MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER, AUTHOR & SUCCESS COACH

August 2023 Newsletter Follow your intuition

Follow Your Intuition

 

 

How many times have you said to yourself, “I wish I had followed my intuition” or “I should have trusted my gut”? This has happened to me so many times that I’ve lost count, and 99 percent of those times I would have made the right decision if I had trusted my intuition.

 

When you are thinking about doing something and you have a gut feeling about whether you should back off or move ahead, pay attention. Some people may call it intuition, and if something happens the way you wanted it to, they may say it’s just a coincidence.

 

“I believe in intuitions and inspirations… I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.” – Albert Einstein

 

I have made many mistakes because I did not listen to my gut, but I am grateful to the good Lord that none of those mistakes turned out to be fatal.

 

Life is a journey. We will never have answers to all of our questions. When you are making monumental decisions, there will be many times when you have to trust your gut.

 

 

This may sound crazy, but I’ve always thought that I have a special gift of being intuitive. Many times I have thought about a client that I should be calling or a prospect that I have not had a conversation with in a long time, and that same day they have called me. It would’ve been more appropriate on my part if I had followed my gut and called them first.

 

“Intuition is the whisper of the soul.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

 

About two weeks ago right after I woke up, my thoughts turned to a friend I had known many years ago. I was just wondering how she was doing. Later that afternoon, I got a text from her saying – and this is no joke – “The universe is telling me to reach out to you, and I just wanted to say hello.” It blew me away. I immediately texted back and said, “Do you have a minute to talk?” When we talked on the phone, I was more shocked than she was because she told me that she believes that the spirit of the universe reaches out to us to give us direction. Anyway, we had a nice, short phone call. This was just one incident among many.

 

Paul O’Brien said, “Visionary decision-making happens at the intersection of intuition and logic.” I believe in this statement to the core of my soul. We should be making decisions based not only on what we feel but also on what we see. We should ask ourselves if the intended action makes sense and if it will move us forward or potentially have the opposite effect. If I’d had this mindset when I was building a company, managing people, being a leader, and so on, I would have made different decisions on many occasions. However, I have no regrets about the choices I made because I learned from those decisions and chose to use them to benefit me.

 

When things don’t turn out the way we planned, we should not be disappointed. Instead, we should remember that we have the God-given ability to learn a great lesson and benefit from it in the future. At the very least, the next time this happens we will listen to our intuition instead of ignoring it.

 

“You must train your intuition – you must trust the small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.” – Ingrid Bergman

 

If you ever find yourself second-guessing something, that is definitely a sign that you need to step back and listen to what your gut is telling you.

 

The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered, strong, and happy you will be. There will be times when trusting your gut feeling about something will save you from a potential disaster.

 

I like to trust my instincts and make judgments based on what my heart tells me to do. I have found that my heart will rarely betray me.

 

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

 

If you get into the habit of trusting your intuition, you might gain some unexpected benefits. Researchers at the University of California–Berkeley found that people who rely on their intuition are better at reading body language and facial expressions, which can help them navigate social situations more effectively. In other words, intuition can enhance communication and promote social success.

 

So, my bottom-line message today is that following your intuition will often lead to good results or keep you out of a bad situation. Trust your gut!

What People in the Audience are Saying…

With Van's passion, humor and experience you can be assured of one thing- your audience is going to get fired-up, built-up, and fully charged –up. As an entrepreneur at the top of his game Van is in the unique position of being able to "talk the talk" because he has "walked the walk". Over the years he has been a great inspiration to me and my staff. Van is a speaker with charisma, humility and impact and he's a difference maker in the lives of the people he touches…"

—George Akers // President, First Mortgage Corp.

I wanted to thank you for coming and speaking with our company today. I thought your presentation was awesome! I was really motivated and inspired by your thoughts and ideas. I will use this motivation to grow my business and my personal life.”

—Justin Pauls // Realtor, Tampa, Florida

We are delighted you will be accepting the award for Omaha’s Top 25 fastest growing companies. Congratulations on your outstanding growth and we wish you continued success.”

—Tracey Fortina // Omaha Chamber of Commerce

Thank you for running such a class act company. It is an honor and a pleasure to be associated with someone such as yourself. I know you are probably one of the most respected businessmen in the region.”

—Dustin Talacko // Realtor, Omaha, Nebraska

Congratulations on writing “Selling from the heart” and thank you for sharing a copy with me. Your class has been one of the most enjoyable classes I’ve ever taken. Your enthusiasm and passion for your work are awesome. But the most refreshing part of the class was your delightful sense of humor. Thank you again for being a fantastic teacher.”

—Linda Reismeiler // Student at Randall School of Real Estate, Omaha, Nebraska

Kudos to you, Van, for reaching a major goal. But more than that...For successfully building one of Omaha’s best companies from scratch and making it thrive even in less than ideal market conditions. You have realized the American Dream...And brought it home to many, many others. My best to you!”

—Todd Andrews, Anchor and Producer, KETV Omaha

Having you here again was such a blessing to so many! As I looked at the pictures, I could see just how interested each and every person was in what you had to say!

This has been such a gift to our agents when they need it the most. The fact that you come, you are so genuine and caring, you are so honest, you are not trying to sell anything and your passion to help each and every person believe in themselves and become the best they can be is HUGE! The timing is perfect for us all helping and caring about each other, so, thank YOU from the bottom of my heart for giving of yourself to help all of us!”

—Carolyn Summerton // First Mortgage Company of Idaho

I enjoyed your seminar and its focus. I was on the fence whether or not to attend and decided why not? I could have sat through an all day session if there was one, usually I end up at the seminars that start with a focus and quickly go astray. I found with yours time flew by too fast and it was already time to go but I wasn’t ready to go.”

—Scott Asbill, CDPE // Associate Broker, Realtor