Continuing our Chat on Risk Taking
Yesterday, I got a little long-winded going beyond my "Five Minute Read" promise, so I had to cut short our discussion on risk-taking. I hope you enjoyed seeing what our Paratroopers do to protect our Freedoms in this country. I will tell you what I noticed. When jumping in the 80s, our shoots were round and smaller, which meant we hit the ground fairly hard. With these new square shoots, it looked like some of the troopers were actually floating up - but I digress.
Risk Taking Continued...
Whether it is the apprehension of performing onstage, investing money to grow your own business, taking a chance to find your true romantic partner, or jumping out of an airplane, life’s most fulfilling experiences come only as a result of taking risks. The vast majority of us are too reluctant to withstand the uncertainty that goes along with taking risks. We are unwilling to take risks because of the uncertain outcomes and the fear of potential failure.
When we are faced with a challenging situation, our minds are flooded with innumerable questions such as:
These unlimited “What Ifs” will lead you nowhere if they turn into fears. You must confront them to develop the confidence you need to overcome them. If you don’t and let them get to you, you will lose hope even before trying. If you are truly passionate about your goals and vision, you must not let the fear of losing stop you from trying. Those who are fixated on the risk will not have the outcome they desire, but instead, they will fail.
I want you to try something, it's kind of like the “is your glass half empty (negative thinking) or half full (positive thinking), but instead with traffic lights. When you are driving down the road, and you know a light has been green for a while before you get there, do you say, “don’t turn red, don’t turn red”? Or do you say, “stay green, stay green”? Whether or not it changes doesn’t matter, but your outlook on the situation and how you think (and pray) impacts your life.
“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.”
—Stephen McCranie
Many people perceive failure as something negative and bad. But this is not true. Failure works as an essential tool for building character and understanding. It makes us robust and more resilient. Taking risks never signifies you will succeed every time; the risk will lead to some failure, and you should expect them. But overcoming these failures intensifies your capacity to recover quickly and helps you condition your mind to deal with such difficulties.
American Entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash, who was an American entrepreneur and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, lived in the era when it was believed that women were created to stay at home. She dared to break the stereotype by taking advantage of it underground. Mary Kay had become frustrated because of the gender discrimination in the organization she worked after yet another man she had trained was promoted over her. So, she decided to resign from her job despite needing money to raise her family (her husband had died recently).
With the help of her sons and life savings of $5000, she started her own cosmetics business in 1963. She was aware of the risk associated with her decision; however, she went ahead with it because she was determined to change her life. More importantly, she wanted to change the lives of women across the country. By creating her cosmetics enterprise into a home-based business for women to sell to other women, she lifted them up out of the discrimination and dependence of traditional organizations.
She wrote several books, including Mary Kay: The Success Story of America’s Most Dynamic Businesswoman (1981), Mary Kay on People Management (1984), and Mary Kay: You Can Have It All (1995). She writes:
“We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don’t know where you’re aiming, you don’t have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared.”
It is all fine and dandy to have a dream, but it’s the execution that differentiates the doers from the dreamers. While the dreamers sleep and wait for the right moment to take action, the doer rises to make the current moment the right one and proceed with the action. Risk-takers are more likely to be successful because they do not limit themselves. They are eager to change their destiny and try their luck.
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“Great things happen to those who don’t stop believing, trying, learning, and being grateful.” —Roy T. Bennet
The following are some of the traits which distinguish risk-takers from ordinary people:
They view Risk as an Adventure — Risk-takers are the ones who don’t feel comfortable performing the same task repeatedly. They are full of zeal and enthusiasm to explore new horizons. They have a desire to reach the peak of success by passing through all challenging situations.
They Are Determined — People who take risks are courageous through their determination. They are never ready to give up, no matter how tough the circumstances. While others withdraw or resign themselves to their current circumstances, the determined are self-motivated and enthusiastic about staying firm. This makes them a true inspiration. They have leadership qualities because they set trends that others follow.
They Are Eager to Learn — Knowledge is vital to success, and risk-takers are well aware of this fact. They are always willing to learn new skills because they have a desire to grow. They believe that knowledge can help them navigate future steps, reduce their risks by learning from others, and sail through difficult waters.
They Pursue Success — Risk-takers know that success doesn’t come to life as a gift. You have to quest for it constantly. Risk-takers view their life as a game. They first learn the rules and then strive to play better than their rivals. They know that as they pass through each level, they will have to go through even more difficult and challenging ones. As they progress forward with velocity, the powers against them grow. They know to continuously upgrade their skills, build upon their endurance, and develop an ironclad mindset to progress through amassing levels of difficulty.
They View Failure as an Opportunity — Fear is a mental block that obstructs people from accomplishing their dreams and becoming successful. This fear is a part of every human. However, risk-takers teach themselves how to overcome failure and not fear the potential consequences. They are practically unstoppable because risk-taking has strengthened their will to keep on going no matter how challenging the situation.
They Dream Big — Risk-takers are fulfilled by dreaming big. Risk-takers want to get more after attaining something worthwhile from previous actions they took. The reward is tenfold to any failure they may have had in the past. With every risk comes the will to be above average and trudge into newer and undefined territories.
They Adapt to Change — There is nothing stagnant with risk-takers. They are always open to learning new things. One of mottoes is:
“Be brave enough to suck at something new!”
Risk-takers don’t like staying stuck in their bubble. They want to explore the world and hence are ready to enhance their knowledge by indulging in different activities. BTW, another of my mottos is: “Get off the couch” — meaning "START NOW!"
If you ever want to speak with me directly, just reach out via?LinkedIn?or through our mobile community app,?Createyourself.com
Have a great week, Gordon
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