Gut Instinct: The Secret Weapon

Last year George Torok spoke at the Face to Face conference held in St Andrews, NB.

Read the report from the conference organizer, Progress Magazine:

Gut Instinct: The Secret Weapon
George Torok

Logic, thinking, emotion, intuition, gut instinct. What do those words mean to you? How do they fit together? George Torok teaches people how you can learn to recognize, manage, and profit from those informing little tingles known as “gut instinct.”


So what is it?
Gut instinct is a combination of emotion and subconscious thinking. “I suggest that we all base our decisions on what feels right,” says Torok. “Logic is still a good thing, but we overemphasize it.” Logic is a set of “if, then” statements, not about thinking. Torok warns us not to describe ourselves as logical people because then we are “thinking-less machines.” A lot of the time our bodies talk to us in subtle ways, but we tend to ignore the signals. “Listen to them,” says Torok, “because it’s part of what makes you work.” Some of the best decisions people make are done in an instant, where no thinking is involved.

Gut instinct in the workplace
Gut feeling can help you in every aspect of your life. In the workforce it can help with decision-making, selling, managing, and hiring. “Too many people think with logic, and we need to move more toward using emotions in the workplace,” says Torok. “You can’t motivate people with logic; if you want them to move, you must touch their emotions.” A good friend of Torok’s once told him to watch what successful people and organizations do, then ask himself why do they do things that way.

“You’ll start to understand how they think,” he says. “Don’t copy other people, but be creative and come up with your own ideas. Creativity and growth work together. If you try to grow with logic, at best you will have linear growth. If you want a quantum shift in your market and growth, you need to tap into your gut and to do something crazy. Crazy doesn’t mean stupid, just completely different.

Redefine the market.” The five emotions that tend to move us most when we make decisions are love, pride, greed, guilt, and fear.

How do we know gut feeling exists?
Like many other things in life, we can’t see gut instinct but we know it’s real. Vision, commitment, attitude, and leadership are all examples of things we know are there but can’t see. Torok suggests that perhaps we’re in touch with our inner feelings when we’re very young and very old, and that in between we go through stages where we ignore our inner instincts. “As long as you’re willing to admit that there’s something there and you can work with it,” he says, “then you can tap into it and make better use of it.”

How can you make it work for you?
Torok teaches many things that can be done to help people get in touch with what their bodies tells them. For example, meditating is a good way to be alone with your thoughts and feelings. Whether it’s done in a quiet room or during a bike ride, make time for yourself to be alone. Do things that make you feel good about yourself. Scare yourself by trying something new, because when you do your senses are heightened and you feel things you normally wouldn’t feel. Above all, live in the moment.

Face to Face is an annual conference for Atlantic busines owners organized by Progress magazine.

Learn more about Face to Face conference.
Learn more about Progress Magazine.

George Torok
Gutfeeling is a book by Peter Urs Bender

Peter Urs Bender

My dear friend, Peter Urs Bender, died two years ago.

He was my mentor.
He encouraged me to develop my business. He introduced me to people, ideas and shortcuts. He allowed me to piggyback on his name and reputation.

He was my co-author.
He pushed me to write my first book with him. He often chided me – but never criticized me.

He was my friend.
He offered me his wisdom, encouragement and confidence. I can never thank him enough for what he did for me. He did so much.

He was an inspiration.
I am very sad to loose him. I am very happy to have known him. I am lucky that he took an interest in me.

He died too earlier. He was 60. Cancer slew him. I expected that he would be around for a lot longer. He completed 19 marathons. How can one so healthy die so early? I think I did not thank him enough.

Motivational Speaker: George Torok

Motivational Speaker blog for you.

Gutfeeling, Instinct, Intuition

Gutfeeling

What is and how do you describe this thing you feel in your gut?

Gut feeling

Gut Instinct

Intuition

Emotional intelligence

How do you really make decisions?

CATS and DOGS

Dogs come when they’re called;
Cats take a message and get back to you.
-Mary Bly, feminist and author

One thing I love about cats is their independence. One thing I hate about cats is their independence.

That contradictory nature is the essence of cats. How does it relate to Gutfeeling? I think it makes us aware that cats are sensitive to emotion, to feelings of any sort. They remind us that we should be, too.

From early Egyptian times, cats have been both adored and feared. They were among the first animals to be domesticated. Yet they have never truly been domesticated at all. They willingly accept all donations of food. But even on a full stomach, they don’t hesitate to hunt. They have never lost their wild, instinctual nature. They are constant reminders to us that there is always ‘something beyond’.

They have always been associated with spirituality. The Egyptians thought of them as guardians of the dead. Though dreaded as ……..

Read more of Gutfeeling…..buy the book

Peter Urs bender, Author
Gut Feeling

EXECUTIVE

Noun. One that exercises executive or managerial control.
-Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

If you look at your own life, you are the executive of yourself. If you’re not happy with the results you get, fire your executives. Change your friends. Change your tactics. But be sure you change something or you’ll get the same results you always had.

Individually you are only one person, but if you look closely you will find many characters in your persona. There is, hopefully, a mother, father, caregiver, driver, lover, friend – you are not just one person, you are a multi-faceted individual. You are also an executive, someone who ‘manages’ the whole ‘you’. If the executive doesn’t believe in spirituality, then you yourself won’t.

Our Western culture encourages us to live our lives like executives; people making decisions. We are often encouraged to show less emotion and intimacy – to become logical and totally rational.


Read more of Gutfeeling…..buy the book

Peter Urs bender, Author
Gut Feeling

MANAGER

A leader knows what’s best to do;
A manager knows merely how best to do it.
-Ken Adelman, business executive

Jerry White, internationally known business consultant, puts his finger on the critical point of difference between managers and leaders. “Leaders and entrepreneurs use intuition as much as anything in divining vision, strategy and dealing with change. The quantitative bean counters be damned.”

Managers follow rulebooks. Good leaders, if they have enough guts, follow their Gutfeeling. Learn to make the distinction yourself.

Rule books are necessary. But all too often they are substitutes for honest reflection and instinct. “Do it by the book” is an expression you will hear all managers use. It relieves them of responsibility for thinking!

There’s nothing wrong with following the book, unless you are unable to recognize when it’s time to set the rule book aside and follow your Gutfeeling. You already have the benefit of the best advice the book can give you. Now forget it, and work out the problem on your own. Let your instincts tell you…..

Read more of Gutfeeling…..buy the book
Peter Urs bender, Author
Gut Feeling