One of my favorite Steve Jobs quotes completely changed the way I thought about risk in my life several years ago – here’s the quote:
“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
Fear of losing something we already have or have been working toward for years is one of the biggest obstacles that keep us from changing our lives for the better.
You may remember that change was easy to handle, the risk relatively small, when we were young and had next to nothing to our name. At that point in life we may have lacked role models, knowledge and experience but risk was not the thing holding us back.
Your Perception Of Risk Means Everything
Ironically, the more we experience and know gives us new, exciting insights into what we may really want to do with our lives but by that time we have more to lose (at least we perceive it that way)…more people depend on us, we have a job, a career or business, we have people we want to impress – a seemingly unending number of things that we find it tougher and tougher to give up to pursue our real passions.
The reality though is that where we will end up – all of these material and status things that we may want to hold onto now won’t mean very much.
Putting risk into perspective for me has changed from “what will I lose if…” to “what will I miss out on if…”
How can I pass up on an exciting career change, growing my own business in line with my passions, teaching my kids the true meaning of following passion without being held back by fear and the possibility of earning much more financially than I can now so that I can employ others, give more to charity and make a bigger difference in the world.
Most days taking risks is scary, but thinking back on Steve Jobs’ quote that in the end the things I feel are at risk now won’t mean anything, yet knowing I didn’t have the courage or fortitude to follow my passions will mean everything.
Risk for me now is failing to overcome short-term fear and anxiety in the pursuit of my true passions in life.
Is your fear of risk holding you back in your life?
