How Courage (or Lack Thereof) Influences Opportunity

“Where there is no risk, there is no reward.”

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

No doubt you’ve heard both of those quotes somewhere along the way. Usually they are uttered by a well-meaning friend who is encouraging you to follow your gut. I find when you’re willing to take that risk and try something new, that’s when you begin to see opportunity.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

I’ve heard that quote as much as the two that lead this blog. But when I heard it again recently, it hit me a little differently. If you have the courage to entertain the opportunity, great things will happen. If you choose to do nothing, then nothing will happen.

And the exact same thing happens in our comfort zone. Or should I say, the exact same nothing happens.

Risks are uncomfortable. Opportunities can make us uncomfortable. Success is sometimes uncomfortable. Basically, it’s the change in anything we do that makes us uncomfortable and disrupts the inside of our comfort zone.

The “fort” part of the word in comfort keeps us protected and safe. But its walls also obscure our view of the world outside.

If you want to grow, you need to get out of the fort and look around. Consider the possibilities and embrace opportunities. Evaluate it carefully, of course, and embrace the ones that make any logical sense at all. Let them into your world – even if they make you uncomfortable. Because it’s that absence of comfort that I find means that the ideas will actually work.

Risk is scary. But calculated risk isn’t. Make the most of your opportunities.