Thoughts on risk-taking

Have you ever felt the need to stand out? Either personally or professionally? Both?

I like to think it’s all about risk-taking. When we look into successful people and their businesses, there’s a commonality: they all do something no one else does. It seems easy to analyze things from the outside, maybe even evident if we consider the market in retrospect, but the reality of risk-taking is way rougher than what it might look like. 

First, you must have a visionary outlook on whatever it is you want to tackle. What is different about what you want to do? Let’s say you are working on a software solution and you want it to stand out. How are you going to do it? What is something that no one would do to solve the puzzle? You must think outside the box and actually find this answer. That in itself is a journey. 

Once you know, it’s about you and your mentality. Will you be brave to trust your gut feelings, swim against the stream, and take risks, potentially making mistakes in the process? How much of a risk is it? Are you resilient enough? Most of all, is it a leap of faith you are willing to take, or is it even worth it? 

I ask you these questions because you will have to manage all of it as your choices unfold, for better or worse. From my experience, though, if you manage to find the risk, it’s usually worth taking it. Chances of succeeding are higher when no one else is doing what you choose to do. When you are the first person to take a particular risk, you are likely to be the first to thrive from it (and become frustrated by it too).

It is easy and convenient to stay in comfortable places where we do not challenge ourselves. That’s what most people choose, not to risk. When I decide to use new technology to develop a project that I know will be that much better from it, I risk losing hours, team players, and even the client. If it works, it’s incredible. If it doesn’t, I have to take responsibility and start all over. For years, being bold has been my personal and professional choice, and the gains have been much higher than the losses. The biggest successes come from the greatest risks, and they can only happen when people are courageous enough to take that leap of faith. Are you?