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How Much Risk Is Too Much To Take?The ladder was braced against the railings going to the basement. I started climbing up. I had to get to the ceiling and this was my Rube Goldberg way of doing it without having to put up scaffolding. I made it up two or three rungs before coming to my senses. It would be so easy for the railing to break and for me to go tumbling down the stairs.You see I was trying to paint my living room with a cathedral ceiling. I had to get up near the apex at 12 feet. The problem was that there were stairs going to the basement and nowhere to safely put the ladder. So I tried bracing it against the railing before giving up. I was trying to put primer over a quote painted in black that said, “It's not how far you fall, but how high you bounce.” It would have been so ironic for me fall from the ladder while trying to paint over that quote. Believe me, I wouldn't have bounced very high. How much risk is too much? I calculated the risk and found the risk was too high for the reward. I ended up taping a paintbrush to a long pole, and I got the quote painted just fine. Just a little ingenuity. In the book, “Mental Judo” by Lance Lager, he talks about falling also. “In physical judo, practically the first thing you learn is how to fall. … In Mental Judo, as in physical judo, learning how to ‘fall' is important. I don't mean, of course, falling on your rump, but in a figurative sense falling is falling. Life is a series of ups and downs, and none of us is our imperfection can avoid taking a fall from time to time. When you don't reach your goal, when you are rejected or ignored or just outwitted for the moment, you are experiencing a fall. It is extremely important that you learn how to fall gracefully and be able to snap right back up with a minimum of effort and without fear of the next fall or concern about an injured ego. Just as in skiing or ice skating, if you are not falling, you are not learning or trying something new.” We are bound to fall, whether through our own fault or the fault of someone we depended on, be it life at home or in the workplace. What do we do when we fall? Sit and cry? Get mad? Resign ourselves to the fact that this is the way life is always going to be and that success will never come my way? It can be happen in any of these scenarios. I've taken some tumbles myself. A big tumble came last summer when I was doing a job search. I had a good meeting with a company that was looking for someone to do business development for them. I had a very good first interview and was invited back for a second one. The owner of the company called the morning of the second meeting and said he had to postpone the meeting until after the weekend because of time deadlines. Okay. On Monday I called and left a message. No returned call. The next day I tried the phone and an email. Nothing. On Wednesday, I got ahold of the second in command who was in on the meeting. He said I needed to talk with the owner, and that he would call me back. I heard nothing more. I gave one more attempt on Friday and never heard a word. Did I do something to offend them? Did they think I was a loser who couldn't possibly help them? Was I overly naïve and put too many eggs in this one basket? I don't know what happened and may never find out. But what I learned from that experience was to bounce back and keep doing what I needed to do in order to support my family. I decided a while after this incident to restart my business, which is another excellent opportunity to fall. But it hasn't been so far. I've been meeting a lot of new people and getting new clients on a weekly basis. But it is a risk. I was talking with a gentleman who had owned his own business for thirty-five years. He told me, “I didn't go into business for myself to make a lot of money. I just wanted to control my own life.” Life is risky. We are learning in the current economy that it can be risky to even have a day-to-day job with a company. Risk can be fun, and it can be ulcer producing. So, take a bit of a risk right now. It doesn't have to be something big. It takes a while to develop your risk muscles. It can start with little stuff and then move onto something bigger. About the author: Dave Carlson is the owner of Venturewide Internet Marketing, specializing in helping businesses succeed on the Web through search engine optimization and pay per click marketing. He can be reached at 720-922-3124. See his Web site at www.venturewide.com © 2005, Dave Carlson, All Rights Reserved Circulated by Article Emporium Uncover Your Diamond Uncover Your Diamond: “Ignite Your Inner Light” Stress is a natural part of being human. But contrary to popular belief, stress does not have to be destructive. Quite the opposite, stress can be creative. The fact is that everything in life has been created by elements stress... How Much Risk Is Too Much To Take? The ladder was braced against the railings going to the basement. I started climbing up. I had to get to the ceiling and this was my Rube Goldberg way of doing it without having to put up scaffolding. I made it up two or three rungs before coming to my senses. It would be so easy f... If Only . . . She was about 30 years old. A pretty woman to me. She had several lines of deep scars on her face that I assumed were the result of severe injuries caused by a car accident. Or worse, an attack. This disturbed me. I noticed her from my balcony within days of mo... How Would You Like To Have A Razor Sharp Memory? Forgetful? Can't remember where you put things? Honey! Where did I put my damn keys? Do you forget important dates like your…oops! Anniversary? Peoples names, birthdays, places, events, what you studied, etc, all draw a blank? If so,... Letting go and Letting Be “Speaking words of wisdom, “Let it Be” Paul McCartney In Corrogue it is frosty. The earth is heard and unyielding. This reminds me of how our hearts often become. They become cold and we ourselves become frosty. The flow of our energy is blocked. ... The 4 Most Important Tips to Speed Read Faster than Ever Many people, particularly students, would love to be able to soak up information quicker. But before retaining information, they have to go through the first stage of learning, which is reading. For many individuals who are pressed for time, speed reading ... Top Ten Question Prompts Copyright 2005 Writer's Eye Advisory Service Questions can be very effective in helping develop your journal technique. Exploring is part of the fun of journaling. Questions allow you to explore, develop and plan creative ideas, as well as solve problems. Just listen the peo... Choose the right incense burner Incense and incense burners come in many different varieties. While incenses vary in essences and aromas, incense burners vary in materials and shapes. Not only the incense you choose will have an effect on your environment, but the incense burner you use will do so as well. The in... Is This Misconception Blocking Money from Your Life? Copyright 2005 Melissa Quiter Are you suffering from the misconception that the only way to have great wealth in your life is to be lucky, privileged, entitled or hard working? If you are nodding yes, you now know why you don't have exactly what you desire in your lif... Why she doesn't call you back The main reason she does not call you back probably because you are doing something that doesn't agree with her. You may be coming at the whole relationship from the traditional or according behavior, and this may be leading her to just drop you as soon a she can. She h... Learn Faster; Change is Coming Challenges posed by recent economic and market shifts, though predicted for some time, have instigated chaos in the lives of many business professionals and factory workers alike, not to mention just about everyone else who is paying attention. Instead of embracing change and allow... Lectio Divina Lectio divina is a very useful and practical discipline for spiritual growth. Rooted in ancient monasticism, the practice is a fourfold cycle: Reading, Meditation, Prayer, and Contemplation. In fact, the term itself means “sacred reading.” Reading. Lectio divina begins ... Turning Scarcity Thinking into Abundance Thinking: Hurricane Katrina's Lesson for the Rest of Us Copyright 2005 Alicia Forest The devastation that has rocked the Gulf Coast recently is almost unimaginable, isn't it? I know these are extraordinary circumstances, but the looting that has been taking place has made me think about why some people take whatever they want and... Ten Reasons To Have an Inspired, World Changing Goal Copyright 2005 Coco Fossland In a nutshell, having an Inspired, World-Changing Goal is the difference between idly walking along a path leading to nowhere and taking a purpose-filled journey to somewhere. But before you can really consider why you need an Inspired, ... The Art of Rest I recently spent four days alone in a rustic cabin on a bluff on the wild Washington coast. I worked on my novel, read, napped, did yoga, ate huge salads, sat in the sunshine, and watched eagles eat crab scavenged from the ocean's edge. It was one of the most truly restful retreats...
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