ComputerHunter.org |
|
|
|||
|
 |
How Much Risk Is Too Much To Take?
The ladder was braced against the railings going to the basement. I started climbing up. I had to get to the ceiling and this was my Rube Goldberg way of doing it without having to put up scaffolding. I made it up two or three rungs before coming to my senses. It would be so easy for the railing to break and for me to go tumbling down the stairs. You see I was trying to paint my living room with a cathedral ceiling. I had to get up near the apex at 12 feet. The problem was that there were stairs going to the basement and nowhere to safely put the ladder. So I tried bracing it against the railing before giving up. I was trying to put primer over a quote painted in black that said, "It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce." It would have been so ironic for me fall from the ladder while trying to paint over that quote. Believe me, I wouldn't have bounced very high. How much risk is too much? I calculated the risk and found the risk was too high for the reward. I ended up taping a paintbrush to a long pole, and I got the quote painted just fine. Just a little ingenuity. In the book, "Mental Judo" by Lance Lager, he talks about falling also. "In physical judo, practically the first thing you learn is how to fall. ? In Mental Judo, as in physical judo, learning how to 'fall' is important. I don't mean, of course, falling on your rump, but in a figurative sense falling is falling. Life is a series of ups and downs, and none of us is our imperfection can avoid taking a fall from time to time. When you don't reach your goal, when you are rejected or ignored or just outwitted for the moment, you are experiencing a fall. It is extremely important that you learn how to fall gracefully and be able to snap right back up with a minimum of effort and without fear of the next fall or concern about an injured ego. Just as in skiing or ice skating, if you are not falling, you are not learning or trying something new." We are bound to fall, whether through our own fault or the fault of someone we depended on, be it life at home or in the workplace. What do we do when we fall? Sit and cry? Get mad? Resign ourselves to the fact that this is the way life is always going to be and that success will never come my way? It can be happen in any of these scenarios. I've taken some tumbles myself. A big tumble came last summer when I was doing a job search. I had a good meeting with a company that was looking for someone to do business development for them. I had a very good first interview and was invited back for a second one. The owner of the company called the morning of the second meeting and said he had to postpone the meeting until after the weekend because of time deadlines. Okay. On Monday I called and left a message. No returned call. The next day I tried the phone and an email. Nothing. On Wednesday, I got ahold of the second in command who was in on the meeting. He said I needed to talk with the owner, and that he would call me back. I heard nothing more. I gave one more attempt on Friday and never heard a word. Did I do something to offend them? Did they think I was a loser who couldn't possibly help them? Was I overly naïve and put too many eggs in this one basket? I don't know what happened and may never find out. But what I learned from that experience was to bounce back and keep doing what I needed to do in order to support my family. I decided a while after this incident to restart my business, which is another excellent opportunity to fall. But it hasn't been so far. I've been meeting a lot of new people and getting new clients on a weekly basis. But it is a risk. I was talking with a gentleman who had owned his own business for thirty-five years. He told me, "I didn't go into business for myself to make a lot of money. I just wanted to control my own life." Life is risky. We are learning in the current economy that it can be risky to even have a day-to-day job with a company. Risk can be fun, and it can be ulcer producing. So, take a bit of a risk right now. It doesn't have to be something big. It takes a while to develop your risk muscles. It can start with little stuff and then move onto something bigger. Dave Carlson is the owner of Venturewide Internet Marketing, specializing in helping businesses succeed on the Web through search engine optimization and pay per click marketing. He can be reached at 720-922-3124. See his Web site at http://www.venturewide.com. © 2005, Dave Carlson, All Rights Reserved
Google News - Top Stories
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
People Who Get What They Want: What Are They Thinking? Imagine being able to choose any outcome and automatically feel motivated to make it happen. Sow the Seed - See the Harvest The story is told of two boys who were walking through a field and found some corn seeds scattered across the ground. They each took one of the seeds home and planted it. Being Genuinely Curious Yesterday at the dinner table, my eleven-year-old daughter asked me, "Aren't there times when you absolutely know you're right and the other person is wrong?" She had a disagreement at school that day and believed that her view was the truth. I said, "I used to think I was always right and that other people were wrong. Now I still think I may be right, but I realize that other people know things that I don't. I'm more interested in learning than being right." Trust the ?System? ? It Works! The "System" ? the overall structure and organization