True “success stories” understand the new rule of risk. The old rule, simply put, asked the question, “What is the risk I’m taking if I do this?” while the new rule begs a bigger threshold question: “What is the risk I’m taking if I don’t do this?”
Not doing something is oftentimes the bigger risk… especially as it relates to one’s quest for success, significance and achievement.
Mark Twain said it best, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”
I’m often reminded of a French sculptor I knew when I was a young high school student growing up on Long Island, New York. The father of one of my school mates, I regularly visited the artist’s salon to observe his creative process. I have always been intrigued by creative genius, and it was both joy and inspiration to watch him transform a block of stone into art.
As much a philosopher as he was an artist, Eric Neumann was a little man with an enormous talent. He always wore a little blue beret, invariably had a glass of wine handy and worked on his craft while listening to Mozart or Bach. Classical music
constantly flowed through his little studio he called “the laboratory.”
One day, I visited Mr. Neumann while he was crafting a sculpture of an eagle out of granite. I arrived at that terrific time in the sculpting process when Neumann was finishing his sculpture by chiseling out the beak of the bird… the obvious final touch in his project.
He looked at me and said in his marvelous, raspy French accent, “Ira, this is my moment of truth. Although I know that in order to shape the beak properly, I must hammer the chisel with vigor, I also know that if I hit that stone in the wrong spot and in a haphazard manner, I will fracture the rock and destroy a sculpture I’ve been working on for months. However, my young friend…” he paused, sipped some red wine, smiled and continued, “…if perchance, I strike it right, I’ll have completed a gorgeous, majestic granite bird with a perfect, royal bill. Isn’t it just invigorating? Can you feel my excitement?”
Excitement? No way! I couldn’t bare to watch him pound his chisel on the rock. I didn’t feel invigorated at all. I was apprehensive. I was concerned. My stomach was in knots. Strains of Mozart strings seemed to be screeching in the background to a crescendo just as the artist delivered his spirited blow with his chisel and chipped off just the right amount of excess stone to complete an incredible, regal bird’s beak.
“Success!” he screamed. “Wow!” I added and “whew” I felt!
The lesson was wonderful. By taking a calculated risk, the artist crafted a marvelous sculpture of a majestic eagle out of a bland, cold block of gray stone.
Success is all about taking calculated risks. There can be no reward without taking a risk.
In his masterpiece, Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau had no reservation in describing his hatred for the railroad that passed his little hut located in the woods midway between Concord and Lexington, Mass.
“That train! That train!” Thoreau would say every time the locomotive chugged and snorted past his house. Not only was the train a painful reminder of the civilization Thoreau tried to escape by moving into the forest adjacent to Walden Pond, but he also hated what the railroad represented.
You see, Thoreau described a wonderful, beautiful, picturesque walking path that paralleled the railroad track and spanned from Lexington to Concord. He just couldn’t understand why anyone would want to ride on a churning, wood-burning metal vehicle as opposed to walking the path on the steam of their own human engine.
He guessed that many people took the train to avoid coming in contact with wild dogs, mountain lions and an occasional bear that inhabited the forest. Still, he was saddened that anyone who traveled by rail through the woods would never experience seeing the spectacular foilliage that the path led through.
The author pointed out that the very same woods that offered potential danger also provided travelers the wonderful opportunity to see what he viewed as “…the world’s most fascinating, beautiful flowers.”
Such is the case with most risk propositions.
If you avoid risk and take the easy, safe route akin to the Lexington locomotive regularly condemned by Thoreau, you’ll typically be spared danger and harm. However, if you take the risk, calculated risk at that, and walk paths that clearly offer terrific beauty, success and opportunity, you’ll come out ahead.
Again, ask yourself “What is the risk I’m taking if I don’t do this?”
Sure, when you take the train, you’ll miss a chance meeting with a mountain lion but sadly, you’ll miss the wonderful opportunity to experience life’s “…fascinating, beautiful flowers.”
Trite, but true, no risk… no reward.
Ira Blumenthal is a business consultant, a Georgia resident, a best-selling author, a globally renowned public speaker, a university educator and a college Lacrosse coach. Ira welcomes inquiries and can be reached at Ira@Iraspeak.com. His web site is www.IraSpeak.com
