Sometimes your best answer is, “I have no idea”
I talk to a lot of people about my business and I really love it. It is such a glorious adventure to be pursuing what I am pursuing, as a designer of luxury French furniture. As a visionary, my dream bars are set pretty high and I have a crystal–clear vision of what I hope to accomplish in the next few years.
Naturally, when I talk to others about my big dreams, they are enthralled yet simultaneously skeptical of how I will pull this off. Afterall, no one is rushing into the furniture business to make a fortune, and the things I want to do are complex — meaning, they take concerted effort with lots of people and resources that I don’t have yet right now.
Their question very quickly becomes, “That’s great but how are you going to do this?”
I wish I had a nickel every time I was asked this because my favorite answer has become, “You know, I have no idea.” I smile with mystique and leave it at that.
The truth is, I do know. Sort of. Not really. But I also don’t know.
I know what I want the end result to look like. But that gigantic gap between where I am now and what I hope for it to be — I have no idea, not a clue, how that should go.
Sometimes, your best answer is truly, “I have no idea.” Not only might it be true, but it is the answer that will often summon the answers you’re looking for.
It used to be that I would write and brainstorm very lengthy business plans — things that only I would read and contain market research — boring facts and figures, and a description of how I was to run the business, and trying to figure out strategy.
Of course, I would spend months writing these yet never read them again. If I do, it is with a glazed look on my eyes because what I wrote is utterly boring and often, quite irrelevant to where I am today and what I need to do.
It’s safe for us to try to figure things out with our heads because that way, we can stay safe. We try to be hypervigilant of all the possible things that can go wrong (the risks), plus try to identify every single opportunity so that we could achieve faster, faster, faster.
It means, we want to succeed fast and fail never.
But honestly, how many things have you planned that have actually worked out exactly as is?
I bet it is none. Or at least, close to none.
What I am realizing in this new path of entrepreneurship — one that integrates intuition and soul rather than turning a blind eye to it — can’t be planned. We can set intentions — I do on a daily or even moment–to–moment basis. When you are following your intuition, you don’t get to see step 10. You might think you know it — and perhaps you do. I often know step 10 before I know steps 1 or 2. But the point is, most of the time, you just don’t know.
When you live from the place of “I have no idea,” you actually open yourself up to curiosity and the many avenues of opportunities and paths that you can choose. The danger is actually in the opposite — in believing that you do know, thereby closing yourself from exploring other paths you didn’t consider before.
Not knowing is totally okay, because your next step isn’t going to come from your mental–based churning anyway (though sometimes it is very helpful to start there, get off track and then align again). You’ll know your next step when it is time to know. I mean, how exactly will I know how to generate the $6 million I am aiming to make in the next 3 to 4 years? I have a good idea, but once it all begins, the truth is that I really wouldn’t know, until I know.
Get comfortable with not knowing. It is a vulnerable place to live when we don’t have answers — it’s the big, bad, scary unknown! (No, it isn’t). I used to be terrified of uncertainty but life has pushed me to become best friends with it. The more I work with it and settle into it, the more I feel that this is truly the only place to be.
Like they say, life happens in the unknown. Everything you want and have been dreaming for is located in the unknown. If you don’t go there, how will you ever find it?
Don’t let not knowing deter you from dreaming big. Dream big first, then you’ll figure it out later or be given the steps later. But you have to open that door to unknowing first.
Hi, I’m Ana Coeur
I teach entrepreneurs how to create their business straight from their soul. I offer a complete Intuitive Business Suite to help you create, design, write and sell all from your intuition. Here’s the services you can take advantage of to empower your business: Intuitive Web & Brand Design, Intuitive Copywriting and Intuitive Selling. If there’s anything I can help you with, I would love to hear about it! You may email me at anaintuitivepicture.com
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