of this great creation that we're a part of? including our ability to personally interact with (and benefit from) the spiritual aspects of this creation (universal consciousness, God, whatever you'd like to call it). Free Will To The Rescue Today's society and your private world are the results of free will. We have arrived here today through intention, ignorance or abuse. Some people understand and use free will daily. Some people completely deny it. And other people simply mock it and complain it "doesn't work." The Power I had a friend ask me a question not to long ago that really led me to do some thinking. "How do you manage to stay so positive all the time?" You never seem to have "bad" days she said. Quit Pretending - You Have To Live Whats In You To Succeed Some people, after they reach their mid and upper adult years seem to go through their lives just existing. Oh! They work at their jobs as best as they can. Some may even pursue higher positions in their jobs but they still don't seem to stay satisfied with whatever position they have. They are usually the ones just waiting until it comes time for their retirement. Wake Up to the Life You Love While speaking at a San Diego university recently, I was fortunate that I was not asked to leave the stage. You see, I chose to share with the students in my audience some frightening statistics. I announced that, while many would receive their degrees, few ? very few ? would end up pursuing careers in their chosen field. At this point, the faculty began giving me dirty looks. How to Stay Motivated - Part 1 As a "Motivation Trainer" for over 20 years, I have researched the subject of "Motivation." It is talked about a lot, but not very much is taught or written about it. It seems to be a word that eludes us. I often here people say: "Can you motivate me?" or "I need motivating." or "I've lost my motivation." Its Never Too Late To Start Many people never start anything because they think the bus has left them standing at the station. Two Ways to Feel Fear In a memorable Depression-era radio speech on the radio, President Franklin Roosevelt declared, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He was dead right. And for the next few minutes we're going to look at why he was right, and what FEAR really is, and how it can be turned into something strong and productive for you with just a few simple tactics you can learn in less than 10 minutes. Action vs. Apathy - Feeling Powerless? Get Moving! How many times have you felt truly defeated by the circumstances in your life? You know, the "I don't know why I bother to keep trying, I'm going back to bed and staying there" feeling. It happens to everyone - housewives, corporate executives, rock stars, actors, world leaders. Each and every one of us has had a day when we felt that we just weren't able to cope with our daily lives. Is Failure the End of Everything? "The important thing is to learn a lesson every time you lose." --John McEnroe Motivation: The Power of Vision Here's an interesting story from the world of race car driving. One of the most important things that beginning race car drivers learn is what to do when they lose control of the car and go into a spin. The natural reaction is to focus on the wall or other object they want to avoid. Because their focus is on the wall, that's usually where they end up. Instead of focusing on the wall, the drivers learn to focus on where they want to go. This allows them to avoid the walls, stay on course and go where they want to go. Top 4 Reasons Women Ride The ?Emotional Roller-Coaster? 1. Women have learned and are in the habit of being driven by the approval of others. Most women allow the expectations of others to define them and therefore making the approval of others is responsible for their happiness. This pattern gives others' the power to make and take your happiness at any time. Approval seeking steals your happiness and doesn't allow you to ever get to know yourself, your wants, your desires, or your needs. A total disconnect. Thus an up and down roller-coaster of emotions. Not a pleasant way to live. 7 Steps to a New Life Overseas Research shows that at any one time more than half of us are dreaming of a new life overseas, but few actually succeed in making the transition from fantasy to reality. Journaling - A Tool for Healing and Growth The word "journal" comes from the French. It dates back to the 14th century and means daily. As recently as April 26, 1999, "Newsweek" magazine ran an article entitled "Pen, Paper, & Power. Confessional Writing can be Good for You." Get The Man Right One Saturday morning, a minister could not think of a sermon to write. He simply could not get inspired. He stared out of the window, at the birds splashing in the bird-bath. His mind was blank, as was the sheet of paper on his writing desk. Ignite The Fire In Your Belly ? How To Move From Being A Procrastinator To An Activator! Are you sick and tired of not getting ahead and just can't get yourself out of a rut? Well, there are certain requirements (accountability, responsibility, commitment to yourself, forgiveness, positive think and speak, synchronicity within and outside) to help facilitate a real change. Cure Your Burnout! Do you ever get those Sunday night blues? Dreading the week ahead, feeling the daily grind just draining away all of your energy before the week even starts? Or what about those days where you just feel like you are going through the motions and not really being present in your own life?
|
|
|
|
|
