You are already rich and famous – you just need to realize that you are. Well at least you qualify as famous. I have only met a few “famous” people in my life and they both had massive problems, struggles, and obstacles to overcome. Since that pretty much describes you – then I think you are qualified. You can go ahead and be famous.
Now rich is slightly different. Rich people also have massive problems, struggles, and obstacles to overcome but there is an additional ingredient that you may have to consider. Rich people take risks. If a rich person wants to stay rich, they need to continue to take risks. The second they become risk adverse, the universe has a way of slowly removing wealth from them. It may take a few years, or perhaps a few generations – but slowly and inevitably the person that sits on their golden throne and does nothing will eventually lose it.
Risk is easier to deal with when you have had practice and experience taking risks. Risk taking is not something you just instantly get when you are born, you have to develop it. Now, admittedly there are some that have a natural inclination toward risk taking, and some by nature are more calculating and potentially risk adverse – but I am willing to stake a serious claim that most behavior surrounding risk taking is learned.
You may need a little risk therapy. You cannot avoid all risk and expect to grow. You agree with that sentence? The alternative way to view that sentence is, In order to grow you have to be willing to take risks. Risk = growth or loss. When I risk X I am going to produce X+Y or X-Y. The point is that if you want to gain Y then you have to risk X. Aha! Algebra at 5am!
The equation is simple enough to understand, the reality is much more difficult because there is a key ingredient to risk taking that you have to also learn. That ingredient is faith. I have to have faith that when I risk X, I will get X+Y. Meaning, when I risk something – I expect, I have faith that I will get something more in return.
This entire 365 commitment is based on this equation. I am taking a risk by dedicating time and energy (X) toward this commitment with the expectation and belief that I will be a better person when I am done (Y). Not only will I have a great habit built, but I will also gain extraordinary benefit. I have faith in that, and that is what is driving me.
You may not be able to take big risks at first, you may need to work up to them. Start small with little risks. For some people – just getting out of the house is a risk. For others investing 100K in a new business is a risk. It does not matter where you are at, at what level, we all need to take risk in order to grow. In my opinion when I am risking something, I am growing. When I am not risking anything I am slowly dying.
So what are you going to put on the line this morning? What number are you going to drop your last remaining chip on and spin the wheel? Once you find out what you are willing to risk, get ready to roll the dice. Please do not use this analogy to go spend your rent or mortgage money on lottery tickets, or on a slot machine – I am using the analogy to overstate a simple concept. You have to figure out what you can risk, what you are willing to risk and use that as leverage to help yourself grow.
Get ready! A few times you are going to fail. Well, not a few times – many hundreds of times. Failure is the best teacher. This will be your therapy. Try to take some risks, small ones, fail a few times and try to figure out why you failed. Once you have got that figured out, pick yourself up and take another risk. Try. Fail. Repeat. Try. Fail. Repeat. Try. Fail. Repeat. Try. Fail. Success!
Guy Reams (78)
365 Member
