Positive Risk Book Excerpt

from Chapter 2

Why a Book on Positive Risk?
No mountains can be climbed, no hearts won and
no victories found without risk.

Positive Risk is an attitude and a life philosophy. It creates a shift away from the negative view that so many of us were taught. This book will help change your perceptions regarding risk taking so that you can begin to better understand how valuable and constructive risks really are. Many of us go to great lengths to avoid risk, yet in reality it is through taking intelligent risks that we grow, learn and achieve our dreams, goals and ambitions. By taking well thought out chances we make a difference in not only our own lives but also in the lives of others. By adopting a Positive Risk perspective you will begin to see new possibilities in yourself and the world around you.

Your mindset becomes what you think about.
What you think about becomes what you talk about.
What you talk about becomes what you do.
What you do becomes your direction.
Your direction becomes your character.
Your character becomes your future.

Smart women use passion to break through their fears
This book will also help you understand how smart women are able to harness their passion and use it to their advantage to help accomplish some amazing things. Positive Risk will help you tap into your own passion to give you the courage to take those risks that are important to you.
By understanding and building your passion it will become easier to set yourself up for success. We will be talking more about passion throughout the entire book with a special emphasis on it in chapters, Your Courage Ratio and Build Your Courage.

A Positive Risk Mindset
Imagine that at the end of a beautiful walk through the woods you found your sweater covered with those impossibly difficult to remove burrs. What would be your reaction? Would you be totally irritated over the fact that the burrs were so embedded? Or would you be curious; interested to know how those little burrs got so attached? Would your frustration grow to the point of throwing out your sweater? Or, would your curiosity grow into a passionate interest to the point that you?d get out a magnifying glass to investigate? Would you end up out the cost of the sweater? Or, become a multi-millionaire by inventing Velcro? Positive Risk means keeping an open mind, staying curious and finding the wisdom in every situation. It is finding ways to tap into your passion so that you begin to create your own opportunities.

Risk is not an opportunity to be avoided.
Risk is an unavoidable opportunity.

Positive Risk Cycle
As you attempt new things, you find new talents. As you find new talents, you discover greater success. With greater successes, your confidence builds. As you become more confident, you’re willing to risk new things. This, in essence, is Positive Risk cycle. The reality is that if you choose the right risk and you take it in the smartest way possible, even if that risk doesn?t turn out as planned it usually still turns out by creating a new opportunity.

Stephanie always loved movies so she decided she wanted to become an actress. She was scared and it felt very risky to walk into her first local acting class. After a couple of classes she decided that even though she liked acting it wasn’t really her thing. During one class she met Steve who was attending the Colorado Film School. That sounded really interesting, maybe she’d like to make movies. So she applied to the school and was accepted. There were some required classes that she had to take and one was ‘Introduction to Directing’. She really enjoyed the entire process of directing a film. Then she was required to actually produce a short film. That’s when she got her first taste of editing. That?s when the bolt of lightening hit for her. She was a natural at editing and totally fell in love with the process. Soon she’ll graduate with plans to move to Hollywood.

What would have happened if Stephanie had never taken the risk of trying that first acting class? Would she have ever found her real passion in editing? Would she have taken another path always regretting that she had not become an actress? When she moves to Hollywood will her first editing job lead her to another passion? It?s hard to say; however, with each new risk we are willing to take we start a new Positive Risk Cycle. We learn more about ourselves; we find new likes and dislikes and we uncover new skills and passions.

Everyone has hopes, talents and dreams that require us to risk. Deep inside we want to make a difference, not just in our own lives but also in the lives of others. Just as we want to give more, we want more out of life. Positive Risk is how you can create the meaningful life you want. Success is hard-won victories achieved by ordinary people taking one risk at a time toward their goal.

“Far better it is to dare mighty things,
to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure,
than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither
enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt

Appreciative Inquiry Perspective
When I consult with clients on achieving their strategic agendas I use an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) model. AI is a positive based change management process. Simply put, it is the art of looking at the positive within an organization to identify its core strengths, talents and passions. This is quite different from the traditional deficit approach that focuses on what’s wrong, why it’s wrong and what we should stop doing. Most of us have been using this negative (what isn’t working) approach for so long that to shift from a deficit base to a positive base feels quite radical. However, the measurable increases in results are dramatic when we shift to a positive focus.

Positive Risk incorporates several AI components. This book will help you uncover your positive core which is made up of your own unique strengths, talents and passions. By understanding your positive core you will be able to push through those fears that hold you back so that you can achieve your goals and dreams.