Listen To It (Sometimes)

“When your gut is telling you something is wrong I have a secret for you...SOMETHING IS FREAKIN WRONG! But, it doesn’t mean you always should listen because on the other side of not listening is a TON of pain, a TON of loss, and a TON of ‘I told you so,’ but even more wisdom, strength, and awareness on what to do next time when the stakes are even more significant.”

- Jared Yellin

When I look back on my life, the only significant losses, points of friction, or times of stress were derived from situations where I ignored my intuition…

Difficult relationships…

Poor partnerships…

Challenged decisions…

Hindsight is really fascinating because it sharpens everything.

I think back to moments when I had specific feelings where my intuition was trying sooooo hard to stop me from going down a specific path...

“Jared, this is NOT right!”

“Jared, this WON’T work!”

“Jared, this has a BAD ending!”

I knew what I was about to do was suboptimal…

I knew what I was about to do would derail me…

I knew what I was about to do would lead to pain…

But I did it anyway…

I have a question for you and I am in two minds about the answer…

Do we ignore our intuition so that we can become stronger on the other side of the challenge?

OR

Do we ignore our intuition because we simply don’t trust that inner voice?

The first question is based on my belief that every life experience happens to serve us even if it feels like the opposite.

For example…

EVERY business challenge I have had has made me stronger.

EVERY business challenge I have had could have been prevented if I listened to my gut.

So...

Was I meant to ignore my gut to get stronger OR did I ignore my gut because I was not aware or mature enough to listen?

It’s an interesting concept that does not require any deep thought because you are where you are and exactly where you should be…

BUT…

I do believe that your intuition will NEVER lie and NEVER hold you back and NEVER allow you to get permanently hurt UNLESS…

You ignore it!

My Intuition NEVER Let Up!

I’m not sure about you, but the voice of my gut gets louder and louder and louder...

Even once the poor relationship was established or partnership was signed or decision was made my gut kept on SCREAMING…

STOP!!!

And as the voice got louder, I needed to find a way to suppress this truth because I knew things were going astray, I just did not know how to revert back...YET!

Have you ever been in a situation like this?

Everything inside said NO, but for some reason you ignore this powerful intuitive force and say YES even though you were certain that NO was a better path.

For me, there was always a point where I would eventually see the light.

And when the light was present - it was often too late…

Lawsuits…

Lost money…

Painful emotions…

Unrecoverable damage…

But - I was exactly where I should be with stronger muscles, more awareness, and potentially the foresight to prevent the onset of a similar challenge in the future.

But boy oh boy was it painful...every single time!

For me, there were six experiences that I can recall where I blantingly did not listen to my gut…

Listen, I am sure there were many more than five, but these five represent pivotal moments for me and all of them ended more difficult than they needed to because my gut was ignored when it was trying to get my attention.

Experience #1 and #2 were personal relationships that were destined to fail from the day the relationships were established and EVERYTHING inside told me to run the other direction and yet, my heart was driving me forwards to explore what these experiences were meant to teach me.

And teach me they did…

Financial depletion…

Unhealthy dynamics…

Unnecessary complexities to resolve…

Massive distractions…

Yet...those 2 experiences helped me realize what I DID NOT want in a relationship so that when what I WANTED showed up - I was able to seize the moment!

Experience #3 was when I said yes to a massive thought leader to support in his launch as his marketing department. This was NOT really what we did in 2012 at SYNDUIT, but the thought of what this could become - even though my gut was screaming to run the other way - motivated me to “figure it out.” Which I did…

We literally deployed the most perfect online launch I had ever seen and got 27,000 people to sign up for a webinar...INSANE! This was before there were webinars of this size and I had the attention of EVERYONE!

The only risk factor was the webinar software was a 3rd party platform and after hours of discussions around the ability for this platform to perform under such high levels of impact - we were convinced - we got this!

A $10,000,000 launch was about to take place and we would keep 20% of the sales.

A single payday of $2,000,000 would have been more revenue then we made in all of 2011 and I was ready for it.

I was about to prove my gut wrong until webinar night when the platform crashed for over 1 hour and all of that work, potential success, and money literally disappeared…

But what DID appear was my certainty around NOT taking on opportunities like this which became the final catalyst to launch the SYNDUIT of today...wow, a painful lesson but an extraordinary outcome!

