Taking Risks
We are told that ‘risk taking’ is a leadership trait which is essential for achieving success in life; but when we propose to do something new and creative we are usually discouraged to move forward as it involves taking risks. Isn’t it paradoxical? Why do we fear risks?
What do you think people, including their parents, must have told Wright brothers, Orville and Wilber, when they talked about flying heavier -than -air machines? Some would have laughed at them, others might have jeered. Their father, Pastor Wright must have said, “If God wanted men to fly like birds, He would have given them wings!!” His parish must have sympathized with the Pastor for siring two gullible boys, who were palmed off a risky hoax by some smart alec.
What do you think must have transpired when someone proposed a harebrained idea of ‘talking’ pictures? How outlandish must a landing on moon and people walking on its surface must have seemed? People, giving voice to such ‘ridiculous’ ideas, must have been berated, time and again, by their fellow brethren!
But the fact remains that all such so-called ‘crazy’ people with ‘silly’ ideas who dared to move beyond time-tested concepts and took risks are today known as geniuses, revolutionaries, pioneers, visionaries and heroes. They earned enough fame, name and wealth because they took the risk of questioning others and themselves. They dared to challenge all those limitations which the rest of the people took for-granted.
There is something in everyone’s life experience; whether professional, business or personal, which can be implemented in a better, more efficient and more productive manner. What distinguishes a genius from an ordinary person is the ability to spot that opportunity and take it forward. It may take much more time than you first thought; it may cost much more than you initially estimated, and it may strain all your resources more than you envisioned; but once you decide to take a calculated risk and undertake something ambitious, the costs and resources are well worth it.
You may make false starts. You may face some embarrassments. You may make costly errors. But the potential outcome of your endeavors could be as brilliant and outrageous as flying in the air and walking on the moon.
There are many frontiers left to be conquered. There are many challenges left to be overcome. There are many achievements left to be claimed. But the problem is that there aren’t enough risk-takers, explorers and inventors amongst us. There aren’t enough inquisitive people who ask the right and most obvious questions. There aren’t enough self-assured mavericks who challenge the conventional wisdom. There aren’t enough geniuses who are willing to do things which may initially make them look stupid.
Ask yourself, “Do I have a dream in my heart? Am I willing to make mistakes while pursuing my dream? Am I willing to take the requisite risks?”
Your affirmative answer might just change our world!!!!!
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