Risky Business

Risky business, this life, if you intend to really live it rather than sitting on the sidelines in fear of the day it ends. All the deliciousness of life lies in the risk you’re willing to experience. The discomfort, the stretching, the reaching beyond your illusion of safety is where the fun really is. Life is messy and the sooner you accept that, the easier it is to play, create and enjoy it. Trying to keep everything neat, practical and comfortable is, well, boring. None of you wants to be boring, I’m sure of it.

So, as I sit here in New York City, having taken my kids on our first big trip, I notice how leaving the safety of their home has shaken them up a bit. Being in a new and unfamiliar place, doing things we don’t do at home like ride the bus and train and walk in bustling streets is really challenging their feelings of safety and security and forcing them to adapt and readjust. This is the challenge we all face when taking risks and living outside of what we know and are familiar with. I would like to set my kids up for a life lived out of their comfort zone, so I hold to the knowing that although it makes them uncomfortable, this experience will grow them in many ways. It’s what I can do for them while they’re in my charge, so they have the opportunity to live an expanded and large life experience, because in every risk they take are they challenged to call forth all the greatness within them. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I share with you today, some inspiring words on why risk taking should be a way of life for us all. Some of these I have used to remind me over the years and some are recent discoveries. Hope they speak to you and you will get out and take some risks you’ve been avoiding.

Risk

byAnaïs Nin

And then the day came, when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to Blossom.

To Risk by William Arthur Ward

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool, To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out to another is to risk involvement, To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return, To live is to risk dying, To hope is to risk despair, To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live. Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom. Only a person who risks is free.

The pessimist complains about the wind; The optimist expects it to change; And the realist adjusts the sailRiskby Michelle MckeeThere are no guarantees Life throws things at you You can catch or miss them But they will come, ready or notI always looked for the real thing Never trusting in the possibility Risk-taking not my forte Staying safe at all costs

Even playing it safe is not certain Safe has hurt me Zero risk gets zero gain Sometimes playing it safe costs you more

It has me, In not fighting the battle you may lose the war In not believing in a dream You may never sleep peacefully again

So let go of the fear Reach out for the flame So what if you get burned Better that then numb for life

Better to remember passion and joy Along with the pain and tears Then to have no memories worth Remembering

So to hell with safe I am going to gamble and bet Until I win back everything I lost And my life is what it was meant to be