Losing your gut is the number one reason why individuals fail.

#10 of the Top 10 Reasons I wrote Almost Reckless.

Losing your gut. It sucks. It’s our internal barometer for right or wrong. It’s the rumbling that happens before any thinking. The sick feeling that feels a little like indigestion, the excitement that exhibits as raised hairs along your arm. Without it, you lose your sense of direction, your ability to direct a conversation, the confidence to engage in the kind of discourse that’s necessary to build the gut muscle. It’s the only thing that is truly our own, deep inside of us - no one else is aware when it’s happening, you can not be stripped of it. Only you can do that. And many of us are.

That sense of fearlessness we had when we were younger seemed hardwired. That almost reckless approach to making decisions that were right for you - unencumbered by expectations and bound by principles that just seemed obvious. Like: don’t do stuff that doesn’t make sense, don’t work with assholes, do or make only what you love and if you don’t love, it make it lovable.

Remember when you tackled life by doing things that just made sense pragmatically and inspired you creatively?

It’s not an accident that the gut gets dulled. Our responsibilities grow, we acquire more to lose, we gain knowledge and start to choke on an algorithm that presents so much certainty about the correct path forward. We begin to question our ability to know the next step, to inherently feel In our gut what is right or wrong. And even worse, we train ourselves to ignore it.

This conversation started in earnest about six years ago now in the closet. The literal closet. I asked people to define themselves in three adjectives. Those three words became a measuring stick for evaluating what was right, wrong, or fixable amongst their wardrobe. It helped narrow the focus for what to buy in the future and it ultimately helped serve to create a visual representation of who we are. Otherwise known as personal style.

The outcome wasn’t just looking good, tho that did happen. What really occurred was people couldn’t help but make logical leaps. When you know who you are, when you can assess a situation, and develop solutions - sometimes perfect sometimes passable - you start applying it to your everyday. When you recognize that you feel smart wearing clothes that convey depth and nuance, when you feel nothingness when everything is too perfect, you recognize the irony of chasing a peer group of people who share only the exact same opinions, or seeking a frictionless environment. Maybe, and in the book I argue pretty strongly, all this agreeableness, or concern of being disagreeable, ends up suppressing the very thing that makes you sharp and enables you chart a course that’s right for you.

Almost Reckless makes a case to trace back and understand who you are, codify your principles and use them as the guardrails to live your life. I’ll show you how I did it - the big leaps I made when I created Tibi, I take you through the years that are highly regrettable but so necessary in the bigger scheme of things to have lived through them, and how we set out on a path that is so uniquely our own. No consultants, industry experts or AI used here. Just our gut coupled with curiosity and a serious work ethic. And most importantly, the book gives you solid tools to help you take action and chart your own course.

Almost Reckless is available now at retailers throughout the U.S., the U.K and some select European locations. If you visit Amysmilovic.com you’ll get more info. I hope you love it, we will have some fun events throughout the year to discuss, and help get you on your way if that’s what you’re looking for. You can also check out The Almost Reckless Podcast on YouTube and Spotify where I have great discussions with varied entrepreneurs, creatives, and individuals who’ve done big things (according to their own measurement) and had guts lost and then found. There’s a common thread to them all - nothing in life is more unsettling than getting pulled off course because we’ve lost our internal compass. It’s what’s caused them to experience failure in life - if you deem failure as chasing a life that is, in the end, not the one you actually wanted.

Almost Reckless will help you find your gut, point your compass. Promise.