Calculated Risk Taking, What the Ultra Successful do that Most Don’t
- Comments: 8
Mention risk to someone completely secure in their situation and watch the hair stand up on the back of their neck. The word risk has negative connotations. Usually, it is associated with potential loss and danger. Those of us who have become comfortable with the way we are living may be unwilling to take risks even when the downside is limited and the upside is unlimited.
In my book, this would be a calculated risk, and something you should definitely take advantage of. We all need to be willing to accept some level of risk in order to grow as individuals.
There is a difference between calculated risks and stupid risks. Stupid risk is where there is far more downside than upside. Calculated risk, again, is where there is more of an upside than a downside. I argue that you would lose more money over your lifetime by not taking calculated risks than you would making mistakes.
There are always ways to leverage your risk and have more control over the outcome. For example, you wouldn’t plan on winning a marathon without training, right? Therefore, before taking any kind of risk, you must do as much preparation as possible. The more preparation that you do, the more likely you are to succeed.
I can say that so far, my blog has been an excellent calculated risk. The only loss possible to me is my time. The gain is almost limitless. I am able to meet interesting people, get constructive criticism and feedback, as well as pad my income a little.
I have been diving into the world of making money online and spending most of my time researching internet marketing. Internet marketing is a venture in which I consider it a smart, calculated risk. Turning spending time online into making money is great. The upside is very lucrative while the downside is only a little of my own time being wasted.
Less than six months ago I was considering dropping out of ASU. A risk I am glad I didn’t take. The upside would have been just a little extra time per week that I could spend doing whatever I wanted (less than 20 hours to be exact). The downsides were numerous, including: risking my backup plan of being financial advisor, disappointing my parents, and sacrificing my previous three years of hard work.
I know all you have opinions, experiences, and other things to share. Let me know!
Risks get even scarier once you’re married, because now you’re responsible for two lives. So if you’re still single, use this time to take some calculated risks that you might not take if you had a family.
Risk is definately something that needs to be taken in this business. The definition of “entrepreneur” is “risk taker”
I agree. Having dependents holds many people back. I guess it boils down to if you want pain before pleasure on that one.
Both of you are correct. It makes it much more difficult to take risks with a significant other at home. It is even harder when you have kids. I recommend when ever possible to do away with anything that holds you back. Thanks for the comments!
I always try to look at the worse case scenario, and that would be my maximum accepted risk, then I put a clause in the contracts to protect myself…
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[...] Risk taking is something that both Nate and I have written about in the past and believe strongly in it. We cover this topic on the video-cast and you can read more about risk taking in my previous post titled, “Calculated Risk Taking, What the Ultra Successful do that Most Don’t.” [...]