The other day I got to talk to Seth Godin and it was awesome (the link to that interview is below). The way I got that opportunity had everything to do with stepping out of my comfort zone, and lessons learned in the process are so relevant to how you’re running your business today.

How do you run your business? Is everything you do based on data, numbers and empirical data or are you operating on a combination of instinct and cold, hard facts? I’d like to make the case for basing your decisions on both of these things. Numbers and charts without any nod to the “gut instinct” will never tell the whole story.

And the instinct could be wrong – no doubt about that – so it makes sense to have lots of arrows in your quiver: analytical evidence AS WELL AS “a good feeling” about something.

In my experience the world is never black and white. Any time I am faced with a tough situation and am not sure how to proceed I always look at the facts but then also like to hit “pause” and ask myself what my instincts are telling me to do. It’s very interesting, because so often I’ll get the urge to call a certain person or to hold off on sending an email. I can’t tell you how many times acting on these kinds of instincts have worked well for me.

The “why” behind this can’t necessarily be explained by science, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I like to use the example of something most of us have experienced: thinking of someone “out of the blue” who you haven’t spoken to for a long time, and then within minutes that person is calling you. No logical explanation, yet it happens.

Those are the same “super powers” that can by used to apply to business if you’re willing to follow your instincts. If you’re feeling the urge to call one of your old clients for no logical reason, why not go ahead and do it. You probably have nothing to lose and you never know… that person might have been wanting to reach out to you anyway.

Or if you get the crazy idea to do something outside of your comfort zone and it feels right, why not go ahead and give it a try. That’s how I got to interview Seth Godin for my podcast. I’ve long been a fan of his, and the other day when one of his blog posts resonated strongly with me I had this weird instinct to reach out to him and ask him to be on my show.

And here’s the thing: I almost talked myself out of it! I heard these things going through my head:

“My show has a small listenership. He’ll never say yes.”

“He’s way too busy to talk to me.”

“He probably doesn’t even write, much less read, his own blogs.”

And on and on. That inner voice can be very negative and challenging sometimes! In this case, however, I heard the voice and made the conscious decision to reach out to Seth anyway and was so thrilled when he said yes. Interviewing him was one of the highlights of my podcast – so far – and was a lot of fun, too. I think it’s a great example how listening to instinct over logic can serve us well, and how stepping out of the comfort zone is the best (only) way to grow.

If you’d like to hear Seth’s interview here’s the link to the podcast page. You’ll also find links to subscribe to the show from your favorite service. Please do. I’m really passionate about this show and amazing guests are lining up to come on. I think you’ll really enjoy the authors, thought leaders and sports stars that will be sharing their stories with us in the coming weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story and the next time you get the sudden urge to do something crazy but potentially beneficial in your business, listen to it. Your inner voice may say, “But what if you fail?”

And your answer must be,  “Ah. But what if I am successful beyond anything I could have imagined?”