Positive Risks: Your Ticket to New Growth

[image error] We live in an era of constant change and transition.

The lifestyle our parents had has vanished. We have a 24/7 world now, a global economy, and we must manage our own careers and/or businesses on own own, continually master new technologies, and seek to keep our work/life balanced to minimize our stress levels. We are on our own with mind-boggling options to choose from.

This is why it is so important to learn how to continually take positive risks to stay one step ahead of the game.

To risk means to sail around a cliff. When we head around a cliff, we don’t know what we will find. That’s why I teach people how to take calculated risks—which are risks that are well researched and have a strategy. For example, I have a client who decided to let go of her high paying job and become an interior designer. We did our research and found her target market and surveyed them. Her clients wanted her to take the lead on all the designs, shop for them, and even accessorize for them. They wanted to delegate 90% of the job and just have executive sign off, as they were busy doing other things. So because my client was not a mind-reader, we had to be sure and develop a precise assessment process to avoid do-overs. We got her a mentor in the field, signed her up for a fabulous certificate program, and we developed all kinds of business flow forms. She was anxious in the beginning and had to learn special sales skills for this market, but she started making a profit within 6 months. She worked the plan.

So what challenges in your life do you need to tackle? Facing the truths about what is causing you stress or unhappiness and fixing it improves your quality of life and protects your health. So often, fear causes us to deny the need for change. We want to just hide under the bed and eat cookies and forget about it. Or we try to convince ourselves that a bad situation really isn’t so awful, which is a lie. I saw a lovely young teacher recently who can’t stand her unethical principal, but is afraid to leave her job as it is “secure.” After a little digging, I discovered that there was an issue on the town ballot to close her school and lay off the staff that was going to be voted on in 8 weeks and had a lot of support. In reality, she needed to be networking like mad to find a new position. Her feeling of security was an illusion. In reality, she needed to step up to the next level in her career and become a department head, and that terrified her. So we had to psych her up for management training and help her to find a new positive work culture.

So, what positive risks do you need to take this year? What illusions do you need to let go of?

We look forward to your comments.