How Taking Risks can make you more Successful this Year

If you’re like most people, this New Year, you want to be successful. In fact, you probably want to be more successful this year than you have ever been. While there are several ways to become successful, one sure way is by taking risks. Surprising as that may be, statistics show that risk takers are generally more successful in life. This is because they are always on the lookout for opportunities and grab on as soon as they come. That being said, most of us have a natural aversion for risk taking; which is completely normal. Risks in general take us out of our comfort zones and can even lead to failure. Nevertheless, risk taking is one of the distinguishing characteristics of all successful people. It separates the doers from the dreamers. In our post today, we take an in-depth look at how calculated risk taking can make you more successful this year.

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter defines entrepreneurship as “taking on significant risk, usually financial, in order to build something”. So this means starting a business, running it and becoming successful requires risk taking. Before we continue, we would like to provide you with links to related topics you might find helpful:

1. Five Keys to Learning from Failure
2. Five Ways to Prepare for Success in 2020
3. Eight Rules to Building a Successful Business
4. Seven Secrets of Highly Successful People
5. The Courage to take Calculated Risks

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With that said, let’s take a look at five reasons why risk takers are generally more successful.

Five reasons Risk Takers are more successful

It is true that risk taking can sometimes lead to failure. However, chances are that if you don’t, you will only have marginal success at best. Here are five reasons why risk takers are generally more successful than people who don’t take risks:

1. Risk Takers are not afraid of Failure: The fear of failure is a primary reason for mediocrity. Highly successful people take huge calculated risks. Before taking a business or personal finance risk, ask yourself these questions “What’s the worst that could happen?” and “What’s the best that could happen”. The key here is to minimize potential loss as much as possible while taking calculated risks. While nobody likes to fail, everyone loves to win. However, to win, one must find an acceptable balance between risks and gains.
2. Risk Takers stand out: People who take risks always stand out from the crowd. This is because when others are recoiling in fear, they are usually launching out into the deep waters. Risk takers stand out because they are different. They are unique and have an unusual skill to see what others don’t. Risk takers are trail blazers, path finder’s and as a result, natural leaders.
3. They are very knowledgeable: Knowledge is vital to success and risk-takers have a large knowledge base. They have this knowledge as a result of their experience with planning and executing their goals and also from their failures. With this knowledge, they are able to learn from past mistakes, reduce their risks and capitalize on new opportunities.
4. They learn along the way: Being a risk taker often means being the first to get into a new line of business. As a result, risk takers are leaders who are constantly innovating and finding new ways to get things done. Even when they fail, they are able to gleam tangible learning experiences that they can use later on to succeed.
5. Risk Takers are highly adaptable: Because they are so unique, risk takers are able to adapt easily. When one opportunity comes to an end, they are able to evolve with the changing times and pick up on the next big opportunity.

Four things to know about Risk Taking

A lot has been said about risk takers and why they are so successful. However, how do you become a successful risk taker without losing everything you own? As someone willing to take calculated risks this year, here are five things to know:

1. If you’re an Entrepreneur, you’re already a Risk Taker: Like we saw earlier from Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, entrepreneurship is fundamentally linked to risk taking. This is because starting and growing a business involves investment of finances and human capital. So if you’re an entrepreneur or have a business of your own, you’re already a risk taker.
2. Not all risk-taking ends in Success: The simple truth is that even carefully calculated risks can end up in failure. So when planning, consider what steps you would take if your risky bet doesn’t pay off. At some point or the other, you will take a risk that will fail. By understanding this reality and accepting it, you are able to prepare for it. The best thing to do in such a scenario is to learn from your mistakes and move on.
3. There are different types of Risks: Simply put, different risks produce different rewards. On the other hand, with greater risks, there is also the danger of greater loss. This year, do your research, understand what is at stake and what your potential losses and gains could be. Also understand that there are ambiguous risks that are almost unpredictable because of changing factors such as consumer behavior and economic circumstances. Knowing the difference between these risk types will help you prepare adequately.
4. Taking Risks makes life exciting: What would happen if we never took risks? As you might imagine, it would lead to a monotonous, predictable, boring life. If you decide to take calculated risks this year, you can expect to have a very exciting year. This decision will take you out of your comfort zones and make you wildly successful.

Most of us naturally gravitate away from risky business. In part, this is because of man’s fear of the unknown. In the next section of this post, we take a look at three ways to build up confidence to take calculated risks.

Three ways to build Confidence to take calculated Risks

We started this post by looking at how risk takers are statistically proven to have a greater chance for success. That being said, risk taking can be a very complicated and scary undertaking. So here are three ways to develop your confidence in this area. We believe that the more risks one takes, the easier it becomes to take even more.

1. Prepare, Prepare and do some more to Prepare: Risk taking is not always an exact science. The predictability of success is also usually in percentages, meaning there is always a possibility for failure. What this means is that the best one can do is take calculated risks that have been carefully planned. The good thing is that the more preparation one puts into a plan, the more one discovers opportunities or risks to avoid. So prepare carefully, minimize your losses and take as much risk as you can.
2. Build your Risk Taking Skills: The more risks you take, the better you’ll get at taking them. And the more risks you take, the more positive your experiences will become. One way to increase your confidence in taking calculated risks is by starting off will small, low risk opportunities. As you get rewarded for these smaller risks, you will become better and build your confidence.
3. Realize it’s OK to fail: Understand that with risk taking, there is always a probability for failure. Before proceeding, make plans that cover you in the event of failure. Also, be mentally prepared for the worst case scenario so you know what to do.

Final Thoughts

As we conclude this post, we would like to leave you with some final thoughts. Risk taking is a key to becoming a success. It is particularly useful because it sets you apart from your competition or from those who are too scared. Additionally, when successful, it brings with it huge rewards.

That being said, risk taking does not imply carelessness. Careful planning must be put into decisions about risks to be taken. Also, consideration must be given to the worst case scenario possibilities to ensure that one is not totally devastated by failure.

Are there risks you’ve taken that have led you to success? Feel free to share your thoughts, experiences and comments with us in the comments section below. As always, we would love to hear from you.

Today’s Funny Quote

As is our custom, we conclude this post with a funny quote. Our funny quote today is by Bill Gates, the American Business Magnate and co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.

I choose a lazy person to do a hard job, because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.

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Remember that taking risks can make you a success this year. We encourage you to seriously consider it as you start the year off.

Have a great week ahead and we will see you again next time.

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