This week’s topic is all about taking chances. I read a quote yesterday that really resonated with me and I had to build this week’s post around it. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge. Leap and the net will appear as they say. You can talk about opportunity until you are blue in the face, or you can rise to the occasion and make it happen. You’re in or you’re out. Fear of the unknown is usually far worse than the reality. It drives me crazy when I hear the excuses that people use to talk themselves out of progress.
“What kind of person would live where there is no daring? I don’t believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all.”
Charles Lindbergh (1902 – 1974)
A perfect example. A real estate investor friend of mine had a recent conversation with one of his family members. The relative said he bought a house 10 years ago that had almost tripled in value. Nothing wrong there! He proceeded to tell my friend that he was nervous the market was in a bubble so he held off buying anything since 2003. There’s your problem. When asked what led to that decision the man said he listened to the news, advice of family members, and other friends who all thought the market was too risky. He wants to invest again now, but guess what? Yep…apparently it’s still too risky!
The lesson? Perform your due diligence and then ACT accordingly. Like Lindbergh wisely indicated, don’t take foolish chances. But take a chance. Had this man searched out the right information and put the right minds around him, he would have built a substantial net worth in the last decade. While he fretted about, my investor friend stuck to his well researched plan, and put several million in the bank.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
Be smart. Create a sound plan. Take a chance.
Ian
Maximizing Your Potential 