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On Risk and Fear
Everybody has to face fear of the unknown at some point in their life. I remember watching a program about the U.S. Navy SEAL’s on the Discovery Channel. They were interviewing a young SEAL who said something to the effect that every time he entered a combat situation he was scared. I was really taken back by that. He said if you’re not scared then there is something wrong with you. He remarked that ”It’s ok to be scared, everybody is scared. It’s not ok to say you’re not going to complete the mission.” I never thought of a SEAL being scared but it makes perfect sense and that has always resonated with me.
If you’re not afraid then something is wrong with you. The best way to deal with fear is to take it head on. You must confront it by doing. Simply put, fear of the unknown is the biggest fear you will face. As you work and overcome small problems and challenges you will gain confidence thus greatly reducing fear and risk simultaneously. This means your chances of success will greatly increase by simply acting.
World famous mountain climber, Ed Viesturs, said “I manage the risk. I don’t seek danger. I’m not an adrenaline junkie. I figure out the safe way to go in and have fun so I can live with the risk.â€Â That’s great advice on managing risk.
Do you remember the super bowl commercial for Monster.com with the kids saying stuff like “when I grow up I want to file paperwork all day”? It was an instant classic. Why? It reminded most people that they weren’t doing what they dreamed of doing when they were young. Do you want to be 50 asking yourself why you decided to make your life about debts, credits, paperwork and meetings and not what you really wanted?
At two points in my life I considered the same career path. I thought this would bring stability (whatever that is), constant employment and a decent paycheck. I also knew that I would have hated myself for doing it and not doing what I really love. If I am 50, broke and unemployed I know that I will not regret the decision I made to not take that career path. Â
The hardest part about risk is that return is not guaranteed. That one simple thing constitutes the biggest single factor of risk itself. But what in life is guaranteed? Are stability and a constant paycheck guaranteed? In my opinion, only for those who make their own guarantees by putting it out there and making their own success instead of depending on others to do it for them.
Entrepreneurship is about calculated risk not gambling. The thing that is funny is that in business we take calculated risks all the time. Corporate managers, lawyers, CPA’s, consultants, stock brokers, insurance agents, employees, etc. risk others people’s money - that’s easy.
Entrepreneurs usually risk it all.Â
I once read a book called Failing Forward, which discusses the way to properly fail. Yes, that’s right, properly fail. That means that when you fall down you pick yourself back up figure out why you failed, admit your mistakes and take the lessons learned to the next thing. It’s a simple but brilliant idea. Since reading that book, I have made a long mental list of my failures. At first it was incredibly painful but it has been an invaluable exercise. Don’t let arrogance get in the way of future success. It may be all that is really holding you back.
Wayne Gretzky said “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Take the shot. Â
I actually have a column coming out in Connect soon about the NBA, risk and business. You touch upon a lot of points here that I have been thinking about.
I really, really, like the Ed Viesturs quote because I think it hits the nail on the head for how a lot of business people operate that others think of as risky.
Left by Russell Page on 01/01/2007