Instincts. The Measure of a Successful Man?

[Before any women gets their delicates in a bunch, the word MAN is certainly interchangeable, ok?]

Yesterday, I realized something. It was, as my friend Tom calls it, a BFO, or blinding flash of the obvious.

You see, in business, you either have the “killer” instinct for success or the “gut” instinct to succeed, or, you don’t.

For the second time in as many months, I saw my wife in action, handling her real estate business. She’s done a fantastic job. In a delicate situation, she’s done what most couldn’t: rep’d both Buyer and Seller in a fair and equitable manner while keeping the transaction together in a tough economic environment. Frankly, I don’t know many real estate brokers who could’ve pulled that off. And, I want to publicly recognize her for her efforts.

I’m dealing with guys everyday that have multi-million dollar businesses that I wonder, how many of them could have kept it all together as well as she has. She definitely has a cool head for business, and her instincts are excellent, well-used and show, in her chosen profession. And, did I mention, she’s very beautiful, to boot? That just makes it all the sweeter, eh? (Well, it does for me.)

The thing is, my wife would be successful at whatever she chose to do. Real estate, law, marketing, physician, dentist, whatever. She’s super smart, analytical (but doesn’t get paralyzed) and…her instincts guide her to the right decisions.

And, if you don’t, frankly, have that killer or gut instinct, that’s OK.

Because, you can have one other trait that’s far more valuable overall.

This trait allows you to “step aside” and get outside yourself, look at yourself and realize, “Dude: You suck at ‘that,’ and you really, really should hire someone else to do it for you so it doesn’t suck and your business grows instead of flounders due to your personal limitations.”

Whatever ‘THAT’ is in your case.

I know what my THATS are. There’s a lot of them. And, I do my best to let someone else handle them. It allows me to put my focus where it belongs.

Question: Are YOU putting your forte'(s) (strengths) on the front burner and letting someone else handle the rest?

The secret to success here, lies in your ability to delegate. But, first, recognizing where you fall apart. And then, sic’in someone else on that area where you’re not the best you. (Sounds like that atrocious show, Wife Swap, I caught a glimpse of the other night.)

Use your gut. Let it guide you. On occasion, it might be wrong. More often than not, it’s right. Go with it. Trust your instincts. (If you got ’em!)