Take Risks to Getting Off the Beaten Path
So many of us want to start a new career, learn something new, work from home, or start a business. But it is all risk. Then it is taking the time to ponder and discern.
Taking a risk is difficult. When is the right time? After much deliberation, what chances do we take?
Even though it is the best of intentions, we compromise, play it safe, take a slight spin on the same old routine, play the same old song, and then trek down the all too familiar beaten path. Even though we sense the outcome, we, along with a host of other well intended “adventurers” will indeed, be disheartened again.
The successful individuals are the ones who took risks and will break the rules. Risk takers are always more focused on the process, the journey than they are on the outcome. Risk takers continue to seek, to learn, to hone their process, to keep growing, and steadfastly build, stay courageous, and maintain a high level of belief in themselves.
The number of quotations on risk is humongous. When one pares down the famous quotes on risk, they all come to offer the same advice. “The real risk is doing nothing,” says Dennis Waitley. Oprah Winfrey declares, “I believe that one of the life’s greatest risks is never daring to risk.” A well-read quote that bears repeating, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for,” said William Shedd.
I find it so interesting that the fear of taking a risk falls into two opposite ends. There are those who fear failure and those that fear success. The thought of being ridiculed, mocked, and scoffed should efforts to bear great fruit. The fears of not meeting exceedingly high expectations and enduring disappointing results give way to staying put. One should always feel good about doing one’s best and realize that one has grown richer and wiser for the experience.
Astonishingly, the fear of success can be dreadful. Success can bring with it the envy of friends. Others resent successful individuals calling them lucky when it is them that did not put forth an effort or take a risk. Someone once referred to it as reverse snobbery. Others fear notoriety, or the need to be overly protective because they fear the fear of paranoia. Many fear the added responsibility.
Taking risks and becoming successful is what one is to aspire. Personal success is not a competition. Taking risks is growing, becoming, and learning to serve and give in a greater way than you ever thought possible. Another great quotation from the famous writer, Mark Twain sums it up well, “Twenty years from now you will be disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream.”
