But What If I Didn’t?

But What If I Didn’t?

Most people assess risk by asking questions about what could go wrong. This might be about finances, reputation, ego, relationships, lost time, and so forth. Fair enough.

But few people assess risk by asking how they’d feel if they didn’t go forward. What about the lost opportunity, experience, thrill, breakthrough, and so on? What if the Wright Brothers didn’t get into that rickety machine and fly for a few seconds? Someone else, in short order, would have.

Lost opportunity—for individuals and businesses—is the most overlooked risk of all. Businesses have turned down the first copying machines, jet-powered aircraft, and ballpoint pens. Individuals have turned down great journeys, passionate professions, and loving relationships. Too often the risk of not doing something exceeds the risk of doing it.

I went out on my own 35 years ago, having been fired, with no one else’s Million Dollar Consulting to read. That was a huge risk. But not nearly as great as finding another job and becoming a corporate prisoner of war.