Experience #4 was when I hired an outsourced development firm to build SYNDUIT V1. I was told 10-months and $750,000. The outcome was 10-months and 50% of what we agreed on and a final invoice of $1,500,000 after I already paid $675,000 PERSONALLY!!!

Looking back - I knew this would happen. There was EVERY warning sign as I committed to this agreement, but I ignored that voice inside. In the end, we had to scrap the project altogether, which was a financial loss of $2,000,000 and 2 years of my life, but by ignoring that voice I met Mani S. my CTO and business partner and we have scaled SYNDUIT to 10,000’s of users and now launched CILA Labs which will launch 10,000 tech companies by 2031.

YES, my gut was RIGHT and YES I was right to listen even though it was a painful outcome...

Experience #5 is when I partnered with this older gentleman on a project that I knew deep inside would end poorly. He is and was a brilliant entrepreneur that was equally as crazy. His demands became impossible to meet and eventually the partnership ended VERY aggressively. I knew this would be the outcome, but I did it anyway and it was rather painful from the threats, a lost friend, and over $50,000 of money that just disintegrated in 60-days. 

BUT…

Now, I have VERY healthy and equitable partnerships x100! Literally 100+ business relationships like I had with this one person that are setup for success because that one relationship was set up for failure.

THANK YOU gut for trying to protect and THANK YOU Jared for ignoring your gut so that you could learn how to do partnerships the right way. 

Experience #6 is when I launched a company with two Co-Founders and my gut was certain that there would be meaningful personality and value clashes with one of the Co-Founders from the day I met him, but guess what I did…

IGNORED that voice!

And the company launched and became VERY successful VERY quickly which only magnified the clashes and eventually led to a rather tortuous dismantling of the deal.

Anyone would have said it was NOT worth what it took out of me and I should have just listened to my gut - which I agree - but I am happy I didn’t because I will have 10,000 companies with similar corporate dynamics by 2031 and that ONE bad experience will prevent 100’s to 1,000’s of potential bad experiences that could have occurred.

Your gut is constantly conspiring to make you win…

Your gut is NOT like your head which is trying to keep you safe even if it means a compromised life…

Your gut is your guide…

Your gut is your North Star…

Your gut is the accountability and drive that you need...

But after spending 45-minutes writing this article, I want to contradict where I believe you think I was going with this message…

Here’s what I think about YOUR gut and MY gut…

It’s meant to throw the alarm…

It’s meant to get your attention…

It’s meant to keep you on your toes…

AND…

Usually - you are meant to ignore it.

The only way you can GROW in life is if you are immersed in situations that challenge your perimeter of your potential, so that the perimeter can expand and the outcome is you are stronger.

Looking back on the situations listed from above…

IF I were to have listened to my GUT when my GUT was telling me - this won’t work - I would not have the wisdom I have today….

But more than wisdom…

I would not have the wife…

I would not have the kids…

I would not have the businesses…

I would not have the partnerships…

I would not be who I am…

SO…

I am HAPPY I ignored that voice when what was at stake was nothing compared to what would be at stake today if I needed to learn those lessons starting now.

Therefore, LISTEN to your gut, IGNORE it sometimes, and then LISTEN as it gets louder so that you are never too deep into your challenge, can emerge STRONGER because of it and then DON’T burn your hand a second time when more is on the line.

Here’s my advice...

Let your gut scream...

Let your gut set the alarms...

Let your gut try to protect you...

And then...

Throw yourself to the wolves...

Yes, you will come back beaten and bruised and bloody...

But here’s what I know is true...

When the stakes are higher you won’t need to learn that lesson again!

It’s impossible to learn from the peripheral and the only place to actually learn is in the trenches. 

So, jump the freak in, get what you need, and then jump the freak out stronger, wiser, and more ready than ever before.

I hope I confused you a bit…

I hope I got you thinking…

I hope I contradicted everything you thought about your gut...

Your gut truly is the greatest mentor you will ever have…listen to it (sometimes)!

Peace out rockstar - here for you always!

Live with Intention,

JY