The Art of Taking Risks
The risk comes from not knowing what you are doing.
I have been reading “The Magic of Thinking Big,” and there are points that personally resonated with me:
Get The Action Habit
This idea really resonates with me because I have always struggled with wanting to have 100% of the information before taking my first step, but you know how that kind of attitude prevents us from taking action or prolongs the process of getting started.
I’m the kind of person who likes to take risks, but until not so long ago, it had always been other kinds of risks, like learning to fly airplanes, opposing a tyranny, jumping from a moving motorcycle, jumping from an airplane, jumping from bed to bed.
Until one day I fell into an abyss as deep as the one I had inside and touched the cold bottom with my tortured back and lost the only fear I had left, the fear of losing my freedom because I had already lost it. Knowing Nietzsche’s words:
“He who has a why to live will find a how.”
So I focused on strengthening my spirit through gratitude, changing my mindset through acquiring new knowledge, and helping these two through physical exercise.
Reading Elon Musk’s book and The Bezos Letters, I found that what they both have in common is that they both have a risk-taking mentality. They don’t wait for everything to be perfect.
Musk will start investing in a business idea with 50% of the information, Bezos with 70%. In their own words, it’s about moving forward, taking risks, and correcting along the way.
After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers,” it is clear that success is influenced by a host of factors: cultural legacy, talent, intelligence, timing, opportunities, among many other things.
But those who manage to transcend, to make things work, are those who are willing to take risks. Actions cure fears; self-confidence is not something we are born with but a trait we develop. In Churchill’s words:
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”
Success is a Test of Endurance and Not of Speed
Forget about the balanced life; if people didn’t walk a tightrope, there wouldn’t exist such word as balance. We must have a passion/obsession relationship that drives us. We have to accept, correct, move forward, and do things without forgetting not to risk more than we are willing or can afford to lose. As in boxing, the last one standing wins; success is a long-term game.
Remember that we must do it for the journey and not the destination. In other words, the journey is the destination.
Thanks for reading; if you liked it, feel free to follow me @josephlinaresr share or clap. That helps me a lot.
