How do you feel about intuition? Do you hear a bell go off in your head when the world wants you to go in a specific direction and do you make your decisions based on what your gut feeling is telling you?

Intuition can be very powerful, particularly when you don’t even know it’s standing right in front of you, trying to tell you something.

I’m the kind of person whose life is led with my heart. I tend to lean toward projects and jobs I am hopeful will plug into my passion.  This can be both an asset and a flaw.  I’m hoping my kids are more rational than I am.

Recently I started my own business and I’ve been able to go after passion projects.  The rewards and outcome of the work and the level of appreciation from the people I work with can run very deep and I’m choosing my projects carefully. It’s been an interesting mix of new types of clients to date, ones that fit in with the mission of my brand.

So recently, along came one of these projects that looked promising. I saw their product as a perfect blend of my skills and background.  It had elements of some of my main interests: education, art and kids.

The client and I seemed to agree on the direction and scope of our work together.  We met in person and had one last phone call to tie up loose ends and begin our work together.  It seemed like a good fit. I know I was what they needed, to be honest.

But then it happened.  Somewhere during the call, I lost focus.  My husband interrupted me and my thoughts veered away from the conversation. Didn’t I want the job?

Sure enough, my contact called me back to tell me his “intuition” was telling him not to hire me.  He couldn’t gage my level of excitement about joining his team.

My feelings were hurt but I was diplomatic, sending them an email with my best wishes for a successful launch.  I don’t like leaving things in a pile and wanted to end on good terms.

But deep down, maybe I didn’t want the role? I can choose my projects now and at the end of the day, this wasn’t a project I was truly crazy about.

The word “intuition” rang in my brain for days. I was hurt, but ultimately, I realized that the decision was a blessing. Something bigger is coming, and this job would have gotten in the way.

Oh, and also, I wasn’t really going ball busters about the project.

Why do we make decisions with no plan to get a clear destination?  It wasn’t my intention to become a permanent member of their team. Their intuition taught me a lot about myself and I’m grateful to him for it, though it was not their intention.

My intuition grounds me.  It empowers me.  But it was my intuition, no one else’s, that guided the turn of events.  Only I didn’t understand at that moment.  Now I do and as events unfold in the upcoming weeks, the reason will become even more clear.

How about you – are you led with your passion or rationality?