Life Equals Risk: Success Stories (part 3)

Forbes magazine asked 34 entrepreneurs, celebrities, athletes and politicians:“What are the biggest risks that you have taken?”

Read some of the gutsy and inspiring stories and/or zip through the “In Pictures” flipbook to pause on personalities of interest. Several of the stories provided me with a visual of “white-knuckled success” – it seems that for many of them, the following quote sums up why they took the plunge:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”~Ambrose Redmoon

Part 1 of this series put risk into perspective with the glaring example of how simply getting out of bed each day is a life threatening risk that we don’t even consider. It prompted you to bring to mind risks that you taking until the reality of taking them feels as frightening as your first roller coaster ride.  And closed with a video of famous failures who went on to become great in business, the arts, and politics – ending with a stirring clip…”Life Equals Risk”.

Part 2 examined risk tolerance. It became clear that most of us cannot be labeled as risk-tolerant or risk-averse because our temperament, nature and nurture impact our ability and willingness to take situational risks. The take-away: we all have the ability to take big risks – provided that we possess the self-confidence and/or belief that the risk is worth taking.

Part 3 opens above with the risks taken by regular folks and a few well-known entrepreneurs. So it seems fitting to wrap up the series by sharing success stories of 10 celebrities who would not realized their destinies had they not taken the risks needed to follow their dreams.

10 Famous People in the “Wrong” Career at Age 30

1. Andrea Bocelli, lawyer
2. Julia Child, government spy
3. Rodney Dangerfield, aluminum siding salesman
4. Harrison Ford, carpenter
5. Michael Jordan, baseball player
6. James Joyce, singer
7. Mao Tse-Tung, elementary school principal
8. Colonel Sanders, salesman/farmer/pilot/fireman
9. Sylvester Stallone, deli counter attendant
10. Martha Stewart, stockbroker

“In order to realize your destiny, you must be willing to release your history.” ~Karl Schmidt

So what do you think?

• Was their celebrity a result of having the courage to take a big risk?
• Or did they become well-known because following their passion was a risk worth taking?
• Or was it a mix or something else that allowed them to feel the fear and do it anyway?
• What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Life Equals Risk (part 1)

Each morning we get up and plan our day.  But each day, a fair number of those who knew what they would be doing that evening were wrong because the risks of living caused their lives to be forever changed or lost.  A sobering thought, yet none of us is immune to an automobile accident, a  sudden illness or random event. I was musing about this topic this past December when my long-time friend and book keeper went out to her car, slipped on the ice and suffered serious head trauma – she is currently disabled and may never be the same.

The stark reality is that simply getting out of bed in the morning and stepping into the shower is a risk.  So  now that we have yanked open the illusory curtain of safety and certainty, let’s begin to bring taking risks into perspective.

We get out of bed because the risk is so worth taking that we don’t think about it as risky.  And what about the risks you do think about – until the notion of actually taking them becomes as frightening as your first roller coaster ride?    Are you considering…

• starting a business?
• leaving an unhappy situation?
• taking a new job?
• changing career fields?
• becoming a stay-at-home mom or dad?
• living with authenticity and transparency?
• going back to school?
• relocating?
  
• following a dream?

If so, what’s holding you back? Fear of failure or rejection? Watch this video about “Famous Failures” for inspiration well worth holding onto.

Hang on tight to the feeling you have after watching the video and read part 2 now (risk tolerance) and then click the RSS feed to get part 3 by email – to hear from everyday people who climbed aboard the risk roller coaster of their dreams.

Let’s get the discussion started:

• What risks are you considering?
• What risks have you taken – will you share your story?