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| “I am overwhelmed with gratitude to you after reading your book, ‘NICHECRAFT. It is the most detailed book I have ever read on the subject. Reading your book inspired me to take immediate actions to refine my niche even further. Over the past several months, my average order has soared due to the actions your book motivated me to take.” Bradford Rowley Bradford Renaissance Portraits, Costa Mesa, CA
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 With the lazy, hazy, and sometimes crazy days of summer almost behind us,you’re likely looking forward to a welcome and predictable work schedule—and, indeed, maybe even thinking about the holidays which aren’t far ahead. For most people, there is considerable comfort in the predictable and even routine. It’s called the comfort zone. Even for these people, there often comes a time when an inner voice tells them it’s time to venture out a little—to push themselves to a new level. That same inner voice is a real pest, however, because at the same time it is saying,” push yourself beyond the routine, raise the bar by trying new things”, it raises a scary red flag called “risk.” As you begin to settle back into your busy fall schedule, it is important to think about the implications of risk for your photography studio’s long-term success. Not surprisingly, I have an opinion on the subject. It’s summed up in one of my favorite quotations and reads: “Behold the lowly turtle. It only gets ahead by sticking its neck out.” The fact is, virtually every day of your life is filled with risk. Get up in the morning and you could trip and fall down the stairs. You take a risk when you drive down the street or get a flu vaccination. The outcomes of such risks are clearly not one hundred percent in your favor. But if you’ve done everything you can—made every reasonable effort to prepare for the event or activity—your preparation is markedly different from depending on the lottery or crap table for success. You’ve done your homework. You’re not gambling. Granted, there is a chance your number won’t come up. But unlike the lottery or crap table, it’s not because the house odds are against you. In addition to keeping in mind the enormous difference between risk and gamble, it’s important to recognize that in many cases the issue of risk by itself becomes less significant than how you deal with it. |
 The first step in making even better decisions involving any degree of risk is understanding how you have confronted risk in your own history. The following questions will help you gain clarity about what, for so many people, is the ultimate “R” word:1. Thinking back over your entire life, identify the three biggest risks you ever faced. 2. Looking once again at the the biggest risks you’ve ever faced, describe your feelings with each situation. 3. How did you respond to each of the risks you faced? 4. Now, looking back at each major risk you have just listed, identify several outcomes or consequences of having taken the course you chose. Notice that the above questions asked you to respond to risks you faced. Many people jump automatically to the word “took.” The purpose of these questions is to help clarify how you respond to risk generally. What you don’t do is as important as what you actively do. And now, we come to what is probably the most important question concerning the biggest risks you faced. That is, what would your life have been like had you not stretched yourself? Not stuck your neck out? Of course, you can’t say with certainty, but with the advantage of a little history we can often see more clearly how pieces of our lives and business actions have built upon one another. We can also see the profound truth in the old saying that “No action is an action...” So, how will your life and business be different tomorrow if you don’t risk today? |
