Recently I was listening to the audiotape Embracing Uncertainty by Susan Jeffers (www.susanjeffers.com), which set me off on a whole line of thinking with regards to intuition, and the part it can play in our lives. Be it knowingly, or unknowingly.

Susan recounts a time in her life where she had recently attended some workshops which had led her to try and be more aware of her own intuition. You know, those random thoughts that tend to appear in our heads. The same ones that often don't appear to make sense, yet seem to push us in a particular direction. The very ones that we can choose to simply ignore, or follow through and see where they lead.

Susan explains that at this point in her life she had committed to being more aware of her own intuitive thoughts. So when out of the blue she has this inner feeling that instructs her to "go to the new school", naturally it catches her attention.

Never mind as she points out that she's never been to the school, nor can imagine any particular reason that her thoughts might be leading her there. In a fleeting thought, she thinks perhaps there is some new seminar that's being offered there that she would benefit from. So she sets off to locate the destination.

Upon entering she winds up in the Human Resources department. As she tells it, the receptionist isn't there and the woman who runs the department greets her. Now here's where things get interesting.

The woman asks if she can help her, and Susan blurts out, I'm here to teach a course on fear. Both women look at each other in a bit of disbelief and the woman goes on to tell her that as strange as it seems we've been looking to offer such a course. We're in the final phases of putting together the course catalog and she was about to have to leave town, so time was of the essence.

Long story short, that course on fear ultimately leads to Susan Jeffers putting together the wildly successful Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway.

Imagine what would have happened, had she like so many of us do each day, simply brushed off her intuitive thought and went on without acting on it. Ponder that for a minute. Really give that some thought. Isn't it interesting how her willingness to follow that tugging thought set in motion a whole string of events that have set her on the path she's on now?

I'm guessing you can re-count such times in your own life. Perhaps, like Susan, you acted on them -- or instead you chose not to. The point here isn't for you to look back and say "if only I'd followed my gut feeling". Because I can assure you, we're all guilty of ignoring our thoughts at some point in time. Rather, I'd like to illustrate how important it is to be aware of such feelings when they come to you - rather than simply fluffing them off.

It is also worth noting that our intuition can act as a motivator to move forward on something, as well as being a guiding force that tells us to move slower, or even pass on a particular situation.

Another example, grant it not near as profound as the example found in the story above does a nice job of illustrating how intuition works. I'd also bet it's one that most anyone can identify with. It's often said that if you're taking a multiple-choice test. Or find yourself in a situation where you are given multiple scenarios where one offers the correct outcome, yet you're not 100% sure of the right answer the idea is to first eliminate the ones that you know, or believe are not correct. From there you go with your best gut feeling. More often then not, I believe you will find yourself with the correct answer.

Any number of reasons could be given as to why the above example is so, and I'll leave that for you to ponder in your own mind.

One doesn't have to look very far to see the countless real life examples of where following ones inner thoughts have led to some great discovery. I love to read the stories of entrepreneurs. Very often there's a common thread that at least at the beginning they jumped into their chosen venture because it just felt right. Grant it along the way countless details were ironed out and business plans made. Even so, initially there was that nagging idea pushing them in that direction.

This is very much what happened in my own life. When I started my web site I can't say that I first had any grand business plan in place. I didn't have a band of venture capitalists or investors wanting to fund my business idea. Nor for that matter did I really know anyone personally in the industry that I wanted to operate in - that being personal development.

All that being said, I had this idea... and in following that idea it has morphed and grown into where I am now, and is responsible for so many wonderful connections being made that I can't even begin to narrow them all down here.

The point in sharing my story isn't to toot my own horn and I'm not going to say that everything was all roses and daisies along the way. I can say however that without following my intuition I would have no doubt missed a wonderful opportunity. It's something that I myself like to ponder from time to time.

In countless instances throughout our day our intuition is trying to tell us things. It is my hope that you will take the time to be aware of those ideas that come to you. Think them out; don't simply assume they're fleeting thoughts. Again, that's not to say that each and every one will put you on the path of some wonderful journey... then again, who is to say it won't?

Here's to your success, Josh Hinds

Josh Hinds of http://GetMotivation.com specializes in helping people to achieve maximum success and live the life of their dreams. He is also the co-founder of http://AudioMotivation.com - visit now to hear leading motivational speakers and authors share their tips and advice with you.