For many years, I gave a keynote speech called Risk4 Bliss. I would like to share a portion of that speech today. It addresses my life-long feelings about the topic of Risk vs. Fear. I hope that it inspires a few of you.
I would like to share with you now, how I have hard wired **my brain AND my heart** to turn choice into commitments to **MY BENEFIT.**
Knowing that every person is hard wired for FEAR, I figured out when I was very young that if fear could be hard wired due to my own experiences, then
**I could also hard wire my DREAMS to counteract FEAR.**
Once I realized that I could do that, I began visualizing what I wanted in my life.
And with strong visions in place, I began manifesting the things I held most dear.
When I started to BELIEVE that Pursuing My Dreams was BETTER than anything FEAR could every do for me, it actually became easy for me to make the commitment to **VALUE MY DREAMS** over **EVERYTHING ELSE!**
Think about this for a minute.
I made this decision as a child.
Did I understand all of this from a psychological perspective?
**NO**, it was learned through trial and error.
That is what is so great about this concept.
We are all super talented grown adults here with **accomplishments **a **MILE LONG.**
**Is what I am suggesting really that difficult?**
Think really hard about what has been at the root level of all your success.
Are you **more gifted **than everyone else on the** planet** at what you do?
**OR**, **did you make a commitment that included, dare I say, a RISK?**
**RISK** is probably hands down the most misunderstood word in the English dictionary.
Perhaps that is because the Webster’s version is so ridiculously one sided.
If you look up the definition you get this
**RISK is a situation involving EXPOSURE TO DANGER.**
Or my favorite – this ominous image (pictured)
**RISK**
**Risk**
We learned earlier that **VALUES AND BELIEFS** **govern our behavior.**
So, I ask you this.
When it comes to the word RISK – do you consider it:
A **Towards** Value – one that you run too?
**OR**
**An Away** Value – one that you run away from?
**Do you all remember what we learned earlier about FEAR?**
**FEAR destroys our psychology and immobilizes us from taking action.**
If this is true,
and I believe with EVERY FIBER OF MY BODY that it is,
then I would like for all of you to consider, for a moment,
if everything in life has a Ying and a Yang
**What is the opposite of FEAR?**
**And if you knew what it was, wouldn’t it be helpful to PROGRAM AGAINST IT TO counteract it?**
**Have you ever REALLY given this any consideration?**
**RISK is the polar opposite of Fear.**
Who here trusts Wikipedia to mostly to get things right?
A pretty reliable source, right?
**WELL**, allow me to trump Webster’s definition of Risk with Wikipedia’s deep dive:
**Risk is the potential of GAINING OR LOSING something of value.**
**Values such as physical health, social status, emotional well-being or financial wealth can be GAINED OR LOST when taking risk resulting from a given action or inaction, foreseen or unforeseen.**
**Risk can also be defined as the intentional interaction with uncertainty.**
**WOW! – who knew RISK was so POWERFUL?**
**It has the POWER to gain you, or lose you, just about freaking EVERYTHING!!!**
I read this and I thought to myself,
**“Is Risk a freaking Super Hero?”**
**Why hasn’t Marvel made Risk into a Comic Book Legend?**
**Imagine if Superman could be BOTH BAD and GOOD at the same time?**
**What would our brains even do with that?**
**Should I view risk with FEAR or should I view it as a way to get what I want in life?**
**Holy shit, one more important choice out of 35,000 today.**
**Why would you want TWO forms of fear in your life?**
**Why wouldn’t you ALSO want to be HARD WIRED for the ONE thing that can get you want you WANT, rather than PREVENT it?**
**Our war is against FEAR.**
**Fear cannot be allowed to win.**
