“To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk revealing your true self.
To place you ideas, your dreams, before a crowd
Is to risk rejection.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk disappointment.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard
In life is to risk nothing.
Those who risk nothing, do nothing, have nothing,
And become nothing.”
William Arthur Ward
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the saying,
“Risk your life for _______”
Every movie, TV show, random Joe, mother and girlfriend loves to use this proverb
It seems that everything we do these days puts us at serious risk for our lives
Whether we are smoking a cigar, eating fried foods, going on airplanes, anything and everything has been on the hot seat for being a potential detriment to our health
Eating right and not lighting up aside, is this the real source of risking your life?
Of course not
To risk one’s life is to put one’s self on the line, to try where everyone else has failed, to put an inordinate amount of effort behind something that you believe in, but has little chance of success
True risk of one’s life only happens for a select group of people
And while many people might pin these people as skydivers, cliff jumpers, or whalers, they are simply everyday people who put the passion behind trying for things they truly believe in
Whether you are starting your own business that you don’t think can compete with the big guys
Putting your true self out there when meeting some attractive person at the bar
Or even taking the time to tell your kid how much you are proud of their death metal band
To risk is to live
If you are not going out of your way to risk things, you are slowly dying as a person inside
I don’t want to scare you, but if you “play it safe” your whole life and don’t spin the wheel on a regular basis, I can absolutely guarantee you that your death bed will not only dimly surrounded, but you will look back on your life and realized that you truly never lived
Risk it all and play your life like a poker player staring at a pair of 2s
I promise you’ll thank me in the morning
Cheers
Gabriel
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