To have hope you must take risks. To have hope you must take action. To have any outcome worthwhile you must take risks. When you really think about it, our every action is at risk because there aren’t any guarantees. What I’ve learned is that the more risks you take, no matter how small, you’ll accumulate enough faith in yourself to plow through most challenges life offers every single day!

Okay. Let’s talk about risk. You will risk an awful lot to act on the things that are most important to you. If someone you love were drowning, you might risk your life to save him or her. Or if you believe strongly in justice, you might risk ridicule to stand up for someone who is being treated unfairly. All risks,…reaching out, testing yourself, trying new things, accepting challenges- involve putting your values on the line.

Sometimes the greatest risk may not be climbing the steepest mountain or sailing around the world, alone. It may be more risky to tell someone you care about that you are lonely, or to say, I’m sorry. There are many kinds of risks in life,….emotional, intellectual and physical. The IMPORTANT ones are those that help you grow and express your values.

The following examples I’ve compiled are risks we should learn to take in order to challenge ourselves and discover who we really are. For example:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. (so what!)

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. (do it anyway!)

To reach out for another is to risk involvement. (Go for it!)

To expose feelings is to risk rejection. (Know where you stand!)

To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule. (Who cares? Its’ your life!)

To love is to risk not being loved in return. (Its’ a two way street!)

To live is to risk dying. (Its’ inevitable!)

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure. (Can you imagine if all the great leaders didn’t?)

PLEASE REMEMBER that risks must be taken because the greatest tragedy in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing to look forward to, therefore is nothing. Oh yeah,…you may avoid some suffering and sorrow, but you can’t learn, feel, change, grow or love. ONLY a person who risks is free!!!