Monday Mindset: Opportunity is Risk

A lot of us will stay in our comfort zone , and I think that that happens because most of us , human nature , we want to stay comfortable . We don't like venturing into the unknown , the discomfort , all of that stuff , and so we wait to see , like , okay , I got to figure it all out first , I got to eliminate all the risk first .

But if we do that , a lot of the times the opportunity will likely have passed us by , and so what I want to do is I want to dive into this a little bit , and then I want to talk about how you can leverage it to elevate your life , to change your life a little bit . So opportunities and risks really are like two sides of the same coin .

When a big opportunity presents itself , it's often going to come with a certain level of uncertainty and potential downside that you don't know . You don't know what that potential downside might be , and for us that can be intimidating and most people hesitate .

Most people are going to wait for that perfect moment when all the risks are gone and everything is in the clear . And when we do that , the opportunity is gone . And opportunities really are these dynamic and time-sensitive things .

They require us to act , to take that leap of faith , to step outside of the comfort zone , and if we spend too much time overanalyzing and overthinking , we miss it . And I think a lot about some of my own choices in my life , of risks that I've taken and the universe has always rewarded me and that could be my perspective that I've chosen to take right .

Life is choice and seeing that , okay , this was a big risk and it didn't work out the way I wanted and it served me in some higher capacity that I may not know right now or that I'll find out sometime in the future . And I think about when I left teaching . That was a big risk . I didn not know right now or that I'll find out sometime in the future .

And I think about when I left teaching . That was a big risk . I didn't know anything about selling radio advertising . I still don't . I was probably the worst employee they ever had , but it was a huge risk to leave the classroom . And then also , when I left radio advertising , that was a big risk to leave too .

But I've always kind of lived my life from the perspective of leap and the net will appear , because I just trust that it's all working out in my favor , even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes . A lot of the times I tell myself the story that it is this is serving my greater good , my higher purpose , my higher self .

So , even though it feels like this risk wasn't worth it Maybe , but at the end of the day it probably is worth it , right , because it's all working together in your favor . And I think that that's just a whole mindset shift that has taken me a long time to really be comfortable with and sit in , and sometimes , you know , there are still moments of doubt .

But I also truly , truly believe that everything in life is happening for us . So I want to talk about how can we embrace this risk , how can we be okay with that risk ? Well , first , I think it's about taking a different perspective and view of risk .

Could you see risk instead of a scary thing , a thing that is completely unknown , a thing that could be harmful . Maybe we could look at risk as this is a door to growth .

Taking this risk is a door to learning , because when we step into the unknown , when we take that risk , we challenge ourselves , we expand our capabilities , and that is where true growth happens in our lives .

By embracing risk , we position ourselves to learn to adapt in ways that , had you stayed in your comfort zone , you never would have been given that opportunity . And what I want to say with this too , is when we take the risk and we're pushed outside of our comfort zone and we grow , we now have a new basis , point right . We now have a new denominator .

So things that were once really hard for us are now super easy . And I'll give you an example from running EB from the business .

I remember how hard it was for me to learn about the differences between a 1099 contractor versus an employee versus a non-exempt employee versus an exempt employee , contractor versus an employee versus a non-exempt employee versus an exempt employee and all of these rules .

And I sat before that when I had to learn that in the business , and it was this massive mountain that I was like how on earth am I going to climb this ? How on earth am I going to understand the ins and outs of all of the different state laws when it comes to employees , right ?

Employee protections , which , of course , I want to give to my team and I remember sitting there being like I can't do this . And now , because I have now a new baseline for understanding that , it's easy for me , right ? Someone can come ask me a question about a 1099 contractor and I can give you the answer in a heartbeat .

But when I first stepped into the unknown , I didn't know anything and it was hard and that's okay , and I think , being okay with the difficulty because I know that it's going to lead to growth and it's going to lead to learning and it's going to serve me in building the best version of myself , then risk isn't even risky anymore .

Risk is exciting because it's going to change me . It's going to make me a better person . Exciting because it's going to change me . It's going to make me a better person . The second thing that I want to talk about here is that risk-taking can lead to great rewards , regardless of how you think about it .

So , whether or not that's some sort of financial reward or some sort of personal reward or some sort of happiness reward , whatever it might be . That's up to you to view it from that perspective that , even if it's a risk , that quote unquote didn't work out in your favor .

Well , did it actually work out in your favor in some capacity , in some greater reward ? I had this conversation with my son about losing and he was at football camp last week and I picked him up and he was not in a good mood and I'm like what's going on , bud ? And he's like we lost the championship game . I hate football .

And I was like whoa , first of all , we've got an attitude problem . I didn't say that to him , but we did have a conversation around . Okay , well , how does losing actually serve us ? Right , if we always won , winning would become redundant . It wouldn't have that allure anymore when we also wouldn't learn anything about ourselves .

I remember my dad always saying to me growing up losing builds character and it's about how you lose that matters .

So , even though risk-taking can lead to great reward , even if that great reward isn't what you thought it was going to be , perhaps just like losing is actually winning this , whatever that risk is , that maybe isn't the quote unquote great reward that you thought it was going to be .

Actually , that is the reward , right , and I want you to think about , like entrepreneurs or artists or leaders , people who've achieved great things in life . However you choose to define great things , maybe great things to you looks like someone who has a wonderful marriage , or whatever it might be . It doesn't have to be achievement based , right .

Achievement can look like anything . Achievement could be the happiest person you know , right ? However you choose to define that . But what I think about these people and when I look at these people , these people didn't wait until everything was certain .

