Isn’t that Risky?

I was on a date the other night and she asked me what I do. After explaining that I raise money from investors and buy apartment complexes she said, “Isn’t that risky?”

Fair question.

She said that she’d be concerned about losing people’s money. That’s a lot of responsibility.

And good point.

I responded by saying that it comes down to education (i.e. knowing what you’re doing) and experience (i.e. having done it and/or surrounding yourself with team members who are experts). But I’ve thought about it a lot more since then and I don’t think I fully answered the question.

Let’s talk about risk. When we think of risk we tend to think of the BAD. Right?

“Well that sounds risky…” or “Are you sure you want to take on all that risk?”

And that’s a healthy and necessary thought process. We must evaluate the BAD. But, what about the GOOD? And, better yet, what about the loss of POTENTIAL GOOD?

POTENTIAL GOOD is all the nice, wonderful experiences and outcomes that result from us choosing to do something outside our comfort zone. Be comfortable being uncomfortable. Isn’t that true? Isn’t there something you’ve done in your life that initially made you uncomfortable but once you got past that the rewards far outweighed the risk?

When I evaluate things in life I look at the BAD, GOOD and LOSS of POTENTIAL GOOD. Then make a decision on if I should proceed. Let’s do an example:

EVALUATE: Should I eat a king size Snickers bar?

BAD:

–        High in saturated fat – will not be happy with myself

–        Not healthy

–        Cancels out my workout

GOOD:

–        Mmmmmmm

LOSSS of POTENTIAL GOOD:

–        Nuthin

MY DECISION?

–        Usually I resist.

But now let’s look at another example:

EVALUATE: Should I have a business that raises money from investors and buys apartment complexes? (hmm, this sounds familiar)

BAD:

–        There’s no guarantee in ANY investment so there’s always a chance it doesn’t work out as projected. In that scenario, my reputation is ruined, my business crumbles and I am a disgrace.

GOOD:

–        Providing investors a conservative opportunity to make more money than what they currently get from other sources

LOSS of POTENTIAL GOOD (here’s the kicker for me):

–        The relationships I make during the investment process with my investors and team members.

–        The ability to be the go-to person to help others reach their financial goals

–        The ability to help others learn this business so they too can spend their time how they want to spend it. We all deserve that.

–        The freedom to spend time with my family (when I have one) so I can focus on the important things in life vs. having to work 9 – 5 for someone else and hope I get enough vacation time to attend all my kid’s activities.

MY DECISION?

–        Well, you know what I decided. But I only decided that after mitigating the BAD with education + experienced team members. Then, after doing that, I’m focused on the GOOD and POTENTIAL GOOD. That’s what drives me every day and that’s what makes me do what I do.

Next time someone asks me about my job and mentions risk here’s how I’ll respond:

“Risky? Yes, there is so much risk if I don’t do it.”