Common Sense and Success

I chose November 4 as Use Your Common Sense Day because it is Will Rogers' birthday. Will was a great American humorist who was famous for saying, "Common sense ain't all that common."

We are all born with five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. These senses help us navigate our way through the world. They bring us delight in small things: the turning of the leaves in autumn, an Eric Clapton guitar lick -- or depending on your taste, a Yitzhak Perlman violin piece, the warmth of the sun on your face on the first day of spring, your favorite birthday dinner that your mom always made, the smell of warm bread baking. They also warn us when danger threatens: lightning in the sky, a police or fire siren, a hot barbeque grill, food that is spoiled and not safe to eat, the odor that is added to natural gas.

However, I believe that we all have a sixth, and underused sense, our common sense. Your common sense helps you make the right decision in ambiguous situations -- but only if you use it. When I tell people that I'm the Common Sense Guy, people often come back with Will Rogers' saying, "Common sense isn't all that common." I disagree. I think that we all have innate common sense. It's a natural gift, just like our five other senses. We don't always use it though.

Recently, I learned of an emerging science -- noetics. According to the Institute of Noetic Science, "The word 'noetic' comes from the ancient Greek nous, for which there is no exact equivalent in English. It refers to 'inner knowing,' a kind of intuitive consciousness -- direct and immediate access to knowledge beyond what is available to our normal senses and the power of reason. Noetic sciences are explorations into the nature and potentials of consciousness using multiple ways of knowing -- including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Noetic sciences explore the 'inner cosmos' of the mind (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the 'outer cosmos' of the physical world."

I realize that's quite a mouthful. I also believe that our common sense is a type of noetics. It is an inner knowing of what to do in any given situation.

Thomas Edison once said "Many people miss opportunity because it comes dressed up in overalls and looks like work." I often say that many people don't use their common sense because using it often results in work. I believe that most people know what to do in most situations, their common sense tells them. However, many people often don't do what their common sense says for a number of reasons… "it's too difficult and not worth the effort," "it takes too much time," "so and so might get upset with me," "I don't know if I can do it." I've found that there are as many reasons for not using your common sense as there are people in the world.

That's one of the reasons I've created Use Your Common Sense Day. It's kind of like the logic behind the great smoke out -- if you can not smoke for one day, you can not smoke for another and another and another, until you've quit smoking. If you are willing to let your common sense guide you today, you can use it as a guide tomorrow, the next day, next week and next month.

The common sense point here is simple. Common sense is a great career and life success builder. Successful people use their common sense to create the lives and careers they want and deserve. I urge you to use your common sense today and tomorrow and the day after. It's the best way to create the successful life and career you want and deserve.