On the path to a successful career: how to learn how to take risks

Leading business leaders believe that risk is a vital aspect of success in the modern world. But if you do not like to take risks, how can you feel more comfortable when jumping into the unknown?

Success in business

Binte Niambi Brown took several years to leave the comfort zone in 2013 and leave the comfortable and calm position of a corporate lawyer. She wanted to open her own business in a tough market, which was already crowded with competitors. By 2015, she launched the project Fermata Entertainment, a company engaged in the management of producers and performers. Her record company Big Mouth Records appeared some time later. "I could go to an existing record company and work there as an executive director, I had a lot of opportunities to do just that," Brown admitted. - But there was a specific problem that I wanted to solve and believed that I have the necessary solution. I felt the desire to try and see if I can build something of my own and become successful. " In 2017, the record company Brown won her first Grammy award and released a song that was audited tens of millions of times. Her story can be an inspiration for those who want to make such a jump from a simple and safe life to the unknown.

Risk is the only way forward

In a world in which life is guaranteed for life, it is utopia, traditional career paths as such gradually disappear in most developed countries. Does this mean that every person now needs to take risks in order to get higher? Bill Olet, a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thinks so. He believes that the most risky thing you can do at a time of such instability is to do it the way it was always done. This approach is reflected in how most people look at people who are at risk. Those who are risky enough to make a leap into the unknown are often exalted. In the end, a safe approach is not a storyline for an exciting story. Would businessmen of the world Ilona Mask today, if he did not risk in 2008 and did not make multi-billion enterprises SpaceX and Tesla from their companies close to bankruptcy? Therefore, it is not surprising that the risk becomes a global trend of the present. The culture of start-ups, adhering to the slogan "With a shield or on a shield," created a mentality that dictates that only those who are willing to take a serious risk will be able to shake the serious fruits of their labor. And those who do not take risks are on the way to "guaranteed failure," as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said. But what does it take to be a risky person? And can it be so?

What do you need to risk?

Human ability to take risks and not feel discomfort from the unknown is formed by psychological features, physiological functions of the body, the culture in which a particular person grew, as well as the widespread adoption of risky behavior by society. For example, studies have shown that an individual testosterone level in the blood can directly determine a person's desire to take risks. Since men often have a higher level of testosterone in their blood, they are more likely to act impulsively, without having all the details than women, but at the same time men and women are met by those who are willing to take risks. "When you prepare for a serious battle, or you risk, and the risk is justified, the testosterone level in the blood rises, and you become more confident," said Dr. Tara Swart, a neuroscientist and motivational trainer. "On the other hand, when your risky activity fails, the testosterone level in your blood drops." Your brain will literally prevent all your attempts to risk again, throwing you memories of your failure. "

How to become more risky?

For those people who are not risky by nature, there are several methods that allow you to feel more comfort with an unknown outcome. You need to limit the psychological level of reactions that can impede your attempts to risk. Dr. Swart, for example, recommends a technique called "Making the brain silent".