The Risks We Don't Take

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly". Robert F. Kennedy

What is so frightening about taking a risk? What do risks imply? What happens if we risk something and then fail? What happens if we risk nothing?

Risk taking is about the fear of failure and/or rejection. (See also my article Rejection: The Devastating and Paralyzing Effect it Can Have on Us). The thought of failure can be so devastating to some individuals, that it may totally hinder them from ever even attempting something they have their heart set on, or that has been a dream for a long time.

• The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all. Jawaharlal Nehru
• I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. Pablo Picasso
• Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot

The left brain (logical and rational thinking) takes over, the individual tells him or herself that whatever is being contemplated is too risky, implies too much potential for failure or rejection, and that therefore there is no point in even giving it a try. Obviously there is a world of difference between being foolish with risks (i.e. spending the family’s food budget on sports betting), and being pro-active, entrepreneurial, and following one’s bliss, as Joseph Campbell would have put it. (See also my June 2006 Newsletter: Finding a Meaning for Your Life).

• The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. Leo Buscaglia
• Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome. Samuel Johnson
• It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. Seneca

Risking something is generally implied when a person is going after a dream. Many of the world’s most successful ventures began as dreams in someone’s mind, basement (Bill Gates and Microsoft, Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Google, Ray Kroc and MacDonald’s, America and Christopher Columbus, to name only a few of the more obvious ones), or drawing board. Had they not gone after this dream, had they not dared to risk whatever was involved in it – sometimes risking money, sometimes time, sometimes their name and prestige – they would never have achieved the success they found. (See also: Inauthentic Lives).

• One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time. André Gide
• To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself. Soren Kierkegaard
• You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky

The worst part of taking risks however, is not failing, and is not being rejected. If you fail, you can figure out a new way of starting over and trying again. Or if you don’t achieve all the success you had hoped for, you may need to refine your methods. But if you don’t take a risk, if you never risk anything, you know that this is what you will most regret as your life comes to a close. You will remember all that you could have done, all the people you could have loved, all that you could have attempted, all the dreams you could have followed, and you will know that you did not. This will be a deep regret. Don’t go to that place. Follow your dreams, take the risks, find a bridge across your fears and discover how much you can really do!

• Progress always involves risks. You can't steal second base and keep your foot on first. Frederick B. Wilcox
• Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury
• He who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a failure in his whole being. Paul Tillich

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch:

Rewiring the Soul

Click here to download the first chapter.

To see the Table of Contents click here

Reviews From the Back Cover:

"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, Director, Center for Sacred Theatre, Ashland, Oregon; author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre

"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world & practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd; Founder Trans4mind.com; author: Daring To Be Yourself 

"The human being's directory to the soul. A breakthrough for those seeking practical assistance, those of a more mystical bent & every soul awaiting discovery." Toni Petrinovich, Ph.D.; author: The Call: Awakening the Angelic Human

The Tao of Spiritual Partnership

To download the first chapter, click here
To see the Table of Contents click here

Praise for The Tao of Spiritual Partnership

“All humans seek the illusive touch of another's Soul, which opens us to the sense of belonging to something bigger than the self. Dr. Kortsch has given us the true "tao" of relationship in this brilliant exploration of emotional tapestry. We will be grateful for this illumination of spiritual partnership for generations to come."
Chris Griscom: Spiritual Leader, Author (among others) of: Ecstasy is a New Frequency

“Eloquently and comprehensive, showing how your primary love relationship may be a sacred vessel that transports you and your partner to a place of mutual healing and expansion.” 
Robert Schwartz: Author of Your Soul’s Gift: The Healing Power of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born 


The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self 

My new book: The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self, is just out. Here is a brief excerpt from the Introduction:

It is your right to live a life of love. It is your right to understand that loving yourself first is not a selfish way of behavior, but one that allows you to live that life of love. However, it's highly probable that you never got the instruction manual explaining exactly how to accomplish this. Possibly your family - and it may have been a loving family - considered loving the self an act of selfishness. Or perhaps the members of your family simply didn't practice loving the self, and of course, what you didn't see - what was not shown to you - while you were growing up, meant that you just didn't learn how to apply it to yourself. The closer you are able to move towards loving yourself, the closer you will be to living a life of love - quite independently of whether you are in a love relationship or not. A life of love can be lived with or without a partnership, because a life of love implies that you know that it all begins with you by loving the self. The more clearly you understand how to love yourself, the more clearly you will see that it is very hard - if not impossible - to love others in ways that are unrelated to fulfilling any of your needs. Loving yourself first is - for so many of us - one of the hardest things we will ever learn how to do. But know this: the benefits affect you in every particle of your being - body, mind, and soul - and are greater than you will ever be able to imagine.