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Do any of these sound familiar? “Don’t take the risk.” “It’s too risky.” “You have too much to risk.” Through our childhood years, the word risk is equated almost always to danger. Yet when we get older the mantra changes to “No risk, no reward.” Why is that?
I think when we are young, we don’t know any better. We are not yet aware of the things that can hurt us. Unfortunately, for many of us, that mindset never changes. We grow into our adult years still believing that “risk” is just another four letter word we need to avoid.
Warren Buffet said; “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” So does that mean that the only reason that we don’t take risks is because we don’t know what we’re doing?
I think I follow Buffet’s wisdom on this. If we know exactly what we are doing, we don’t eliminate the risk, but we certainly reduce it. So how about a few more phrases … “calculated risk”; “controlled risk” or “limited risk.”
OK, I’m already tired of the word. No more risk!
Oh, I forgot – No risk, no reward!
There has been much written lately about failure and how it is really a part of every success story in one way or another. John Maxwell’s next book, “Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn” comes out next month and it is all about learning from our failures. I listened to this months Success Magazine CD and three interviews about – you guessed it – failure. Everyone’s writing about failure.
If you are familiar with the Success CD’s, you know that Hardy does a short wrap up at the end of each issue. He made a comment that took the dim light in my head from about 10 watts to 100 watts with this statement; “The best way to massive success is through massive failure.” Ok, full transparency here – it was more like slowly turning up the dimmer switch.
I was so excited that all I had to do to succeed was fail, that I almost missed the real meaning here. If I fail enough times and learn from them, eventually I will succeed.
One of the things I am currently working on is building my client base. So I thought some more about Hardy’s comments and decided that I have a new goal. I am going to fail 100 times by the end of the year in getting a new client. (If you are reading this and get a phone call from me in the next few months, don’t feel like you have to be one of the 100.)
Here’s the real “aha” in all of this. I didn’t get it at the time, but the following day I was on a call with my coach and after explaining this great discovery, she made this observation; “Looking for No’s takes the fear out of rejection.” BOOM!
So what does this mean? It means that I am crystal clear on my objective – “to receive a no.” The risk has been reduced (even if it’s only in my own mind) about failing to get a yes. Therefore, the limiting beliefs that may have held me back in the past, waiting for that “perfect client” or worse yet, “waiting for that person to call me” are gone.
I want a “NO.” Remember what Hardy said – Massive Success comes through Massive Failure. My favorite President, Theodore Roosevelt, said; “It is impossible to win the great prizes in life without running risks.” He was right. It not’s going to come easy and nobody is going to do it for you.
So is there a risk with every reward? Probably not every one. But this I believe – the big rewards come with some kind of risk. Today’s question: “How much are you willing to risk?”
It’s bonus Friday, so you get a question and a challenge, so here it is. There is a risk you have not been willing to take. You know what it is. Don’t be afraid of taking the risk. Educate yourself on what it is you want to do and go for it. If you get your “no”, you can try again.
Now don’t tell anyone that I wrote this last paragraph because this post is about risk and being good with receiving a “NO.” OK – I am whispering now “What if they say yes!”
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]]>The post Are You Thriving Or Surviving In Your ENVIRONMENT? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.
]]>Charles “Tremendous” Jones said “You are the same today that you are going to be in five years from now except for two things: the people with whom you associate and the books you read.”
So a few simple questions … Who are you hanging around and what are you reading?
Let’s be honest – we are a product of our environment. There is really no way around it. If you feel like there is more to life and you just can’t figure out what it is, it might be due to the fact that there is only so much visible in the environment you are currently in.
Now comes the hard part – you need to change your environment or you need to change your environment. In other words, you can be an agent of change within the environment you are in or you can find another environment.
In either case, the choice is yours. I just spent a week on the Island of Oahu and I saw all kinds of environments. Most of the Island is very conducive to the growth of vegetation. Lots of sun and lots of water. The result; lots of greenery.
I also saw parts of the Island that were run down and it appeared that poverty was in full force. No bad on the state of Hawaii – most communities have representation of all these types of conditions. It’s just the way things are. But it was very clear that some were thriving and some were simply surviving.
So like I said, it’s all about our choices. Are you currently in an environment that provides INSPIRATION and SECURITY? Do you live in FEAR because of the EXPECTATION that FAILURE is not an option?
Does your work CULTURE allow for BALANCE between your business and personal life? How would you rate employee ENGAGEMENT and MOTIVATION? Is the concept of TEAMWORK helping to build MORALE?
Is COMPETITION so fierce within the organization that you have to RISK your QUALITY of work in search of SUCCESS and VICTORY? Are you RESPECTED for THINKING that CHANGE means OPPORTUNITY?
On May 23rd, at 8:00 pm ET, I will be hosting a free call introducing “The 5 Pillars Of Influential Leadership” Coaching Program.
This will be a content filled call that will not only teach you about influential leadership but also about leading an intentional and successful life. The words in capitals above are topics within Pillar #2 – Environment.
This is the second of five posts related to the 5 Pillars that will go out prior to the call on the 23rd.
For more information and to register for the free call CLICK HERE.
To see the first video on Pillar #1 – AWARENESS click here
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Barry Smith 5/13/13 photo by author © Building What Matters 2013
The post Are You Thriving Or Surviving In Your ENVIRONMENT? appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.
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