Like many of you, I've grappled with my share of fear over the past eight months or so regarding the economy and my livelihood. As a small business owner and a single mom, it was too easy for me to settle into the fear that my business would dry up as people lost their jobs and stopped needing the unique but very specific message I have to offer. All of my logical instincts told me to "hunker down," pull in, stockpile all of my resources, and stop spending money on anything I didn't deem "essential."

One of the things I've been learning to do over the past few years is listen to my intuition (that still small voice inside me that always leads me in the right direction if I'll only sit still and be quiet long enough to listen to it). And I began to notice something interesting. While my head was telling me the sky was falling and that I could be at poverty's door at any moment, my intuition was telling me I needed to spread my wings and grow in a whole new direction.

That required a huge leap of faith. Because in order to do that, I had to spend money (sometimes a lot of money) to learn what I needed to know to accomplish this growth. At the end of November I spent over $300.00 on a learning program from which the idea for my "Tips of the Week" grew. Those tips have connected me to my niche market and grown my online e-mail family by more than 3000 people since January. I've made back the investment ten fold. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Three weeks after I bought the first program, I spent over $1000.00 on a second program from the same trainer. That was definitely a huge leap. And, again, the program has more than paid for itself. And in the six months since then, I've spent several thousand dollars on education and business growth programs (including hiring a business coach who charges almost twice what I do for her time).

All of this lead me to this past April when, in a seemingly crazy moment, I hired a landscape designer, took a huge sum of money out of my savings account, and re-landscaped my back yard. I did that because my office looks out at my back yard and I've hated the view for five years. My intuition told me that if I loved the view, energetically my business would thrive. My head screamed, "BUT THAT'S YOUR EMERGENCY FUND! ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!" And I did it anyway.

Here's the point; every single time I'm poised with my mouse over the "Buy Now" button or I'm faced with the prospect of making a large investment in myself or my business, my head is screaming for me to "STOP!" and telling me I could lose it all tomorrow. And every single time, my intuition is gently taking me by the hand and clicking the button or signing the contract or writing the check. My intuition is always right. I'm having a record-breaking year this year, and I'm doing it with a completely different business model than I've ever used before. I get lots of offers for business and personal growth education and not every one is the right fit for me, but when I find something that "resonates" with my intuition, I don't even hesitate any more. I've seen the results when I trust and I've never, ever been disappointed.

So, the lesson I'd love to share with you is this: Silence the voice in your head whenever possible and learn to get quiet and listen to your intuition. And know that, when something does feel right, it's okay (if a little scary) to take a leap of faith. The more you stretch, the more abundance you'll discover.