How to take safe risks

(LIFE COACH)
BY AGBOLADE OMOWOLE
IN life, risks are inevitable. The word, ‘risk’ simply refers to the possibility of being exposed to danger, or loss.
As we go through our personal and professional life, we experience joy and sorrow, success and failure, and pains and gains. We may not be able to predict the next moment. That is why life, in itself, is risky.
Take chances. A lot of people are conditioned not to take risk from childhood, and grew up with that mindset. They have been told to always play safe. But great achievers are known for the risk they are taking. Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, risked his life while fighting against the apartheid rule. The 27 years he spent in the prison have paid off.
Step out of your comfort zone. Gone are the days when people wait for success to fall on their laps. If you want to succeed, then you have to struggle for yourself. You have to work hard and pursue your dreams. You have to take risk.
Get relevant knowledge. Before taking that risk, get the fact and figures. About two years ago when there was a boom in the capital market, many people bought shares or equity from quoted companies without caring to know the details about how the stock market works. A lot of amateur investors got their fingers burnt in the process.
Consider the pains and the gains. Before taking that risk, you have to evaluate what you have to lose, and what you stand to gain. If there are chances that you could lose everything, then don’t take that risk.
Live your own life. Don’t take risks based on the fact that others are taking the same risk. Your life is different from their life. D’Banj of Mo’hits records dropped out of the university to concentrate on music. That may not be enough reason for you to drop out of school and focus on music. You have to live your life and let others live theirs.

ASK for what you want. If you want a pay rise, you can tell your boss directly. Your request will get a yes or no answer. If you don’t ask, you risk your potential of earning more money. At worst, your boss will ignore your request. Since you have nothing to lose in this scenario, then you need to take the risk.
Give yourself room to fail. One school of thought says, “if you want something to stand, then you need to risk letting it fall.”
That’s true. No matter how intelligent and experienced you are, unexpected things will happen to you. There is no 100 per cent guarantee that what you venture in will succeed. Expect the best, and prepare for the worst.
Think realistically before taking risk. As a rule of the thumb, if the success ratio is not more than 80 percent, you will have to weigh your options critically, before taking action. That is how to take safe risk.
Don’t take unhealthy risk. It is reasonable to only risk something that in the event you don’t succeed, won’t ruin you financially, physically, or emotionally. You don’t have to risk everything in life.

IN conclusion, I have realized that the key to accomplishing greatness is by taking calculated risk and not reckless gamble. “If you plan to advance in your career, experience fulfilling relationships, earn more money, and achieve your goals sooner, you must plan on taking the respective risks” says Fran Briggs, a Phoenix-based motivational speaker and author.






Harmonising your brain for wealth creation
(Biz tool Kids)
BY BRIDGET OLOTU
WE think, move, run, sleep, walk, work, wake up, cry, write, read, and do virtually everything we do every day by the help of the brain.
It is therefore not surprising that the brain is also involved in the wealth creation process.
The brain is made up of three parts. While the left brain refers to that part of the brain concerned with reading, writing, speaking and logic, the right brain is often associated with pictures, art, music, and other non-linear relationships that require creativity and imagination.
The subconscious brain on the other hand is the most powerful of the three brains because it includes what is called the ‘primitive brain’, which is like an animal’s brain.
It does not think but rather reacts, fights, flees or freezes. It is that intrapersonal intelligence part of man.
It is the subconscious brain that causes an individual to freeze and not take action out of fear of making mistake, or stay at a job for security rather than the love of work.
People think differently when their subconscious is controlled by fear. If people are fearful, they may say, ‘I can’t do that. What if I fail?’ or ‘That’s risky’.
Compare that to a person who might say, “I’ll show them. I’ll get that deal just to prove I can do it.”
People with high intrapersonal intelligence have the ability to control the subconscious brain’s desire to fight, flee or freeze.
If frozen, they may choose to fight. The point is; they have the intelligence to choose the appropriate subconscious response. If angry, they can speak calmly. If afraid, they can confront their fear.

IF I ask, ‘Do you want to be rich?’ most people will say from their logical left brain, “Yes. I really want to be rich.”
The problem is not found in their logical left brain. The problem is the subconscious brain saying, ‘Not you. You’ll never be rich’, or ‘How can you be rich, you don’t have any money?’
So, you see, the subconscious brain wields a tremendous influence on how our lives turn out.
Some people can give you 1,000 reasons why they wouldn’t be rich, can’t go to school, can’t marry, can’t be healthy, can’t survive in a country like Nigeria, while all they need to motivate themselves is to find just one simple reason why they should, and use this single reason to knock down their giant doubts and fears.
It’s the subconscious brain that keeps a man/woman doing a job he hates for 20, 30 years and even retiring on it.
It is the subconscious brain that keeps young men who have been jilted before by the women they loved not to make any attempt to try again because of the fear of being jilted again.
It is one reason that imprisons certain people from making career or business changes because of the fear of failure. In other words, the subconscious brain controls your life regardless of who you are.

IN other words, regardless of what and how you feel, by developing your intrapersonal intelligence, you will be able to control how your life shapes out, especially by doing what you need to do whether you feel like it or not, so you can have what you need to have regardless of whether anybody likes it or not.
Let me end by sharing the story of the owner of Honda. This guy wanted to start manufacturing motor bikes.
He had the skills and training. He built his first garage but during the Second World War, the garage was bombed.
He had to borrow his wife’s jewelleries. He used the money he generated from selling it to build another garage. It was also bombed. He was discouraged and had no money but didn’t give up.
So, he built scooters and commuted with them to work every day. People started demanding for his scooters. With the money he made from selling his scooters, he built a prototype of his motor bike and sent it to the US.
He also wrote 5,000 letters with his hand seeking for buyers. Orders started coming from the US and that was how he started Honda and at a point even went into cars and different products.
Today, you drive assorted types of Honda cars. But remember the Honda brand is a standing vision of a man who refused to be controlled by negative emotions; but who channelled his emotions rightly to fulfil his greatest ambitions.

Olotu is the CEO/Lead Consultant, DEAIM Innovative Resources Ltd., bridgetolotu@gmail.com