If you mean to succeed by using your instincts, hone them first. The shiny lures of instant success and internet fame will set you up for disappointment when you actually follow through in the hard light of day, but when you're truly determined to succeed, ignore the dazzle and the hype. Know what you want, know your capabilities, and learn to read the signs in the environment you're moving in.

How do you hone your instincts?

1) Get experience. Lots of experience. Get out there.
Don't get bogged in the research stage. Many good ideas die here, strangled by data or drowned in the just-one-more-byte disorder, when you confuse the amount of information you have with the probability of success. Hint: the two things have no direct correlation. All the data in the world won't make up for inaction.

A Chinese proverb explains this aptly: "Walk on two feet." Learn while you apply what you're learning, study while you work. This way, you 1) actually commence past the planning to the action stage, even if it is in small steps, and 2) you apply what you learn immediately, you see what works, what didn't, and get to try something else.

2) Accept that you will make mistakes, many ones. And learn from them.
Don't allow the mistakes paralyze you into futile, Boy-I-was-so-stupid monologues. Grades don't matter here, results do.  Learn what you can from those setbacks, and don't let them determine your self-worth or your self-image.

There's tons of stuff out there that was not, had never been and will never will be under your control, so blaming yourself when they happen to you is a total waste of life-energy. Sh*t happens. Either pout in the stink, or use it as fertilizer. It's up to you to decide what to do with what happens.

3) Learn every aspect of what you'll be getting into.
Some people might push for the old Nike try, "Just Do It." Don't, at least not without adequate preparation. You wouldn't throw a kid into the deep end of the pool, why think you can treat yourself or your future so carelessly?  Get some water-wings at the very least so you can keep your head above water. Better yet, start at the shallow end, learn the waters, practice, before you push yourself past your unprepared limits.

Here's the thing: work equals labor. Many people pay lip service to the idea, but when you push past the surface of "work" and think of it as "labor" in the sense of bringing a new idea into life (like babies) you'd understand that some things can't be overnight successes by this definition, and that the rewards and results of your labor don't always show up immediately.

It can take a lot of time to see anything come from your labor, so it's best if you have fall-backs and plans to support you through the times when you can't see any appreciable results.

Quick rec: Planning for Multiple Income Sources 1 and 2.

4) Invest time in stuff that pays off.
Sometimes the business can and will take everything you decide to give it, and then some. Build some balance into your system...don't spread yourself too thin by trying to do everything. There's only one of you and only 24 hours in a day. You need roughly 8 hours of sleep to function properly, the rest is up for prioritization.

• What actions can you decide on that will make a positive impact in your life? Your business? What about your health?
• Take the top 3 or 5, look at them, and schedule it so you can focus on doing these things, spread out over the week, pacing yourself.
• Take breaks. You can't be "on" all the time, we're not wired for that, no matter what the advertisers say.

Another quick rec: Building Buffers 1 and 2.

Some instincts are hard-wired in us, like the fear of loud noises, or of falling. The instincts we're talking about here involve you being a sponge, absorbing everything you can from your experiences (and environment), learning from and connecting to them, thinking things through and not flying off in a knee-jerk reaction of, "Well, that was dumb, so not doing that again."

The instincts that you hone from repetition, that you gain from each experience (business-wise and otherwise) will serve you well, not just to succeed in your entrepreneurial goals, but in dealing with setbacks and difficult situations in life. It can be a whole-person learning experience, one you get the hang of it, and once you do, you can't help but succeed.