Taking No Risks Will Be Your Biggest Risk

You must risk failure to succeed.
You must risk heartbreak to love.
You must risk criticism for the applause.
You must risk the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary.

If you live avoiding risk, you’re risking missing out on life. As F.C. Yee correctly pointed out, “You either accept the risk of winning, or the guarantee of losing.”  It’s your choice.

Growth and success are impossible without stepping outside our comfort zone. In business, innovation often comes from trying new approaches, testing uncharted waters, and experimenting with new ideas. Companies that avoid risk out of fear of failure often find themselves left behind by more daring competitors. In your personal life, the refusal to take risks limits the potential for growth and fulfillment.

Most of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and leaders have faced significant setbacks, but it was their willingness to take risks, learn from failure, and persist that led them to achieve extraordinary results. Whether in business or in life, risk is inherently tied to the possibility of great reward, and without it, we limit ourselves to the safe, predictable path that rarely leads to anything groundbreaking or profound. To achieve the extraordinary, whether through business success, personal growth, or deep relationships, we must be willing to put ourselves out there and accept the possibility of failure, rejection, or criticism. In the end, the greatest risk we face is not taking any risks at all, and by doing so, we might just miss the opportunity to truly experience all that life has to offer.

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.”
-Paulo Coelho

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
-Erica Jong

“You shouldn’t focus on why you can’t do something, which is what most people do. You should focus on why perhaps you can and be one of the exceptions.”
-Steve Case

“Take risks in your life. If you win, you can lead. If you lose, you can guide.”
-Swami Vivekananda

“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.”
-Denis Waitley

“Life doesn’t always present you with the perfect opportunity at the perfect time. Opportunities come when you least expect them, or when you’re not ready for them. Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way, in a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. Opportunities, the good ones, they’re messy, confusing, and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.”
-Susan Wojcicki

…and on embracing the unknown [which is risky], Arianna Huffington once said, “If you are not in touch with your intuition, you cannot be successful. Data is great. But sometimes, even when you have all the data in the world, if you don’t follow your gut, you won’t discover the true potential and be able to recognize critical opportunities.”