Take a Risk

I’ve pretty much gotten to the point in my life that I consider life itself a crapshoot.  I was once t-boned on Interstate 95 heading for Boston.  The driver behind me went down into the median and came flying back up to broadside me on the driver’s side while I was traveling 65 mph.  I survived. 

I was once flying my own plane in Wisconsin when the engine lost power on climb out.  I kept my wits about me and rectified the situation.  I survived. 

I was on a commercial night flight when the plane I was riding in lost power.  Again, I survived.  I call these “one-second life-changing experiences.”  Our lives are filled with them.  Living life is risky.

In our day-to-day living, however, there are things we can do to mitigate the risks of living.  Wear your seatbelt.  Turn on your headlights during the day.  Eat healthy foods.  Don’t smoke.  Don’t carry too much weight.  Don’t drink to excess.  Don’t attempt double-black diamond ski trails when you are clearly an intermediate skier.  Of course, there are no guarantees that doing these things will see you into your ninth decade, but you’re simply playing the odds and stacking the deck in your favor.

But there are times in your professional life, when you need to take risks.  Without risks in one’s life, there cannot be growth.  I’m not talking about foolish risks that put you way over your head, but small incremental risks that allow you explore new professional avenues.  Here are a few examples.

The easiest and most risk free way of teaching, in my mind, is to do your homework and put all of your lectures and presentations on PowerPoint.  You can stand in front of your classes and blather on nonstop until you run out of slides or time.  While PowerPoint is a cool presentation tool, most faculties simply put up slide after slide, ad naseum.  Or worse yet, every slide uses a different transition mode so your viewers never know what’s going to hit them.  One time it’s a fade.  The next time it’s a flip.  On to the dissolve for the third slide.  On and on it goes.  When coupled with a plethora of print information, you’re sure to numb your audience.  But, no one can fault you for not being prepared.  Instead of doing the PowerPoint lecture lobotomy, though, use your slides to pose some provocative questions.  Instead of lecturing, you’ve turned your class into an inquiry-based hour of probing and questioning, something that’s bound to create much more engagement on the part of your students.  What’s the worst that can happen when you take this kind of risk?  The hour could turn out to be a “plop.”  Not a failure, just a “plop.”  We all have an occasional “plop.”  While things maybe didn’t go exactly as you planned, at least you took a risk…and it wasn’t life threatening.  Moreover, the upside for growth is great. 

Here’s another risk scenario.  You’ve been asked to serve on some local or State professional committee.  It means giving of your already valuable time.  Perhaps time away from your kids and family.  The easy alternative is to say “no” to this invitation.  The upside, however, is that by taking this risk, you may meet some interesting people, gain some additional knowledge that you’ll be able to weave into your courses, or make some connections that have nothing to do with the intention of the committee.  You took a risk.  There was an unexpected reward.  Nothing ventured; nothing gained.

Here’s a final risk scenario.  Your local textbook representative has been encouraging you to try your hand at writing a textbook.  You’ve declined because you know nothing about the publishing business.  You wouldn’t know a textbook prospectus if it fell from the sky and hit you on the head.  Here’s an opportunity to broaden your publishing career.  The time invested in creating a prospectus, examining the competition, and working with an editor may lead to a contract.  If it does, be prepared to commit the next two to three years of your life to nourishing this creation.  Just like conceiving children, there are risks, but there area also rewards.  Again, these aren’t life-threatening risks. 

I hope I’ve convinced you to take some risks in your professional life.  The payoff is certainly worth it.  And, while you’re at it, take some additional risks in your personal life.  Start to eat better.  Go to the gym a couple of times per week.  Learn to play the piano.  You’ll be happy you took a risk.  You’ll be a more interesting person because of it.