I understand. I also know that sometimes finding that hidden passion is a bit more difficult than we would like. The good news is that there is a solution. I call it “whistling while you work” – named after my favorite dwarfs – because it is all about changing your mental state while you continue to do what you are already doing.

The secret is to stop trying to figure out what you want to DO, and instead identify how you want to FEEL. Law of Attraction experts like Jeannette Maw (www.goodvibecoach.com) tell us this shift in energy can actually help you attract the people and situations that may lead you to your passion. The goal is to find ways to feel the way you want, which then makes you ready to accept that which will help you find and create the life and work you want.

For example, Carol had a vague idea that she was feeling very restricted. She felt like she had no flexibility and no options to change her situation. While she still hadn’t figured out what she WAS passionate about, after some exploration, she determined that the FEELING she was looking for was FREEDOM. Now that is something to work with.

Without worrying about what to do, Carol could go ahead and think of ways to create the feeling of freedom. Carol chose several ways to integrate the feeling of freedom into her day, including eliminating a daily meeting that annoyed her and sketching outdoor scenes during lunch instead of working through it. The shift in energy created by these changes allowed Carol to remember how much she loved drawing as a kid, and she is considering signing up for some college art courses.

Will this turn into Carol’s passion? The jury is still out. But she is much happier and feeling more free. I am willing to bet she is moving in the right direction.

During the last year, several businesses in my beloved community have closed and a few others look like they are going in the same direction. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the successful businesses have in common. Here is what I came up with:

1. Happy employees: One of my favorite small businesses here in my community almost always has three or four employees on the premises… the funny thing is that typically only two of them are actually supposed to be working. The others are there just because they want to be there. Some business owners seem to have forgotten that if their employees don’t want to be there, neither will anyone else.
2. A good product: Right now, people are spending money on things they really WANT that help them achieve their GOALS. People don’t want the same old junk – they want something that represents who and what they are and/or want to be.
3. Confidence: Taking the same old crappy merchandise or food (see #2) and putting it on sale won’t help. If you always have big red “sale” signs in your window, we know that really means you want to get rid of your junk. This makes you desperate and “graspy”, which is not attractive.

After I put this list together, I was happy to find that it aligns very well with the Law of Attraction. According to the Law of Attraction, “like attracts like.” What you get in life is directly correlated with what you send into the world via your thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, which are just forms of energy. If you focus on what you want, send out positive energy (thoughts and feelings), and act with intention, you can attract what you desire.

To apply this to my list above:

1. Happy employees → Having positive employees who attract positive customers who spend money
2. A good product → Offering something wonderful to attract something wonderful
   
3. Confidence → Believing that you offer something wonderful
   

What happens if you do all these things? Well, you send out positive energy. And like attracts like.

So, when it comes to attracting success, a business is no different than a person. A business is an organism that projects positive or negative energy, which then allows it to attract success (or not).

Is this an oversimplification? Maybe… or maybe not.

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I am an introvert, but I love to hang out with extroverts. Those of the extroverted persuasion fascinate me. I think the universe knows I love them because it keeps sending them to me. These wonderful souls accept my blunt comments and observations, and instead of thinking about and stewing over my words, they just react. So fun!

Introverts like me love the intuitive decision making process because it allows us to use our gift: introspection. We can think about what we notice and interpret it all in our heads. On the other hand, when I describe this process to extroverts, I get a blank stare.

An extrovert’s reaction goes something like this:

• “I don’t notice anything when I think about my question.”
• “How does what I notice have anything to do with my question?”
• “What am I supposed to be doing?”

Extroverts are more action oriented. They’d rather react to things than consider the options. They want to talk rather than think. They don’t want to sit around for days, weeks, or months contemplating a decision. Introverts love this (although it isn’t always good for us), but it drives an extrovert mad.

So, how does an extrovert use intuition to make better decisions?

The answer lies in an extrovert’s strength: action. If you are an extrovert, you don’t want to contemplate what you notice. You want quick action. The solution is to come up with “rules” you can apply to all your decisions. You can use these rules to reach good decisions quickly without the need for a lot of introspection.

Here is an example:

Maia was frustrated. She’d accepted 3 jobs in the last 4 years, and she was already on the prowl for the next “perfect” job. Each time she went for an interview, she got excited about the company, the people, the job. Her passion showed, and employers lined up to hire her. Unfortunately, a few months after she accepted a new position, she was miserable because the job turned out to be a nightmare. She couldn’t believe she didn’t notice the company’s crappy product, people, or work environment before she accepted the job.

Ahh, the joys of being an extrovert. The problem was that Maia loves talking about what she loves, and she likes taking action. She gets excited during the interview, and all her talking and adrenaline “hides” her intuitive whispers that are telling her to run.

The cool thing is that our intuition is very smart. If we don’t listen to the intuitive whispers, it sends intuitive slaps in the face. Maia and I talked about the last interview that produced a less-than-ideal job. She happened to mention that she felt very tired after the interview. Not just a bit sleepy, but so tired that she went to sleep in the middle of the afternoon.

This is odd. Maia loves talking to people and selling herself. She doesn’t get tired in the afternoon, especially not after a day of talking and selling. What gives?

This is the good, old intuitive slap in the face I mentioned. Maia wasn’t built to listen to her mind, but her body was speaking volumes in a language she could understand. Action and excitement is her normal reaction to a day of interviewing, but this time she feels exhausted. Red flag.

So, the intuitive decision making process for an extrovert is short and sweet:

1. Pay attention to your body’s reactions to decisions that turn out good.

2. Notice when your reactions don’t match this “good decision” norm.

3. Avoid decisions that favor these atypical reactions.

Maia realized that each dud job followed a pattern: excitement during the interview, exhaustion after the interview. My theory is that Maia’s body was simply worn out from dealing with the negative “vibe” associated with the company, the people, the position, or all three.

Seems simple, but my unscientific studies show that this process works. The body is a major gateway to your intuition. When you are experiencing something that is right for you, your body reacts positively. For Maia, this means energy and a feeling of vibrancy. When the experience is less than optimal, you will feel bad, or at least not normal. In Maia’s case, she was uncharacteristically inclined to go home and hibernate.

Dr. Martha Beck, the well-known life coach and best-selling author, describes this process best:

You can use your body’s innate properties to play a high-stakes game of Hot and Cold. Your body knows where your North Star [what you want] is, and it does its best to tell you when you’re getting “cooler” or “warmer.” When you face a proposition that’s wrong for you, your body will try to go into the negative gesture [the bad decision reaction]…. When you’re headed down your true path, it will want to celebrate by moving into the positive gesture [the good decision reaction].

It is worth noting that this technique also works very well for introverts. But for extroverts, the body can be the best way to access the intuitive mind.