I literally had no idea what I was doing! (Have you ever felt that way?)
I launched my first planner by the seat of my pants. I knew what I believed was missing from the planners already on the market and I knew what I would add to mine if I made one. But I was not in the planner business and had no idea where to start. Like you, I’ve used dozens of different planners in my life, but thinking about creating one from scratch and offering it as a product was quite a leap.
The tool I used to make the decision to go for it was the same one Benjamin Franklin introduced in a 1772 letter to Joseph Priestly - the pro and con list. This invention of Franklin’s has been in my hip pocket for years and has helped me to make decisions large and small in every aspect of my life.
I drew a line down the middle of a piece of blank paper and wrote down everything I could come up with, both positive and negative, about becoming a planner producer. When I was finished, I asked myself the question I always do when staring at a completed pro and con list - what is the worst thing that can happen and can I live with that? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then why would I not give it a try?
That’s what taking a risk is all about. It's uncomfortable because there is uncertainty. But getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow. If there is nothing insurmountable with a worst case scenario, the risk is probably worth taking.
The biggest reason most people don’t take risks is because of the fear of failure. It’s easy to get caught up with concerns about what other people will think or how it will look if what you try doesn't work. But you can’t be afraid of failure - failure is how you learn.
Everything you’ve ever wanted is just outside your comfort zone - but you have to go get it.
Once you get comfortable with uncomfortable, positive risk-taking becomes easier. Here are three reasons why becoming more of a risk taker can benefit all areas of your life.
You can learn, but action is what teaches you.
Every experience is an education. You can read all the books in the world and have conversations with the most brilliant minds in existence, but if you are only collecting information and not putting it into action, you will never be comfortable with applying it to your life.
Without the experience of doing something, there will always be uncertainty attached to it. That uncertainty is what makes it feel risky and what often stops us from even trying. It’s only when you push through your initial fears and take action that you can begin to break down the feeling of precariousness. Doing something gets you a result. Results make things more concrete. You might not get the result you wanted, but you got a result! Having a result to work with begins to chip away at uncertainty, builds confidence, and can make risk a positive experience.
Taking risks improves the chances of you reaching your goals.
Author and speaker Robert G. Allen said, "Everything you want lies just outside your comfort zone."
Being just the slightest bit adventurous can be the catalyst that moves you towards your goals. You don’t have to jump off the cliff; you can walk down the cliff, step by step. What might that look like in your business? Instead of going all-in, do some beta-testing, ask for feedback, put out some articles first before you write the whole book to see if there’s interest in your topic.
Allowing yourself to take baby steps in a certain direction makes it not as scary, and pushes you to give it a try. Remember, you can’t ever win if you don’t start running the race.
Taking risks separates you from the pack.
If you are doing the same things that you’ve always done, you can get left behind as things progress. But don’t worry about trying to invent something brand new; there is always a new way to do something differently or with a unique spin. Instead of reinventing the wheel, keep your eyes open for opportunities to tweak something that already works well and figure out how to make it better.
Taking risks gets you doing new things, doing new things makes you feel more confident in your abilities, and feeling more confident makes you want to try more new things.
That cycle is what creates success and gets you noticed in a good way.
Be the person to volunteer for a new project or to offer a possible solution to a problem being discussed. Speak up and throw your ideas into the mix. Yes, having your voice heard feels risky, but keeping that voice in your head will never move you past where you are.
Playing it safe by not taking risks means you are less likely to fall or get hurt; but it also means you won’t rise above where you currently are in your life. When you develop a good working relationship with risk, you find that it is an ally in your quest to reach your goals, remain relevant as things change, and continually bring your value into the world.
By the way, in case you are interested about how the planner story ends...it doesn’t. The first year my planner was out it did okay, but was nothing special. In year two, it didn’t make much more money and I had several people telling me to just stop trying.
Luckily, I didn’t listen and instead chose to keep taking the risk.
The additions and improvements I made in year three helped get the planner on the map, so to speak, and this year’s edition is the best yet! My 2021 version is now one of the top planners used in the Direct Sales industry...all because I didn’t stop taking a risk. If you would like to see if it can help you, you can get the 2021 planner at 50% off right now.