People take bold steps despite those risks , and that willingness to take risks is often what sets the goods apart from the greats . That the greats are the ones who are allowing themselves to achieve and seize remarkable opportunities that the goods just simply won't . So just an interesting perspective . I think around that .

And then the third thing that I love about taking risks is that it builds resilience . Gosh , that is so something our students need . That's so something we need as humans . In today's day and age , we lack this resiliency that used to exist .

Every single time you take a risk , no matter what it is , whether you succeed or you fail , but more often , when you fail , you become stronger , you become more resilient , you learn how to navigate that uncertainty and you learn how to bounce back from setbacks .

That resilience is crucial for long-term success and , quite frankly , happiness , because not everything is always going to go the way that we want it to . Happiness , because not everything is always going to go the way that we want it to right .

But if you look at it of okay , that's what I wanted , that's not what I got , either you get what you want or you get the lesson that you need in order to ultimately get what you want . So how can we develop the courage to take risks and seize opportunities ?

I want to give you a couple strategies to help you embrace risk and really make the most of life's big opportunities . Number one and hopefully you're picking up on it on the way that I've kind of phrased this whole Monday mindset is that you've got to shift your mindset .

Instead of viewing risk as something to avoid , see it as a great thing , it's an exciting thing , it's a necessary component of growth and success . So embrace the idea that risk is this integral part of pursuing our dreams and that risk might be a risk to move across the country .

That risk might be a $10,000 investment , that risk might be I don't know what it is , you name it Something that seems scary and that's okay and we can do it anyway because , no matter what happens , you are going to be okay . No matter what , you're going to be okay .

And it wasn't until I kind of this is off topic but it wasn't until I came to a place in my life where I looked around at just all of the things . You know , we have so much stuff , we're such consumers , right , we're conditioned to be like that .

And I looked around and I thought about everything that I had , everything that I physically had , and it wasn't until I became okay with losing absolutely every . If I lost everything , but I still had my friends , I still had my family , I still had my friends , I still had my family , I still had my son , I still had my relationships and I was happy .

Even if I lost everything , I'd be okay , I would be okay and so will you , no matter what . That is a powerful , special , peaceful place to operate from life in . So shifting your mindset and viewing risk as something that is great , that's positive , that's a key component of growth and success . Then the other thing with risks is you can take calculated risks .

While it's important to embrace risk , yes , you can also be strategic about it . You can be wise to be strategic . So do your homework , gather relevant information , weigh the pros and cons . Then you can take action with a clear understanding of what potential outcomes might be right . I always look at good , better , best , what is the worst case scenario ?

And I look at the worst case scenario . I'm like , meh , okay , I'll be fine , right . So what ? I'll be okay no matter what happens , right ?

So the only thing with calculated risks I cannot remember the study , but I read this study that you get to a point where you have too much information that you actually can't make a decision , that your decision actually is now skewed because you've gathered too much data .

And I cannot what it is , and if I find it I'll put it into the show notes , but it was so fascinating . It was like so many people get stuck in the research of making the decision that they gather too much data and it hinders their ability to ever even make a decision to begin with .

And then the last thing that I wanna say here with this is that start small , you know if taking big risks . Whatever big means to you , big is going to be defined as something different by the person sitting next to you than it is for you .

If taking big risks feels overwhelming , you can just start with smaller ones , gradually build your risk tolerance by stepping out of your comfort zone in maybe more manageable ways that feel a little bit more comfortable for you , that don't feel as scary for you , and then over time , you start to just become more comfortable with being uncomfortable , because that's

just what you do , that's just how you operate in the world . And I think about this from myself , from my perspective of leading EB and all of the risky decisions that I've made over the years of investing a lot of money back into the company big risks to .

Maybe we'll see what happens , but I believe in the vision that we have at EB , I believe in the mission that we're doing , and so it's like those risks totally outweigh or the reward rather totally outweighs any of the risks that I'm taking .

Right , and so I , because I do I'll get to a point I'll be like , oh my God , I don't sleep at night , I'm stressing about , you know just the investments of the things that we're doing , especially with the build of the portal and just how much that costs the business .

Like that costs a lot of money for EB to do and we don't have investors , I don't have foundations supporting us , because I want to be able to make decisions that are best for our teachers , not decisions that are best for investors or for a board or people who have some sort of ulterior motive or another vested interest in what we're doing .

And so there have been plenty of times where I've been up at night concerned like is this risk worth it ?

And then I think about the why , and then I think about the outcome , and then I think about the impact , and then I think about the people whose lives will change and it's like , yeah , duh , of course it's worth the risk , right ?

So by implementing some of these strategies , I hope that you can start to just develop the mindset , the perspective shifts and the skills needed to embrace risk , start to seize those opportunities , and just remember that the biggest opportunities often come with some of the greatest uncertainties , and if you wait for the perfect moment for all of the risks to be

eliminated , you may miss out on a chance to achieve something truly remarkable in your life , like think about the moments in your life when you took the leap of faith and it paid off . Leap and the net will appear .

Those moments came with their fair share of risks , but they also brought significant rewards peace , joy , happiness , whatever that is for you , and so I want you to keep that in mind as you move forward and you face new opportunities . You know , don't let fear hold you back . Make decisions from love , not from fear .

All right , you guys , I hope that was helpful for you . Let me know if it was . Share with somebody , if you loved it , and we'll see you guys next week on the podcast . Here's to another great week of living intentionally .