You don’t achieve success by failing to take risk. Fear is what inhibits people from being successful. Most people are afraid of failing so they never really try. They stay locked in a career or position that is beneath their abilities and aptitudes. They never realize their potential because they are afraid to chase their dreams. They are underpaid and underutilized but never leave their positions because of fear. Fear is so crippling that it can keep you trapped in a substandard life if you allow it.
Fear is a negative emotion that can be real or imagined. This is what makes fear so stifling. Fear can be an imaginary perceived threat in the mind that stops you from taking action in the present moment. Fear can cause you to miss out on a life changing opportunity. Fear comes a variety of ways in business. It can be the:
- fear of making a mistake.
- fear of losing money.
- fear of being wrong.
- fear of the unknown.
- fear of failure.
Start Living With No Regrets
The biggest mistakes are not made by making a bad decision like selecting the wrong investment or wrong business. The biggest mistakes come from inactivity. It is when you allow fear to paralyze you into inactivity and do absolutely nothing. You don’t invest enough. You don’t start the business. You don’t seek a promotion. You don’t go back to school. You don’t learn a new skill. You don’t try. Doing nothing is worse than failing. When you fail, at least you know that you made an effort, an attempt. When you do nothing, you always have to live with wondering what if. What if I had tried? There is no worse feeling than living a life of regret.
Move Forward In The Face Of Failure
Remember that the fear of failure is only paralyzing if you allow it to be so. The key to becoming a risk taker is to overcome your fears by taking action. You cannot wait for feelings of fear to dissipate. You have to move forward even while being afraid. Risk takers have the courage to take action even while feeling afraid.
The business that you have been thinking about – Start that business now!
The stocks that you have been thinking about buying – Start investing now!
The passive income that you want to generate – Start producing multiple streams of income now!
The financing that you need to become an entrepreneur – Apply for that loan now!
The executive position that you have been dreaming about – Apply for that new position now!
The successful mindset requires moving forward in the face of fear and possible failure. You have to take risks in order to get rich. Playing it safe does not lead to riches. You have to take intelligent well-thought out and well researched calculated risks. Risk is directedly associated with returns. The rate of return that you should expect to receive is based on the level of risk that you are willing to take.
Too many people who fail to achieve success because they play it safe in life. They are afraid to risk the $1,000 or $2,000 that they have saved. They park it in a low interest bank account and refuse to invest it in the stock market or use the funds to start a business. They say, “I cannot afford to lose any of my money”, when the truth is they really do not have any money to lose. All great entrepreneurs and investors take risk.
If you park your money in a bank and only buy safe guaranteed investments, you will never make much money. Investors who generate the greatest returns take the risk of buying the next Facebook, the next Amazon, the next Google. Entrepreneurs are willing to give up a comfortable life to pursue the chance at making their business a success.
Become A Contrarian
Risk takers are contrarian in their behavior. They run the opposite way of the crowd. Risk takers invest in real estate in the midst of a recession. Risk takers continue to buy stocks when the market is crashing. Risk takers start a business when everyone is telling them not to do it. Risk takers invest in new markets that others are afraid to get into. Risk takers know that high levels of risk bring high levels of returns. Any investment that can lose a lot of money also has the potential to multiply it 10, 20, 100 times itself.
Stop Fearing Failure
Risk takers do not fear failure because they know that failure produces greater knowledge and experience. Every failure just brings you one step closer to success. Each failure teaches you which missteps to avoid and enables you to locate the right path to take. The most successful people are tenacious and persistent. The risk taker fails and gets back up again and again and again. They never give up. Bankruptcy, rejection, denials, criticisms, and losses do not inhibit them. They are just launching points that are used to propel future millionaires to success. If you want to be successful, transform your mindset from a pessimistic mentality that focuses on the obstacles to an optimistic mindset that focuses on the opportunity.