Opinion: Great business people perceive risk differently.
I have long believed that taking risks in your career is the way you get ahead because you are able to capture opportunities that others may deem as unfavorable. Those moments where you go out of your comfort zone or expose yourself to failure, are also opportunities to distinguish yourself.
Recently I realized that choosing to take risks is a PRIVILEGE 💯 because it often means you are in situation where you can sustain losses. Some simply cannot afford to take risks which makes them more risk averse, or focused on stability.
I’ve met some people who have taken YOLO 😲 level risks and often I’m scratching my head, how can they do that? Well a lot of these folks first focused on building stability, then made a calculated risk before jumping in.
“I am going to quit my job to start my own business – I’ve saved up enough to pay rent for 12 months in case I fail”
“I am going to borrow $100k from the bank to buy Tesla stock – I’m speculating a 5x return, and if I’m wrong, It’ll take me about 4 years to pay it back”
“I am going to sell my entire TFSA and put it into crypto, I mean if I’m wrong I still have my job to pay my bills”
All true stories I’ve heard first hand.
The biggest risk takers I’ve met are usually from the most stable backgrounds, and for them, it’s not really “risky”, it’s just an opportunity. There’s also the folks that take risks out of pure necessity, in those cases the risks usually outweigh the rewards.