Creating a Heart-Centered Decision-Making Machine

In the beginning of a business, there is a LOT riding on making the right decisions, because when you don’t have any financial slack the wrong decisions can sink you.

Then, later in the business, the number of decisions that need to be made seems to multiply. Although each individual decision may not seem so weighty, decision-making can slow way down. You dither over buying those plane tickets, and pay a higher fare than you would’ve have two weeks ago.

You put off getting back to someone who could be very helpful and influential in moving your business forward, letting the decision on what to say to them sit for two weeks, so you look like a shlep, and unprofessional.

Intuitive guidance is great, and always the trump card. And yet sometimes intuition or guidance seems too vague to be helpful, when what you really need is precision.

There’s a reason that guidance goes funny here, and there is an answer.

Where Guidance Gets Fuzzy

As I explain in Forwards, the workbook portion of Backwards, Why Common Abundance Manifestation Approaches Are Sabotaging Your Success, guidance is about being in right relationship with the world around us, not about following a Divinely-programmed to-do list.

This is why when you ask your heart questions about “what should I do? who should I be?” the answers often come back fuzzy or imcomprehensible.

My Sufi lineage has made me aware of a centuries-old practice of receiving guidance called “istikhara.” And, my teachers stress, it’s effective for yes or no questions, not for receiving a detailed “what-to-do” script.

I’m not saying we don’t sometimes receive glimpses of more than Magic 8 Ball (Yes/No/Maybe/Ask Again Later) responses, but it’s not consistent or dependable enough to use on a daily or hourly basis when you’re facing the hard decisions in your business. Unless you happen to be an enlightened spiritual master, in which case send me an email, I have a long list of decisions I need your detailed input on.

However, as it turns out, if you do take the time you need, guidance can be fairly dependable on the yes-no/go-no-go sort of questions.

So that requires an extra two steps.

Data and Criteria

The way the business world usually makes decisions is: collect data, match it up with your own criteria, and then justify the decision you were going to make emotionally anyway. 🙂

I thought we’d change that slightly. Yes, collect the data, yes pass it through the criteria. Then, once you firmly understand the big picture in all of its glory, you can go to your heart for guidance with a lot more clarity.

In fact, you may have so much clarity that your heart gives you the answer instantly.

An Example: Joint Ventures

Let’s say someone approaches you and says, “Hey, let’s deliver a class together!” You might really like the person and want to say, “Yeah, that’ll be a blast!”

I say express your enthusiasm, and then start asking questions. “Sounds like it could be a blast. I’d love to work out some details.”

So here’s my list of data to be collected for a joint venture:

• Who is the person/business offering? (I need to know who I’m dealing with, especially if I’ve never met them before.)

• What kind of reach/audience do they have on email? Facebook? Twitter? (I need to know how the responsibility for the marketing will land.)

• The offer specifics-What problem does the offer solve, is it a product or a class?

• Does it require me to create new material, or can I use material I already have?

• When will the offer happen, and how long is needed for marketing?

• How much of my time will be needed?

• What price point is being considered?

• What other costs are involved, and who is responsible for them? (Am I setting up the web page and processing the charges, or are you? Who is handling registrations, customer service requests, etc.?)

• What is the offered percentage split?

Admittedly, some of this data may be figured out after we’re clear we’re moving forward, such as the percentage split. And yet raising the issue is critical for clarity.

Then I say, “Sounds interesting. Let me take a look at what I’ve got going on and see if I can make it work.”

I then take the data and compare it to my criteria.

• Is the other person/business in alignment with our core values? (People judge you by who you associate with.)

• Is the offer in alignment with our mission. (I don’t want to be taking up critical time on offers that aren’t helping extend what we’re trying to do in the world.)

• Is there even time to do it? What else is going on on the business and personal calendar?

• If it requires travel or new material from me, then it needs to balance out with mission and profitability.

Finally, a clear picture of what’s involved! Now for the trump card.

Time to Go To Your Heart

There are times that your heart will lead you to do something because it’s just right, even if the data and criteria don’t match up. If that happens, at least you’ll have a clear picture of what you are agreeing to, and what the costs will be to your business and life.

However, more often I’ve found that my heart is in agreement with what my business needs. My heart doesn’t want me to do something just because “it’ll be fun!” My heart tends to keep the big picture focus.

Meaning the Divine doesn’t want me all out of balance, chasing random offers. The Divine doesn’t want me exhausted and broke. The Divine doesn’t want me to break my integrity.

Most often I’ve found that the data, criteria and my heart all agree. And by taking the time to gather the data and think through the criteria, it can make the process of access guidance MUCH easier.

Creating the Heart-Centered Decision-Making Machine

If you have some decisions that you face over and over again, such as joint ventures, turn it into a process. Create a list of data/questions that need to be answered. Create your list of criteria. And every time you run into that question, collect the data and consult the criteria.

Here’s the point. Don’t make accessing guidance harder than it needs to be. Get the big picture, ask the questions. Then go to your heart.

Is there a decision you’re struggling with that you just haven’t gotten the details on yet? What questions could you ask, what criteria could you consult? How does that change your ability to access guidance? Let us know.

Tell me about it below in the comments. (Note, our site crashed the day this post went live- and restoring it we lost the comments up to that point. Sorry if we lost yours!)