Zion Kim: How to Voice Your Intuition
Zion.
The name commands power. There is some debate about what it means, which largely depends on the cultural context. In some languages it means mountain, monument. In other contexts it means promised land, or utopia.
And it can mean “a sign.”
Ironic, since intuition and synchronicity are a major part of Zion Kim’s life. Zion has been practicing voicing intuition for only a short time, but has made leaps and bounds since bringing his attention to it (proof that awareness is a major key to improving your intuition).
My favorite part of our Find Your True North interview as it relates to intuition — because we talked about SO much more than that — has to do with how he sets himself up to use it.
Because intuition is so difficult to explain, many of us have a hard time voicing it when it arises for us in conversation. We don’t want to seem weird, out of line, or too personal.
Zion consciously creates a space to be able to use his intuition and for the person he’s speaking with to receive it properly. Here’s how he does it.
Hearing more than listening
One of the secrets to Zion’s intuition is to be able to hear what people aren’t really saying. Along with the actual words being spoken, Zion listens for tone of voice, context, pauses or hurried speech (or slow speech). Are they pausing to think? Does their voice change? Those are all indicators that there’s more subtext for the other person. His ability to hear the different layers of meaning leads to a stronger ability to receive intuitive information.
Paying attention to the question
When Zion’s intuition kicks in, it feels like “something he wants to talk about.” He doesn’t question it; he trusts that if the topic or the question is arising in his mind, that it’s there for a reason. Because of that trust, he has less hesitancy voicing it.
It’s also a fairly quick event. “Questions come too quickly for me to make a decision,” he says. Because of the speed, he blasts right through any hesitancy and decides it must be worth talking about. Besides, he’s gotten to the point where he’s curious and wants to ask the questions just to see what happens.
Getting comfortable with discomfort
The comfort you have around voicing your intuition will ultimately come down to how comfortable you are with discomfort. There are going to be moments where you say things that are out of “left field” for the other person, and you might have some hesitancy doing that — you don’t want to upset them, you don’t want to seem weird, etc. Zion says he welcomes the awkwardness and creates the space where it will be easier for him to share his intuition and for the other person to open up in turn.
Setting the stage
Say he’s in a conversation and an intuitive question comes up for him, one that might be difficult to introduce. If he notices that the person — and this could be a business partner, friend, client, etc. — has a hard time opening up, he will open up first. He’ll share a story about something that’s happened to him and how it made him feel (related to what’s going on in in the conversation) and then he’ll ask the question.
And he makes sure to ask the question from a space of being able to relate to the person and being vulnerable enough to do so, without judgment. The moment you open up and become vulnerable, the other person will lower their guard and open up, too.
As an example, Zion was speaking with someone who brings communities together through her work. Zion listened to her describe her roadblocks in the project, and then said, “But how are you doing?” She paused, and he then asked “And how do you get paid? How do you make money?”
It didn’t even occur to him to pause and stop himself from asking the questions, he just let it flow. She immediately got emotional and shared her living situation; she was living on a shoe-string budget and barely making ends meet, despite her phenomenal impact on her community. The two of them came up with a way to open new streams of income for her so she could continue doing the community work she was passionate about. She told him “No one’s ever asked me that questions before.”
To sum up:
- Hear the subtext in a conversation
- Notice the questions or feelings that come up in response
- Get comfortable with the possibility of discomfort
- Set the stage — open up first
- Ask the question
To hear more about Zion and how he uses intuition and synchronicity in his business, download Zion’s interview with the Find Your True North podcast here.
Zion Kim operates a portfolio of companies including 99 Robots and Triberr, and is the current President of Maverick NEXT, a network for entrepreneurs under 25. He has advised and consulted companies ranging from early stage and funded startups to Fortune 50 companies. To learn more about Zion, visit 99robots.com.
