Be Bold. Take The Risk

Some of the stories that I enjoy reading are the inspirational ones. I love to read about people who took risks, overcame handicaps to do something worthwhile. I am always in awe of people who have done that, who have risked moving out of their comfort zones to do something notable and worthwhile and worthy, and in the process, touch, inspire and motivate other people to rise beyond the mediocre and the average.

I remember watching Joni Eareckson Tada live a couple of years ago. Some of you may know her name. She's a quadriplegic and has been for over 40-45 years. She was a teenager when she dove into the Chesapeake Bay, not realizing it was the shallow end and broke her neck. She ended up in a wheelchair with no mobility from the neck down. After years of trying everything, she realized that she wasn't going to get better. She then decided to do something with her life. She has been a tremendous spokesperson for quadriplegics all over the world, motivating them, inspiring them not to feel sorry for themselves but to get out and do something.

These kinds of stories fire me up. I love to read these inspiring stories. I was reading about the Infosys start up, Mr. Narayana Murthy and how he actually had his wife Sudha mortgage her jewelry to raise Rs. 10,000 so that he and seven others could have the start up that they needed for Infosys. The rest is history.

 

There is so much about life that has to do with taking risks. We take it all the time, consciously or unconsciously. But for some risks, we need to weigh the consequences to see if it is worthwhile. Staying in one place is not an option. One must always be able to move. Somebody said, "A tortoise or a turtle doesn't move anywhere unless it puts its head out of its shell. Else it stays where it is." Life is about taking risks. You've taken risks when you went to college or university – is this the right place for me to be? Are these the right subjects? You took a risk when you got married – is this the right person? Your job – is this the right job for me? Is it time for me to leave or should I stay? Investments – how you deal with the money that you have, whether to invest it in different options or to play safe? All of these entail taking risks.

Yet, risk is not something that you blindly or recklessly take. Words like 'calculated' or 'educated' often find their way in front of the term risk. I was looking at an article that I saw on Ranveer Singh yesterday in a countdown for Forbes India celebrity 100. He ranked 37 on that. The reason he made it to this was that he seems to have a good grasp of the risk-reward ratio. He is able to find that balance between risk and reward.

I went looking for a good understanding of what risk-reward ratio would be and checked out Investopedia and I'm going to put it out here just in case some of you aren't aware of that term. Let's say a trader purchases 100 shares of some Company at $20 and places a stop-loss order at $15 to ensure that his/her losses will not exceed $500. Let's also assume that this trader believes that the price of this particular company shares will reach $30 in the next few months. In this case, the trader is willing to risk $5 per share to make an expected return of $10 per share after closing their position. Since the trader stands to make double the amount that they have risked, they would be said to have a 1:2 risk/reward ratio on that particular trade. The optimal risk/reward ratio differs widely among trading strategies. Some trial and error is usually required to determine which ratio is best for a given trading strategy.

I think, as we look at this risk/reward ratio, it varies. Sometimes there's a little higher risk, sometimes we hedge our risks and play safe, make sure that we have a cushion or a safety net just in case it doesn't pan out. That's how risks ought to be taken. It's not that one jumps in naively. There is a certain amount of thinking that must go with it. We find that in life, that is the way we always move forward. We will never have any kind of traction or momentum if we stay where we are.

That's true even if you look at your own companies. In your leadership positions, you have to take certain amount of risks that the company actually trusts you to take. Samita Sawardekar, writing an article in Wall Street Journal, says, "The risk-reward ration is an axiom that companies cannot afford to forget or wish away. Those that do will find themselves caught between the proverbial devil and the deep sea when the going gets tough."

Risk is something that we have to take. Warren Buffet says, "Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." That is risk; it's almost as if you walk into a place that you've never been, but you feel that's what and where you need to be because you've covered some of the bases that you need to cover in taking that step. If there are football fans on this call, you know that Chelsea won. But Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, said, "In my country, Portugal, we say don't go back to where you were happy before because it is a risk. But I have taken that risk and I'm so happy because I won another Premier League 10 years later in my second spell." He's talking about coming back to Stamford Bridge for a second spell 10 years after he left the first time. "To win titles with two generations, 10 years apart, I feel I have a place in Chelsea's history. But," like he says, "it was a huge risk in coming back."

And that's the risk that we sometimes ought to take in life. I don't know where you are in terms of risk-taking, whether you are one who is confident about it or one who is diffident. Sometimes, personalities play a role in that. We have choleric leaders who are easier, or jump in too quickly sometimes into risk-taking ventures. Then we have very detailed people, who look at all the pros and cons before taking a risk and sometimes that can be debilitating. It can prevent a person from jumping in at the right time. Or the unflappable type, one who can roll with the punches. Sometimes, just rolling with the punches prevents us from taking the risk that we need to. Or the social type – somebody who's very social and might not take the risk in the right place at the right time. So different personalities play into risk-taking as well.

But, I think risk-taking is par for the course of life. We must take risks – calculated, educated, but we need to take them. Consider this fable.

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile spring soil.

The first said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me. I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring. I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the bless of the morning dew on my petals!"

And she grew.

The second seed said, "I am afraid. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts. What if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."

And so she waited.

A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

Moral: Those of us who refuse to risk and grow get swallowed up by life.

As John Augustus Shedd remarked, "A ship in harbor is safe; but that is not what ships are made for." We too, my friends, were not meant to play safe. We were made to take risks. It is only in the risk-taking, that progress has happened. And history will bear that statement out. Always, men and women who took risks, have advanced the cause of humanity. You and I weren't meant to play safe. And I wonder whether today you are playing safe. I wonder whether you are thinking – Should I or should I not? It's a risk – do I take it or not?

We don't take risks in a vacuum. This morning we start an activity for children. It's a 5-day activity where they meet every day. It's called Camp Courageous. The tag line is "Be Bold, be strong, for the Lord your God is with you."  I think that is the greatest asset we have, that in the midst of the risk-taking, we take it under the wisdom, the anointing, the guidance of the Almighty God who is the one who leads us. So maybe, what we are going to be telling the children today – be bold, be strong for the Lord, Your God is with you – is something that you and I need to hear. We too can take the risks that we need to take at the right time, the right place and under the guidance of Almighty God.

May I pray with you? Almighty God, bless each one on this call. Help us to know what we need to do, the risks we need to take. Lord, would you give us the guidance? Would you inspire us and help us to be bold and courageous, knowing that You are with us. I pray this prayer for each one on this call in Jesus' precious name. Amen.

•       Narayana Murthy quotes: http://www.kamalsinha.com/iit/people/narayana-murthy/infosys.html

•       Ranveer Singh, risk-rewards ratio: http://forbesindia.com/article/2014-celebrity-100/ranveer-singh-a-force-of-nature/39229/1

•       Risk-reward ratio explained: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/riskrewardratio.asp

•       Samita Sawardekar,"The Risk-Reward Equation," http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703859304576306721736613568

•       Warren Buffet quote: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/warrenbuff138173.html

•       Phil McNulty, "Chelsea: Premier League title a reward for risk - Jose Mourinho."  http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32576527

•       Story of two seeds: http://healthythoughts.in/2013/01/15/motivational-inspirational-quotes-thoughts/a-short-inspirational-story-taking-risk/

•       Quote: "A ship in harbor..." John Augustus Shedd. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Augustus_Shedd

•       Bible quote: Joshua 1:9