Think about any great acheivement or influence accomplished by someone you know. Was risk involved? Most likely, in almost all of your examples, risk at some level was involved. Risk can be defined as undertaking some task to accomplish a goal with some level of uncertainty existing with the outcome. Or, risk taking can be defined as the attempt to accomplish something while a fear of failure exists. Risk taking may be the key ingredient that moves leaders from thought to action, comfort to new confidence, influence to impact and goal to accomplishment.
Why does risk taking exist? Fear arises when uncertainty enters our vision. Uncertainty arises when we consider attempting something never before attempted. Fear exists because of a lack of confidence, experience or solid advise to move forward. Simply put, risk creates fear because we simply cannot predict the future. However, without risk, our feet stay on the shore and we simply wonder what undiscovered oceans of dreams may contain.
It's not the venture of our dream that creates the risk but the personal belief of each of us trying to achieve it. In other words, the risk has more to do with what lies within us rather than the task at hand. What enables us to take risk?
We must have a perspective that failure is not a bad experience but a growing experience. Failure can be good! We must learn more about ourselves, our abilities and our skills from failure so we are better equipped to take on the next risk taking opportunity! It's only when we risk going too far that we might discover just how far we can go.
Leadership involves making difficult decisions to truly impact and influence the world. Will you take the risk? The benefits of the accomplishment far outweigh the possible consequences of failure as long as we live with the perspective that failure only helps us. Take the risk!
This is so true. Fear of failing must never beat our effort to try. You can not fail unless you try, and that is the simplest truth. Famous philosopher Socrates said: "The life that is not examined is not worth living", and he is right. Thats why he was one of biggest philosophers in history.
ReplyDeletelearning from mistakes makes us better. we can see our faults figure out how to fix them. like fritz said if your reaching to achieve something and don't make it, you'll still fall closer to your goal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with jake on how we learn from our mistakes. All of the great leaders in life have always failed a couple of times, but they learned from their mistake and proccessed it. Every time you fail your just one step closer to acheiving your goal.
ReplyDelete"And remember you have to Risk it... to get the Bisket!!!"
The thing about risk and change really stuck out to me. I have a real problem with accepting change..like I just hate it. I'm getting a new phone, which is exciting but i'm like NO! Little things like that freak me out, because they scare me so I think its really important to remember that you still have to push forward.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is afraid at some point in there life. Whether it be of a snake or giving a speech in front of a class. To overcome the fear we have to do what we haven't done before. We have to push ourselves to make decisions and learn from the outcomes. My philospohy in life is learn from your mistakes. Don't regret things, think of them as steps you have taken to become who you are today and who you will be tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWhen people start doing something new, they never look at the risk there is in it. their first thought is what the result it. usually a good one.people freak out when their is change because they never expect it. we need to change our attitude in what we do, learn to accept failure, and do what we need to do to get the job done!!
ReplyDeleteAs for me I' totally agree, one of the rules in my life is: "Till I try, I never know". So, I'm not afraid to take a risk, however, I have another problem. Risks are such things, when the probability of failure is pretty high and I hate to be a looser. The thing that happens to me is that if I'm not satisfied with the result of my risk, I will take another one and another one till I get what I want. BUT when I get it I realize that I don't need it anymore, I really needed it at the time of the first risk, but NO later. So my problem is to say "ENOUGH" after the first failure...
ReplyDeleteIt's only when we risk going too far that we might discover just how far we can go.
ReplyDeletethis statement right here is what stuck out the most to me it makes me think of everything i do am i doing it to the fullest am i going as far as i can to ensure i am making the most while out of the deal. i like this theory of risk taking because i can relate it to dumb teenage thing such as jumping off tall bridges. but risks are more than that they are simple things like just doing what is right. that is done at the risk of acceptance and to us teenagers we put a high price on being accepted. i think that risk taking is a great principle of leadership
"He who doesn't risk never gets to drink champagne."
ReplyDeleteRussian Proverb
And risk is a thing leader have to take everytime.
Just compare earnings of stocks(high level of risk) and savings accounts (low level of risk). First sometimes gives you thousands of income - sometimes of loss. Second works but gives you less than a percent a year. But it's not about money.
IT'S ABOUT YOU, Are you ready to take a risk and be a winner or be a loser. It's ALWAYS better than to be in the middle, to be average.(Well not in stocks case=)))) Your failure today is your rise tomorrow.
I liked the very end. "Take the risk." We can all talk about taking the risk but weather we really do or not is one of the best judges of character. Anyone can talk the talk but it takes a true leader to walk the walk. If you look at every successful person in society today they have failed some where before. Those who are willing to admit and learn from their mistake are those people naturally flock to to be the leader. I'm a prefectionest and so it is very hard for me to deal with failure, but I know that failures mean you're just one step closer to prefection. My modo on life is shoot for the moon even if you miss you land among the stars.:)
ReplyDeleteKeep on tryin and don't give up.
This post was very helpful to me today...I'm glad I still follow this blog occationally...I guess you never know where you might find inspiration...I dare to add knowledge as one of the things that diminishes fear...this post said experience and guidence which are very similar to knowledge, but I believe that knowledge in itself and oneself-can be enough to face the fear of risk.
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