Learn to trust yourself

The other day I caught myself doing something I’ll never do again: taking advice that didn’t feel right.

After six years of building my business, I've learned an expensive lesson. Every time I’ve ignored my intuition, I ended up paying twice — once in business impact, and again in lost time, energy, and direction.

And every time it happened, I was mad at myself for not listening to that little voice in my head. The voice that knows what’s best for me and my business, regardless of best practices and popular trends.

The Big Problem with "Best Practices"

When I reflect on my major business mistakes, there's a common thread: I followed someone else's "proven strategy" despite my instincts warning me otherwise.

The landing page design from a “conversion expert" felt wrong — and it was. The content strategy I learned from a "top influencer" felt off — and it was. And each time I had that slight hesitation, I should have listened to myself.

We tend to see other people's successes as proof of their methods. But methods don't always transfer. Principles usually do.

Just think about the last time you took business advice that didn't feel quite right. Maybe you changed your pricing to match "industry standards.” Or you followed someone's content strategy because it "worked for them.” Or you structured your offer the way "successful people" do it.

I'll bet, if you're honest with yourself, you probably knew it wasn't right from the start. But other people's success stories, case studies, and confidence can drown out your instincts.

Trust Yourself

The most profitable decisions I've made came from trusting my instincts:

• I simplified my course structure (despite "experts" saying it needed more)
• I lowered my prices (when competitors were going high-ticket)
• I focused on written text + images (while others were hollering about short-form video)

Every time, someone with more success than me said I was wrong. And every time, my intuition ended up being right. Not because I’m the smartest person in the world. I'm not. My intuition is right because I know what works best for me.

And the evidence is clear in my results.

• My simplified courses outperform complex ones because simplicity is right for my business.
• Lower prices beat higher ones because more people have access. And they tell more people.
• Written content outperforms video (for me) because I love to write.

Each of those successes came from trusting myself.

The Bottom Line

Your instincts are an accumulation of everything you've learned. And many times, your instincts are worth a lot more than someone else's advice, no matter how polished it may seem.

A big part of building my business has been learning to trust myself enough to be wrong on my own terms, instead of right on someone else's.

So the next time someone tells you "This is how it's done," I want you to ask yourself:

• Does this feel right for me and my business?
• Does this align with what I know about my audience?
• Am I doing this because it's right, or because someone successful said so?

And when you feel that little hint of doubt, I want you to pay attention. Because that's not imposter syndrome. It’s your experience trying to tell you something.

Our intuition is truly a gift. Use it.

And that's all for this today...

See you next Saturday.