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Ann T. Doherty has more than 21 years of venture capital, investment banking and money management experience. She has a Bachelor in Business degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. She is founder of Investing Intuitively, manages her own money and teaches people how to integrate intuition/synchronicity into their decision making in the investment and corporate arena.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could make our investment decisions without fear and worry that we will only lose more money? Who can we really trust these days?

I truly believe there is a way and it starts right here with us––by being open to the guidance from our intuition or gut instinct. Not as a replacement for doing the appropriate research on an investment decision, but integrating it as an additional and very essential tool. What I call the Seventh Level of decision making. A level where we draw on all of our six senses to look at and assimilate the facts and make a decision.

Our intuition or gut instinct comes from a universal energy or divine guidance that guides each one of us to our highest good. It’s like a cosmic computer that sees the big picture and has all the software inside to do everything. We are simply individual computers with the ability to download software (ideas, guidance) when we need it. EVERYONE has the ability do this.

Money, too, is a form of energy and its source is infinite. It circulates through our lives and economy like blood circulates through our physical body. So, by tapping into our intuition, we are merely tapping into this natural flow of energy or the big picture. Then why not use it to make investment decisions that are in our best interest? Or, for that matter, any kind of decision?

Using our intuition doesn’t necessarily mean that we will all be multi-millionaires, but it does mean that we will be a lot happier. Frankly, at the age of 50, I am opting for peace of mind. Peace of mind, knowing that I have done all the appropriate research on the stock I can, that my body during the process has given me the go ahead signal and that I am paying attention to it.

Most importantly, if I stay in the moment throughout each day, listening to the way my intuition guides me and following it, I become aware of the wonderful synchronistic events that occur to confirm the stock or industry I am looking at. (Many ideas have come from these events too.) Overhearing a radio or television report on this company as I am flipping channels, running across articles by chance, seeing repetitive symbols, dreams, seeing the company’s trucks (a prospective company’s trucks blocking me 2 different times on the road in one day is a record so far) are only a few of the ways we get insights.

Remember, nothing ever happens by accident. Every single thing is part of what needs to happen right now. So I listen to what my intuition is telling me as I research a stock, making sure that it passes my guidelines. Then, I stay aware of synchronistic events to confirm everything, because I know that we attract these events when we are looking for guidance. Both seem to work hand in hand. It’s as if the intuition is an inner event and the synchronicity is a confirmation in the outer world that we must be aware of enough to perceive or notice.

Armed with research, my intuition and synchronistic confirmations, I will then buy (or sell) the stock, set my intention to make money and then DETACH from the outcome. One thing I do know is that our fearful thoughts are a very negative sort of energy. By detaching, I am releasing the tendency to be fearful which always seems to drive away any good that can come to me. I am happier with my decisions and worry less knowing that whatever happens will happen for my higher good.

I did not get to this point right away. Historically, as an investment banker, I relied more on rational analysis and gave less credit to intuition in successful investments. Later, as a venture capitalist, I began making investments which required decision making without having access to reams of historical information. I realized that my gut reaction to a company or an idea was absolutely essential. Even during the late 90’s when I started managing publicly traded stocks, I couldn’t bring myself to invest in any of the dot coms; they just did not “feel” right. My average return of 19% during this learning period seemed anemic at the time, but my gut guided me to what was good for me. Today, the events of the past several years have merely confirmed this.

Then, I started relying more on my intuition for the small decisions, where the pressure of success is not too high. Buying wine now has become fun and I am thrilled with my choices. Deciding what to eat, how to organize my day, when to make or return important phone calls or choosing which clock expert to repair my antique clocks has shown me the opportunities for tapping into our intuition are endless. The key result is that life seems easier and a lot more joyful.

Think about it. Be aware of how you receive your gut feelings or intuition. Is it an inner knowing, an inner voice or do you receive images? Do you get it in a feeling? Listen to it. It is only there to make your life better.

Ann T. Doherty is President of Investing Intuitively and can be reached at: 10 Portland Place, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677, 949-487-3781 • atdoherty@earthlink.net