You may be acquainted with people who once had nothing to lose and moved forward to gain reward. You may have been in awe of their rapid decisiveness, their willingness to take risks and make things happen — but that was then; this is now. Today, they risk less and are unwilling to follow thought with action. Perhaps they now believe there is less to gain from risk and they begin to play it safe — they don’t “play to win” — they play not to lose. They lost the hunger and forgot that success is found in creating a way forward.
When you begin to play it safe, you lose your edge. You build your proverbial “castle” and surround it with a moat of uncertainty, but then you are unwilling to lower the drawbridge and cross that moat to go back into the battle as the champion of your cause. People champion a lot of causes they know nothing about. I think it’s time we all champion our own cause – learn what we’re about, find out what it is that we must have and make it happen for ourselves!
The blows to self-esteem may tarnish your self-image. Perhaps wounded pride will crush those with a fragile ego and make their previous successes empty and meaningless. Know this — unless you build an internal reservoir from self-belief, inherent self-worth, and resilience of spirit, you will attach your value to the external. Remember, the external will eventually fall—it is just a matter of time and events extraneous to your control or span of influence.
It is easy for one who has nothing to lose to risk all. Why? Well, for one thing, there is nothing to lose. People fear loss—fear that the trophies they earned in the past will lose their luster today if they risk more and fail. They reach a plateau of comfort where more risk brings a more pronounced failure—there is now something to lose. That something is the self-esteem associated with the accumulated successes.
“Comfort” is the death knell for the achiever. Know that success is always under construction, we can’t stop and hope it will stay — it won’t! Success is found in moving “Always Forward!”
I think it’s time we all champion our own cause – learn what we’re about, find out what it is that we must have and make it happen for ourselves!
Take the small steps out of the shadows of fear. Master one thing — YOURSELF! Show up prepared, and put yourself in play! Time is running out in the game — get in the game!
