Training Your Gut Superpower

WHY: Your Mind Will Play Tricks On You

You know, your mind can convince you of anything. Anything.

You can convince yourself you're not good enough. You can convince yourself you're amazing. You can convince yourself that thing you're scared to do is a terrible idea, or that it's the best idea you've ever had. Your mind will make pro-con lists. It'll analyze. It'll spiral. It'll keep you up at 3 AM running the same scenario seventeen different ways.

But here's what I've learned over five years of standing in public with signs, of walking up to strangers, of doing things that terrified me: your gut knows immediately what it wants to do.

The problem is, most of us have never trained it.

I spent most of my life in my head. Get a job, go to school, get married, get the house. Logic, logic, logic. What makes sense? What's the smart move? What will people think? I was running programs, you know, and those programs all lived in my mind.

It wasn't until I started this journey—after selling my coffee company, after everything fell apart—that I realized: I need to get out of my head. I need to get into my heart. I need to get into my gut.

Your mind will play tricks on you. But your gut? Your gut tells the truth.

WHAT: The Gut Check Practice

Here's the thing about your gut: it's like a muscle. If you've never used it, it's weak. But you can train it. You can build it. You can make it so strong that it becomes your superpower.

I'm talking about a real, physical sensation in your stomach. Not a metaphor. Actual feelings in your body that tell you yes or no.

Start with questions you know aren't true. Like, "Is my name Robert?" (if your name isn't Robert). "Is the sky purple?" "Do I hate chocolate?" Whatever you know is false.

Feel what happens in your gut. For me, it's like a tightness. A closing. A "no" feeling. It might be different for you. Maybe it's a flutter. Maybe it's just... nothing. A blankness.

Then ask yourself something you know is true. "Is my name [your actual name]?" "Do I love my family?" "Is the sky blue?"

Feel that. For me, it's like an opening. A warmth. A "yes" feeling. It's subtle at first. But the more you practice, the stronger it gets.

Then—and this is where it gets real—start asking yourself questions about decisions you're facing.

• "Should I take this job?"
• "Should I text that person?"
• "Should I start that project?"
• "Should I stand in a train station in Sweden with a sign that says 'You Are Loved'?"

Your gut will answer. It always answers. The question is: are you listening?

HOW: Building the Muscle

Step 1: Daily Check-Ins (2 minutes)

Every day, pick one moment to do a gut check. Could be morning, could be before a decision, could be random. Put your hand on your stomach. Ask three questions:

1. One you know is false
2. One you know is true
3. One you're genuinely unsure about

Feel the difference. That's it. That's the training.

Step 2: Small Decisions First

Don't start with "Should I quit my job and move to another country?" Start small:

• "Should I get coffee today?"
• "Should I call that friend?"
• "Should I take the long way home?"

Build trust with your gut on low-stakes decisions. Then, when the big ones come, you'll know the feeling.

Step 3: Act On It

Here's the part most people miss: you have to act on what your gut tells you. If you keep ignoring it, it stops talking. It's like asking a friend for advice and then never taking it—eventually they stop giving advice.

When your gut says yes, do the thing. When it says no, don't.

It sounds simple. It's not always easy. But it's simple.

Step 4: The 3-5 Second Window

Now we add the second practice: when you have an idea, when you're in public, you have 3 to 5 seconds.

That's it. Three to five seconds to act on the impulse.

You see someone you want to talk to? 3-5 seconds. You have an idea to share? 3-5 seconds. You want to take a photo with a stranger's sign? 3-5 seconds.

After that, your mind kicks in. It starts the pro-con list. It starts the fear spiral. It starts convincing you why you shouldn't.

But in those first 3-5 seconds? That's your gut talking. That's the truth. That's the idea choosing you.

THE TRUTH ABOUT IDEAS: They Choose You

Rick Rubin talks about this—and Michael Jackson and Prince lived it. When you have an idea, it's not random. That idea has picked your vessel. You. Out of everyone on the planet, it came to you.

And if you don't act on it? It moves on. Michael Jackson and Prince—they knew this. When they had a song idea, they had to get up and make it immediately. Because if Michael Jackson didn't make it, Prince would. If Prince didn't make it, Michael Jackson would.

The idea doesn't wait around. It has things to do. It has a purpose. And it will find someone who's willing to act.

IMPACT: From Paralysis to Action

I used to freeze. All the time. I'd see someone I wanted to talk to and I'd think about it and think about it and think about it until they were gone. I'd have an idea and I'd analyze it to death.

But when I started training my gut? When I started acting in that 3-5 second window?

Everything changed.

I started conversations with strangers that turned into the most beautiful exchanges. I made decisions in seconds that my mind would have debated for weeks. I stood in that train station in Sweden not because I had a business plan or a strategy—but because my gut said "do this" and I had 3-5 seconds to act before my mind could talk me out of it.

For You: The Training Starts Now

Somebody like me who's a little older, who's been in their head their whole life—it's difficult to train the gut. I think somebody younger, maybe they're more malleable, more in tune with their body. It's easier.

But I don't care how old you are or how long you've been ignoring your gut. You can train it. I did. You can.

Don't think. Don't analyze. Just act.

Your mind will try to stop you. "What if they think I'm weird?" "What if it goes wrong?" "What if I look stupid?"

Your gut doesn't care about any of that. Your gut just knows: this is the move.

Trust it.

Because those decisions you make in your 3-5 second window? Those gut check moments when you choose yes instead of overthinking your way to no?

Those are the decisions that change everything.