Imagine a red-eyed, drooling timber wolf breathing over your shoulder while you sit at your computer.

Your fingers tremble... the monitor fogs up... but still, you're trying to type those emails.

Pretty soon, though, your fear gets the best of you. And when that happens, working becomes very, very difficult. You procrastinate, avoid, daydream; anything to not have to face the feeling that at any moment, that wolf could get.

Take a look around you. Chances are, you're sitting at your desk, or whatever desk-substitute you have. And chances are, it's a mess.

What's it going to take to free you from the mess?
A better filing system?
A bigger trash can?
A shovel?

Oh, I know you're a clean person, don't get me wrong - but your desk is most likely the landing place for every miscellaneous business-related piece of paper, envelope, sticky note, and notebook you have, not to mention your computer, phone, your keyboard and mouse, plus all the incidentals - pens, tape, paper clips, a glass of water, pictures, paper trays, etc.

Let me ask you a question that may not be so simple: Why are you in business?

Of course, there are probably dozens of reasons you could point to....
- serve others
- contribute to the greater good
- meet a need that's not being met
- grow your financial well-being
- express your purpose
- prove to the world that you can

Wait - whoa - what was that last one? Take another look.

I've been doing a study lately of so-called "intuition experts." I've been curious to see what else is out there, and to see how they present themselves and their work.

What I'm finding is that 9 out of 10 "experts" claim to have been born with an amazing sense of intuition, or have been "clairvoyant" since they were small children.

Friday afternoon. Work's done.

No where to go, no responsibilities, no obligations. Don't have to be home until, well, whenever - it's my night out.

You think I'd be off like a rocket, right? Heading to the cafe/bookstore/movie theatre/park/you-name-it, to enjoy my favorite diversion?

Nope. I sat in the car, and just stared.

Following a hunch can mean a heap of trouble. Because even though you may think that hunches are intuitive - they're not. At least, not necessarily.

Hunches can be picking up subtle vibes, or, they can be throwbacks to old situations, pains, fears, etc.

- So how do you know the difference between a hunch and true guidance?

Now, I'm not normally the dictionary-quoting kind of person, but this is just too telling to leave out:

Here's what the dictionary says for "hunch":

An intuitive feeling or a premonition,
To bend or draw up into a hump,
To assume a crouched or cramped posture

Hmm? Makes you think, huh?

Now, compare that to the definition for "intuition":

Direct perception of truth or fact, independent of any reasoning process;
The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes
The power or faculty of gaining direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference

When you read these two groups of definitions, which one leaves you feeling tense and constricted? And which one leaves you feeling open and expanded?

Hunches, by definition, are tension-wrought.