Being Irrational in Business is a Gift
Sometimes success in business is not always a question of rational progression. Sometimes you have to embrace the irrational.
Being Irrational in Business
You’ll often hear me say, if you wake up in the morning and have blood running in your veins, you’re in business. And what you can achieve in business is often beyond what this world would regard as ‘rational.’
Rationality and irrationality are very misunderstood concepts, especially when it comes to business. Contrary to what we tend to believe, being irrational is actually a gift that allows your business to become more successful.
Most people try to achieve in business by emulating successful people or repeating what has worked in the past. That’s being totally rational. The trouble is, when you replicate what’s already been done, you fail to acknowledge whether or not it will actually work for you now, and you limit your ability to recognize other – greater – possibilities.
Being rational also means you build your business purely based on facts and figures. Rationality is based on judgment; always looking for what’s right or wrong. You’re trying to prove why your choices are smart, why they will work or why they should have worked. In doing so, you become locked into the mindset of projections and expectations. You prevent your business from expanding and becoming more successful in all the irrational ways it can.
To be truly rich and successful with your business, you have to be irrational. This means choosing options and following opportunities that don’t actually exist yet.
When you are irrational in business, it doesn’t mean you want to totally ignore all the successful people and businesses around you. Ask successful people you know about the choices they made that enhance their business. If a particular business grabs your attention, research more about the actions and decisions that led to their success. Then, ask yourself how you can take what you’ve learned and allowed it to contribute to your business in irrational ways. What parts work for you and what doesn’t? What else can you do with the information that allows it to work for you?
Irrationality is not disregarding the bits and pieces of other peoples’ choices that appeal to you; it’s willing to know what works for you and your business even when it doesn’t make rational sense. It’s the gift of creating based on what you instinctively know.
The power of the question
To function from being irrational, you have to give up believing you have (or can find) the answers to everything, and start asking questions. Questions will give you more control than anything. They allow you to go beyond everything you’ve seen or been told, to instead choose from knowing what actually works for you.
There are several questions you can ask, to help you tap into the gift of irrationality. These include:
Does this actually work for me and my business? Is it a contribution? The world will tell you to look for the reason things are, or aren’t, working. However, you don’t need ‘rational’ reasons or justifications in order to know what’s best for your business – just ask the question and check to see if your instinctive response is ‘yes’ or ‘no’. When you follow your instinctive knowing, you no longer base your current decisions on things you’ve already done or chosen. The decision is based on what you know now.
This is living from a yes/no universe. Things either work or they don’t, without an explanation. Most people are trying to figure out why, or how, or what everything is going to look like. When you’re willing to let go of all that, you open your mind to the possibility. A yes/no universe will give you the greatest freedom in business, and all aspects of your life.
What is the most irrational thing I could choose with this? The most irrational thing is something that doesn’t exist yet. It’s a possibility you can’t get to with logic and reason, and it’s greater than anything you could rationally conclude.
The world will tell you-you’re wrong for operating this way, but who cares. This is your life and your business. Letting go of the need to rationalize is the gift of all different levels of possibilities. Asking questions will give you more awareness.
What other possibilities are available that I’ve not yet instituted? With questions, you’re going beyond the box and judgments of what you can do, into a whole different place of choice and possibility. It’s not always a comfortable place to be, but it is where true success actually exists.
What else or who else can I add to my business today? Many people already feel too overwhelmed to consider adding something else. They can’t imagine how or why they would invite even more to manage. What you might add can be anything. Maybe you require a new pen that you really like or an app to help you be more organized. Or perhaps hiring someone who can take over marketing will free up time for you to work on other projects that allow your business to grow in fun and exciting ways. You have to be willing to ask the question and know what will work for you without conclusion.
What will it take to create this? It’s not useful to ask how something can or will happen. How questions lock you into the old habit of looking at facts, figures, and conclusions. They’re not based on possibility. Instead, build a vision of what you require, and then ask What will it take to create this?
Does being totally irrational and living in a yes/no universe mean that every choice you make will create success? No, it doesn’t. What it does give you is the awareness that you can ask again, and choose again. Just because something didn’t work doesn’t mean it’s time to give up. The rational response would be to quit, go get a good safe job and settle down. What if you could receive the gift of the failure and ask what you need to do or be to create something different? Every choice gives you more awareness of what else you can ask or choose.
When you’re willing to give up all your fixed points of view about what creates a successful business, a wide range of new possibilities are available. If you weren’t using your rational mind, what could the gift of being irrational to create? They could be beyond your wildest dreams.
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About the Author
Simone Milasas is an entrepreneur, creator, creative business coach, international business owner, author and Worldwide Coordinator of Access Consciousness. She has been at the forefront of cutting-edge business creation and development for over a decade and has trained business leaders and innovators all over the world. Simone is the author of JOY OF BUSINESS translated into 13 languages and best-selling book GETTING OUT OF DEBT JOYFULLY translated into 5 languages. You can find Simone every week on her podcast – The Art & Industry of Business & Living available on her website, www.simonemilasas.com, and iTunes.
