the culprit for feeling negative but I've found that far too often it's simply because that person reminds me of someone else from my past that I didn't get along with.

Before you avoid someone forever, ask yourself if you've given that person a fair chance. Ask yourself if it's not them and it's actually you causing that creepy feeling.

The Politics of 50-50

With few exceptions, most industrialized, modern nations have significant political opposition groups. In the United States its Democrats and Republicans. It seems that every election that comes along somehow keeps enough of a split vote that nearly anything can happen in the next election cycle. The House, the Senate, and the Presidency switch hands have rarely had all three ran by the same party during the nation's history.

One could reason that the arguing gets the country nowhere - or any country that has the same kind of odds of political swapping that the U.S. has (name a country in Western Europe). One could argue that China is an exception to this rule, but those living in China would tell you that poverty is rampant - about 3/4ths of the population lives on less than $5 per day. The fancy pictures we see about China are usually those in urban areas - far away from the rural, poor areas. China is an enigma because of its vast exploited population and natural resources.

For those who remember the 2000 presidential election and called it close, you should look into the election of 1876. I won't spoil the details except to say that the president was decided by a committee of 15 men - not by the popular vote or the electoral college. One could argue that the 2000 election was decided by judges but in the case of the 1876 election even the judges agreed that the 15-man committee was the right answer. The nation survived and thrived.

The ebb and flow of politics - however painful - is what makes countries successful. It forces both sides to be held accountable; if you don't agree with that then go live in a dictatorship (there are plenty to choose from) and re-assess your opinion.

In some ways, it literally is Us versus Them. It appears to work.

For Aspiring Authors - Rogue Waves

Perhaps the most common question I get from people is along the lines of "What does it take to write a book?" I follow that question with another one, "Do you want to do this for a living?"

As a writer, I am constantly amazed at the quality of books that are available - amazing stories and amazing writing. It pains me to see a wonderful book get published and not go anywhere (not just my own). There are people who will tell me how terrible the Twilight Series is and how wonderful Harry Potter is. They tell me that book X is much better than these books. So, why hasn't book X taken off?

Each published book begins as a ripple that is competing with other ripples to become the next rogue wave.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave

Do books compete? Yes. If a reader buys your book, then you are most likely on a stack of other books that the reader has on his/her nightstand (literally or figuratively in ebook). How do authors get their book to be a rogue wave? There are three approaches.

The first comes with the BAM! debut novel - the one that everyone has to read. This is the one that everyone has to read now. DIVERGENT is a great example of this. With so many other YA dystopians out there, how did this one make it to the top? It's a great book; there are many other great books. It has high ratings on Amazon and Goodreads; there are many debut novels with high ratings. It's by a Big 5 publisher; there are lots of Big 5 books that are great, highly rated, but don't take off. I'm not sure if anyone knows exactly how these books make it big while others do not.

The second comes with writing a bunch of stuff (and I use 'stuff' to cover the gamut of writing novels, fan fiction, short stories, etc.), building a fan base, and finally releasing that mega-best-seller. Hugh Howey and Jennifer Armentrout are great examples of writers who can churn out a ton of great stories/great writing in a short amount of time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Howey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Armentrout

Looking at the dates of their respective publications makes my head spin. They are gifted in that they can write great material and, in effect, build ripples that are so close to each other that they make a rogue wave. Honestly, even if I didn't have to have a day job, I would find it very difficult (okay, impossible) to keep such an output. In my opinion, this is the most reliable way to create the rogue wave - albeit very tasking.

The third approach is very similar to the second approach except the fan base is built slowly over time. Suzanne Collins is a great example of this. Most don't know that she wrote a five-book series before The Hunger Games. The approach here is to steadily build up a large enough base of fans that once your new book comes out that they all buy it, read it, and tell their friends about it at the same time.

There are those who don't fit in the above categories (e.g., E.L. James) but the point is that there isn't a magic formula for creating your own rogue wave. As the name implies, the wave is unexpected and surprising. If you want to be a writer, don't count on the rogue wave. You can increase your chances by putting a lot of work into it but manage your expectations.

Create Your Own Butterfly Effect

Spend less time day-dreaming and more time day-doing. It sounds like a motivational pitch from a motivational speaker, but let's suppose that this is truth. Let's consider two people - one who has good will in mind and the other who doesn't.

The one with good will spends his/her days dreaming about the virtues and goodness that will come with his/her ideas. The one with bad will spends one hour thinking about the hell on earth he/she can bring and then spends the rest of his/her time actually doing it. Which person will the butterfly effect be most profound?

It's always easier to dream; it's like watching a custom movie in your head and - the best part - you're the hero. Taking action requires time, effort, and (possibly) money; however, the largest road block for most people is the fear of failure. Doing nothing means that you won't fail, but it also means that you won't be successful.

Back to the person with bad will: He/She fails 99 times out of 100. He/She is successful once and you (the assumed good guy) has never been successful, although has never failed either. 99 times is a lot of failure, a lot of time, a lot of <insert negativity here>. One of the biggest regrets that people have on their death bed was that they felt they didn't do enough with their lives. Granted, not everyone is in a situation suited to help carry out their dreams. Are you? Can a dream be scaled back a little bit so it has a chance to take off?

You will have friends that won't support you. You will have friends that will mock you behind your back. Keep in mind that misery loves company - these people don't want you to succeed because it validates their stance that doing nothing is okay (because that's what they're doing: nothing). If you do nothing then they won't feel any pressure to do anything. As an aside, this also tells you who your true friends are.

Make your own butterfly effect. Make it on your terms. Spend 5% dreaming and 95% doing. Remember that there are motivated people out there that are up to no good. Do something.