As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
In short, taking risks and achieving success go hand-in-hand. It’s a concept many people feel uneasy about.
After all, taking risks goes against most of our nature. Playing it safe – for the most part – is what kept our ancestors alive, and this desire to avoid dangerous situations remains a central instinct for most living creatures.
What Leads to Success
There’s simply no getting around the fact that taking risks is what leads to success. It’s a fundamental truth found in virtually all of life’s situations.
For instance, someone who decides to go to college is taking the risk of not finding employment after graduation. A person who gets into a romantic relationship is taking the risk of it not working out in the long term. Aspiring business owners are taking the risk of financial failure.
Nowhere is the relationship between risk and success more accurately assessed and clearly expressed than in the world of finance. Consider the differences between loan options for homeowners versus those who purchase property for the sole sake of investment.
Investment
For example, someone wanting to buy a home for themselves in Santa Ana can get financing through a mortgage lender, but someone who wants to flip the house will need to find a California hard money lender to secure a loan.
This is because investment property ownership is riskier than traditional homeownership. On the flip side, the profit potential of short-term real estate investments is greater than the long-term equity gains of homeownership.
The balance between risk versus reward can also be seen in the many attempts at exploration undertaken by humanity over the centuries. Venturing into the unknown is inherently risky, but the potential for uncovering new and exciting discoveries is worth the danger.
The risks of exploring the uncharted realms of the universe are justified even in the aftermath of our worst fears coming true. For instance, in the days, months, and years after the major catastrophes in the space program, astronauts always vouched for the importance of carrying on with exploration beyond our upper atmosphere.
With that said, it’s important to learn from our past mistakes to reduce the risks of certain activities and choices in the future.
While astronauts never shrank from space exploration in the aftermath of fatal accidents like the Apollo 1 fire or Challenger-Columbia disasters, they simultaneously expected NASA to improve systems and fix problems to avoid the same situations from occurring again.
The same approach can be made with the risks we take in our ordinary day-to-day lives. Mistakes and lapses in judgment will happen, so make the most of them going forward. By changing our habits and understanding, we enable ourselves to take the risks necessary for success without becoming reckless.
In Conclusion
Whether it’s in matters of sports, love, education, vocation, or exploration, taking risks is going to be necessary for achieving success.
Those with an appreciation and practical approach to their lives with this in mind are bound to go farther and do better.
We ask that every contributor and expert answer the Identity “Get All A’s” questions in keeping with our theme. Their answers can be random and in the moment or they can be aligned with the current article they have written. In that way, and as a team, we hope to encourage and motivate each other, thus inspiring you to Get All A’s.
1. What have you accepted within your life, physically and/or mentally? Additionally, what are you still working on accepting? Now, we’re talking about resignation, rather stepping into, embraced, and owned.
We’ve accepted all of your stories, tips, and expertise over the years. We accept all that comes with the challenges of running an online magazine.
2. What have you learned to appreciate about yourself and/or within your life, physically and mentally? On the other hand OR in contrast, are there elements of who you are that you’re still working on appreciating?
We appreciate all of our readers, writers, and collaborators. Without all of you, we wouldn’t exist today. Thank YOU!
3. What is one of your most rewarding achievements in life? Tell us not only what makes YOU most proud but also share the goals and dreams that you still have.
We are proud of Identity Magazine and the opportunity to support so many writers, authors, business owners, moms—WOMEN. Let’s all continue to Get All A’s.
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