Courage and Risk

It's a simple truth - anything you do involve risk.

• To drive a car is to risk having a wreck.
• To apply for a job is to risk not being hired
• To try out for a play is to risk not getting the part.
• To enter college is to risk flunking out.
• To smile is to risk that no one will smile back.
• To love is to risk rejection and hurt.
• To speak is to risk that no one will listen.
• To hope is to risk despair.
• To dream is to risk appearing the fool.
• To climb is to risk falling back down.

One ingredient I've noticed in the personality of almost every successful person I know is the courage to risk failure. To try is definitely to risk failure, but what is your alternative? To do nothing, have nothing, and be nothing. When you do absolutely nothing you've avoided failure, but you also have avoided success. Anything of importance in life involves risk; if you don't try you can't do. Don't be afraid to reach for your dreams. As Will Rogers once said, "You've got to go out on a limb sometimes, because that's where the fruit is!"