I've taken many risks over the course of my life. Risks in my personal life and risks in my career. Some risks proved to be well worth taking. For example, I resigned from a well-paying government job to become an independent business person. That scary decision led to many new and wonderful experiences. It enabled me to choose, to some degree, who I worked for and what I worked on. Financially, I would probably have been better off staying with the government job but. as the cliche goes, 'money isn't everything'. Being an entrepreneur gives one a feeling of freedom. And, to me, that's very important.
Sometimes, you have to take chances because you want to become better at something. Sometimes, the decision is made for you and you simply make the best of the new situation. Either way, you have to gamble that it will all work out for the best. You also have to realize that you may have made a mistake. A mistake that cannot be fixed. I have to admit that, the older I become, the less I want to take risks. Maybe, I've become more set in my ways. Or, maybe, I've become more selective in what I want to risk.
There are some things that are not worth trying. I've learnt that lotteries and bingos are a joke. Sure, some people win and are suddenly rich. But, most people are simply throwing away their money to the government or some other organization. Same thing holds true for casinos. They are there to make money for the people that run them, not for the people who hope to win some money.
Gamblers may win the occasional 'pot of gold' but, overall, they lose, sometimes everything that they worked so hard for all their lives. I guess we all know someone who got the gambling fever and ended up losing their home and savings. Sadly, people addicted to gambling rarely can control themselves.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that some risks are worth taking and some are not. One must choose wisely ...
Risk taking and gambling are two different things. There is some control in risk taking like your dream to be your own business person. Gambling can be just throwing money away. Unless there is a strict limit on how much is spent. Some people never take a risk. I have worked with some people who have had the same job all their lives at the same place. I know from Adolph being in business and my public sector jobs that the risk in private business is greater. There is also the awareness however that a living can be made independently of a large company. Selling yourself and your product may not always be big bucks but it can put food on the table!
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