RISK IS THE NEW SAFETY

A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for – John A. Shedd.

Risk is not the word anyone wants to hear. A lot of us are averse to risk because it is scary, uncertain and unpredictable. I often hear friends say, “Play it safe.” Though an advice well intentioned it wouldn’t help in anyway if I were to fulfil my potential.

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.” – Helen Keller

When you stay too long at the shore, you never discover new horizons. Andre Gide said it better when he noted: “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” I have found that taking risk opens us up to new ideas, skills, opportunities and experiences. Risk helps us to develop our strengths and talents. Risk allows us to grow and discover new things about the world and ourselves, which we never would if we have stayed where we were and not dared to venture out.

“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” – Walt Disney

One of the major reasons why people fail to actualise their dreams or achieve their goals is their inability to take risks because of the fear of failure. They fear they would be criticised or rejected if they fail. Fear incapacitates. Most people do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are afraid to try and they are afraid they will fail. Those, who achieve the extraordinary, look beyond their fears, and pursue their dreams, they see failure as outcomes or results, not as failure.

Ancient Greek historian and author, Thucydides, once remarked that “the bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”

French author, adventurer and statesman, Andre Malraux, also observed that: “Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not that one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.”

Mark Twain, the great American novelist, knew about the importance of taking risk when he said, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Any wonder God twice told Joshua to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 9)? I believe you don't possess the promise without it.

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds, is to risk failure. Focused on possibility and not failure. Focus on the vision, the goal and its rewards. Focus on the promise that God has given you. For faithful is He who promised and he also will do it. Only be strong and courageous.

Stay empowered, and elevated. Cheers!

What Real Leaders Don't Do

One thing real leaders don't do is to give excuses and fight for them; they create results. They understand that to fight for one's excuses is to be robbed of power to transform. It is not fighting a good fight.

Just take a listen to some of our civil and political leaders speak on certain issues and your heart will break beyond repair. Instead of proffering solutions to current challenges, they tend to explain away the problems. Real leaders don't make excuses; they create results.

Friend, if you're going to live the life of your dreams, then you have to do away with excuses. For no one ever built a great life on the foundation of excuses. The doorway to greatness is not unlocked by giving excuses however 'legitimate' they may be.

When you cultivate the habit of giving excuses, you rob yourself of enormous power. The more you fight for your excuses and don't do away with them, the more they will own you and rob you of power. The moment you let your excuses go, you step into power.

A lot of the things we proffer as an excuse are creations of our own imaginations. They are illusions, to say the least. Listen to the ancient sage: The lazy man says, “There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the streets!” Proverbs 26:13 (New King James Version)

Excuses negate responsibility. I guess it's one of the reasons why we love to engage in it. When you are faced with a problem, you have to accept responsibility for it and look for ways to turn it into opportunities for change. Apportioning blame is not going to help matters in anyway. It is when you accept responsibility that you step into power.

Yes, it's could be a fact that it wasn't your fault, but blaming others and circumstances isn't going to help you either. It can give you a momentary psychological and emotional relief. It is when you accept responsibility that you will own the situation. Your creative juices will begin to flow as you seek out solutions, not culprits.

Folks who abandoned their pursuits to problems were only interested in such endeavours. When you are committed to a task, you do everything to see to it's definite conclusion. Renowned author and motivational speaker, Art Turock said it better when he noted: "There is a great difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results."

How committed are you to your life vision? how committed are you to the goals you've set for this year?

Don't find an excuse for how little, if any, progress you have made; find a way. Don't make excuses; make a plan and take corrective action. Do take the ultimate responsibility for where you are, and for where you want to be.

Do not rationalise your challenges...Rise up and take charge, Now! No more excuses! You are empowered. Cheerio...