As we move deeper into the 21st century, new products, new technologies, unexpected opportunities and unforeseen challenges lie ahead.

As a leader, you are going to have to tap into your potential and intelligence to meet those challenges.

Intelligence can be described as a mental ability for reasoning, the ability to learn, understand things and solve problems. Intelligence also includes cognitive functions such as perception, attention, memory, language and planning, which means it can be reliably measured by standard tests such as for educational achievement, job performance and health. 

But the intelligence going on within you is so much more than this.

As you read this, perhaps you're eating breakfast. With your senses, you can see it, taste it, hear the crunch or crackle of whatever you're eating…and then it passes into your body and you forget about that mouthful as you take another bite. 

While you may forget about each mouthful, within you so much intelligence is required to orchestrate cells, digestive juices and organs to function in a way that your body absorbs the nutrients it requires from your breakfast and discards what is not needed.

An enormous amount of intelligence is at work within you to run you and your body. 

First there is the brain — a remarkable organ that is built of nerve cells, or neurons, to be precise. About 100 billion of them are constantly wiring and firing together in your head so each experience you have becomes embedded in the network of brain cells that produce the experience. 

What this means is that each time you repeat a particular thought or action, you strengthen the connection between a set of brain cells or neurons. However, your brain is not the only source of intelligence available to you. 

It is now acknowledged that the human heart actually possesses a “heart-brain” composed of about 40,000 neurons that can sense, feel, learn and remember. The heart-brain actually sends messages to the head-brain about how the body feels.

Research studies have shown that each human heart emits an electromagnetic field — the largest generated by any part of the human body — which extends up to several feet away from the body in a 360-degree radius.

Indeed, the heart is said to be 100,000 times stronger electrically, and 5,000 times stronger magnetically than the brain. That means your heart literally communicates with the hearts of others in your immediate vicinity!

When you feel good, others feel good, and conversely, when you're upset it affects those around you too.

Energetic interactions possibly contribute to the “magnetic” attractions or repulsions that occur between people, and in turn also affect both business and social relationships.

Have you ever had a gut feeling about a particular person or situation? Well, it turns out that the gut is much more than a digestive system. Research has identified that the gut also has an intelligence of its own — the gut brain is constantly communicating with you.

Remember a time when your gut was telling you that it had eaten enough food, yet consciously you overruled the message and continued to eat?

A great example of utilizing all of this intelligence comes from Masaru Ibuka, co-founder of Sony. When interviewed, he said he liked to “swallow a deal” before he signed it.

First, he would review all the information using the brain in his head, and then he'd get his assistant to prepare a tea ceremony. If the tea felt good in his gut he would go ahead and sign, and if it did not then the deal would not get signed.

Next time you have an important decision consider embracing all the intelligence available to you. Utilize your brain to consider what you or others think about the situation; the intelligence emanating from your heart encourages you to feel what is important to you, the impact on you and others; while your gut gets you aligned with who you are and what action is required.

Your brain, heart and gut are all made up of different types of cells and even a single cell takes decisions to deal with unforeseen difficulties. In fact, your cells hold the blueprint for your emotional, mental and spiritual state. Your cells remember all of who you are and have been right up to the present day.

As you change, grow and evolve in any area of your life, your cells are continuously updating your personal information.

Now all of this is happening in one body — in you! Imagine the magnitude of all this potential when you multiply it by the number of people around you or in your organization, and you'll begin to appreciate the potential intelligence available to you.