02 Aug How Isaac Singer Used The Strength of Intuition To Make The Sewing Machine a Commonly Found Item In Most Households
Unlocking the power of creativity can help you to reach the flow state. But before you can do that, you must understand the power of intuition.
What does the word “innocence” mean to you?
You’re probably thinking of a childlike state in which you’re unburdened by the shackles of adulthood.
And you would be right.
Innocence is the process of entering the state of “in no sense”. It’s how you access your intuition and creativity to make major changes in life and business.
I’m going to explain that a little later on. First, let’s look at the story of a famous investor who achieved the flow state by tapping into his intuition.
Isaac Singer and the Sewing Machine
You may have heard the name Isaac Singer before. You may even know him as the inventor of the sewing machine.
That’s actually a misconception.
Singer didn’t invent the sewing machine. But he did use his intuition to access the power of creativity so he could create a commercially viable sewing machine.
Singer led an interesting life before he started making his name as an inventor. In his younger years, he was part of a travelling theatre troupe named the Merritt Players.
Eventually, the group disbanded and Singer became an apprentice mechanic.
It was during this period that he started making his mark as an inventor. He invented a machine to make wood and metal carvings, in addition to a machine for rock drilling.
But he experienced another setback. The factory that he’d built to manufacture these products went up in flames.
Singer had to start again.
This led to him working in a machine shop, where he repaired sewing machines for a number of years.
And this resulted in him asking a question that nobody else could answer:
How can I make this machine more efficient?
Nobody else seemed to know, which means that Singer had to make the answer himself.
In just a matter of days, Singer made an enormous number of changes to the core design of the sewing machine. You could say that he entered his flow state. In less than a week, the sewing machine went from a clunky industrial tool to a commercially viable product.
That product changed the world. Suddenly, the ability to sew garments quickly was in the hands of millions of people across the world.
And it’s all because Singer’s intuition helped him to make the answer to an important question.
Intuition, Creativity, and the Flow State
Most people who’d used a sewing machine before Singer’s revolution would have approached it from a rational point of view.
The machine worked, so why change it. They weren’t thinking about finding a solution because they didn’t think that a problem existed.
He tapped into his intuition to ask the question and make the answer. And once he did that, he entered a flow state that resulted in a product that made him a millionaire.
But if it was that easy, we’d all do it.
Tapping into your intuition means accessing your super-intelligence. It means going beyond the boundaries of what’s rational.
That’s important, because rationality is a barrier that prevents you from acting intuitively. You start asking too many seemingly intelligent and adult questions about what you’re doing. And that means you never enter the flow state that Singer achieved.
Your fears, doubts, and questions about your course of action hold you back.
You can’t rationally access your intuition and harness the power of creativity. The two concepts are in direct opposition to each other. Your intellect is not the key to turning the flow state on.
And that’s where my earlier question about the definition of innocence comes back into play.
The phrase “in no sense” isn’t just a clever play on words. It’s the exact state that you must enter in order to access your intuition. It’s about approaching a question or problem without any of the confines of intellect and rationality holding you back.
That’s what children do. They haven’t learned “the rules” yet, so they approach everything in the state of “in no sense”.
They’ll ask the question and make the answer, just like Isaac Singer did.
That probably leaves you with another question:
How can I access my intuition and harness its power?
I have a couple of tips that might help.
Tip #1 – Use the “What If” Technique
This is a little mental exercise that trains you to rely on your powers of intuition over your rational mind.
Just sit back for a couple of hours and start asking yourself a bunch of “what if” questions.
What if I mixed the fundamentals of Facebook and Uber?
What if I take the failure of Kodak and mix it with Instagram?
What if I took one aspect of my business and mixed it with an aspect of another business?
Now, here’s the key to this exercise.
You’re not trying to think about all of the reasons why this can’t happen. That’s your rational brain getting in the way, which stifles your creativity.
You’re just asking a question and trying to make an answer. And the possibilities are endless. You can ask “what if” about all sorts of situations, people, businesses, and whatever else comes to mind.
Come up with ideas and play around with them for a while. You can approach them rationally again later. But in this state of “in no sense” you’re considering every possible solution.
Tip #2 – Train the Skill
Accessing your intuition isn’t one of those things that you either can or can’t do.
It’s a skill. And like all skills, you need to train it.
This is particularly important if you’re using my “what if?” method. You may struggle to come up with anything the first couple of times that you try it. That’s okay because you’re trying to access a part of your subconscious that you don’t usually use.
Just keep trying. Set aside some time every day and train the skill. Eventually, you’ll access your intuition and “in no sense” state more regularly.
The Final Word
Rationality is an obstacle that gets in the way of creativity and intuition. Without those core components, you can’t enter the flow state.
Follow my advice to train your mind to enter a higher level of consciousness. That’s how you’ll find answers that you’d never even consider when in your rational state.
There’s so much more that I can tell you. I encourage you to sign up to a business review session so that we can explore how these ideas affect your business further.
During the 2-Hour Business Review Session, my aim will be to help you see hidden opportunities in your business. During the session we can discuss any aspect of your business in which you would like support, such as:
- Growth Strategies
- Marketing
- Sales and Distribution
- Pricing and Packaging
- Consolidation
- Acquisition
- Merger/Sale, Capital Raising, IPO
After 35+ years working with small and large businesses, buying, selling and growing them across a range of sectors, I can work with you on any level or area.
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