Taking Risks. It’s what we’re all about here at Escape Nine to Five. Of course, it depends on your definition of a risk, but traditionally, quitting your dreaded J O B and becoming self sufficient is a risk in itself. You’re probably reading this because you want to pursue a dream, to get involved with an entrepreneurial pursuit that you have longed to do for a long time, or because you want to make some wholesale changes in your life. Most of us stay behind the desk in an office or on a building site or whatever our workplace might be for one reason and one reason only; Fear. Fear that we wont be able to find employment elsewhere, fear that we wont make money elsewhere, fear of what our families will think of us or fear of not being able to put food on the table for our loved ones.

If you’re like me, you’ll be used to more of a cautious approach to life. Trying to do things by the book, trying to do things to the best of your ability and proceeding with caution in all of your endeavours, I’m not a reckless person, and though I do consider myself a risk taker now, it has been one of my biggest obstacles. I’m not saying caution is a bad thing, but being over cautious can be debilitating when it comes to achieving your goals. How can you deal with this and learn to take risks in your life?

1. Think of the worst case scenario. If you’re risking a few thousand on a business venture, think of the worst case if you could lose it all. Is it that bad? Quitting a minimum wage job to pursue a dream? Is it that much to lose if you cant replace your income? Can you get another job as easily? Can you get support from your government. It might not be that bad even if things go belly up.
2. What have you got to lose? Some of the most crippling fear I’ve experienced has been as a young lad living at home with my parents. Really, I had no rational reason to be scared, I had no mortgage, nobody relying on me, and wasn’t risking huge sums of money or resources. It’s all about perspective, what do you really have to lose?
3. Have a plan for failure, but once it’s in place, dont dwell on it. Know what you’re going to do if you fail, and once your plan is in place, leave it there. There’s no point in thinking about failure any more than you need to, but knowing that you can fail and still be okay may be helpful.
4. What if you dont take the risk? Will you beat yourself up about it? Regret it? Sometimes it is better to try and fail than not to try, sounds like a cliche but it really is true; Fail, and dont have regrets about it. You’ll get there in the end. This leads me to my next point.
5. Fall down 6 times, get up 7. An old proverb, but it really does ring true and help in the world of risk taking. Don’t set out to fail, but realise that we are only human and that failure is a part of your path to success. Embrace the struggle, embrace the small failures on your way to that one huge success.