By all practical accounts Katie and I are not what you would expect from the executive team behind a category-revolutionizing brand that is the quickest growing company represented on the energy bar aisle. We are young, did not study business, wear athletic clothes to board meetings, and often make decisions based on gut instinct. These decisions are frequently counter to those of seasoned entrepreneurs, consultants, and executive teams behind large and successful brands and through their lens, our success is often attributed to luck.

The fact is, there is NO repeatable path in business that will consistently yield success. Although your odds of glory increase by reading educational business and leadership books, listening to mentors, and following a path laid by successful entrepreneurs before; starting a business is an unpredictable creature. Similar to bringing a child into the world, the birth of your business is an expression of your own genetic make-up. At a core level, this evolving entity shares a deep-rooted emotional connection with its founder and like a nurturing parent; a good founder makes decisions based on this very special connection.

What Katie and I may lack in traditional business development, we make up for with highly tuned instinct. Through natural selection, we are all alive today because our ancient relatives were good at listening to their gut. The innate ability to evaluate danger, thoughtfully plan, and carefully execute, are all human characteristics that have kept us on this earth for over 250,000 years.

Its very easy to recognize this instinct in wild animals. It’s a driving force that is biologically in tune with protecting their young, selecting a mate, and finding food. In wild species, decisions are exclusively based on this instinct. Unfortunately, when wild animals become domesticated like humans, they allow this inner instinct to atrophy. It withers away from disuse, and like humans, domestic animals rely on external commands.

Our sweet chocolate lab tapping into her primal instincts by gnawing on a antler she found at the EPIC bison ranch!

Whether your goal is to perform better at business, find a soul mate, or just kick ass at life, try tapping into your gut instinct more often! Its an EPIC way to thrive!