There’s risk in everything we do – and as they sometimes say, the greater the risk the greater the reward. While I’m not a proponent of extremely risky behavior – it is beneficial for us to wade waters of the unknown.

But, doing so is extremely uncomfortable you may be thinking! Improvisation involves the ability to take risks while understanding that some things won’t work out. You have to accept the fact that you will fail—but through failure, you grow. If we just take the easy path, we miss out on life – we don’t put ourselves out there to explore what we can really do.

I’m cautious about life-threatening risks, of course, but one must consider the ramifications of all risks. I’ve become much stronger in my ability to assess them. Being an accountant is challenging, especially when you have ADHD and a bit of dyslexia. It’s like hiring Robin Williams to do your taxes—“good mooorning, IRS!” But, it’s worked out and I’ve been successful despite the perceived “risks.”

Margie Warrell, a contributor to Forbes and author of Brave, outlined four reasons why we tend to be risk averse: we over-estimate the probability of something going wrong; we exaggerate the consequences of what might happen if it does go wrong; we under estimate our ability to handle the consequences or risk; and we discount or deny the cost of inaction, and sticking with the status quo.”

It’s hard to go out on a limb and reach the fruit sometimes – it can be terrifying. But, all successful people have something in common: they took a number of risks along the way, benefitting from not only the successes, but the failures of those risks and decisions.

So with that, here are some inspirational quotes from famous individuals that we all know took great risks and leaps of faith:

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller

 

“A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is not what it is built for.” – Some attribute this to Albert Einstein

 

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk…In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg

 

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” – Both Henry Ford and Tony Robbins

 

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

 

“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” – Ellen DeGeneres

Feel motivated yet? Risks are important, they’re necessary to your success. Learn how to more comfortably take them with the application of improvisation. Take the Yes, And Challenge. Sign-up at www.petermargaritis.com and share your experience on Twitter and Facebook using #YesAndChallenge.