Welcome to this week’s capsules. Last week, I shared the story of the young man who got pushed into his fortune. Today I will be dwelling on taking calculated risks to ease off the burden of fear for those who may never be able to take major risks.

I once watched a meeting session between Ken Blanchard and John C. Maxwell. I couldn’t help concurring with the truth which Mr. Blanchard shared. He emphasized on the fact that for anyone who must walk the path of destiny, you must at some points get off your boat (comfort zone) and dive into the pool of life (the battle field). He noted that if the centre of the pool were your destination, very rarely do you dive in and arrive at that spot all at once. Most times, you may dive into the wrong side of the pool, you take another dive and you just keep diving or swimming, as the case may be until you get to the centre (your point of greatness)

For me, the several dives you have to make in life are termed your learning curves. By that I mean, the mistakes you will make and the several lessons life will teach you. They all culminate in making your success story, a very interesting one!

Nonetheless, some people will never be able to take major risks like quitting their jobs or giving their all, for their dreams. That’s fine, I can understand that. Not everyone is strong willed. I don’t encourage people to take risks beyond their capacities. If you can’t take major risks, you can take calculated risks. For instance, you could work on your passion at your leisure/spare time while you focus on the job during work hours.

This could be the case until you are ready to put out your passion in the market. When you eventually do give it a try and you realize that your product has a sizable demand for it, then you are ready for business. Don’t forget, you are still on paid employment, so you would have to wear several hats at this point. You would be adding the hat of a CEO to the hat of a nine e to five employee that you already have on.

At this point the hustle gets really though because you have to work a lot harder to meet up with both demands. At this point, you could hire the services of a P.A or you just tough it out.

At the point where the income generated from your talent becomes more than that which your job pays you, then you are ready to transit smoothly from paid employment to the dream. That’s what taking calculated risks is about.

I would give you a practical example. During my paid employment days, one of my bosses had a flare for interior decoration. I was pretty close to her because she was someone whose style I truly loved. She used to say to me “Uju make sure you are doing something directed at your passion everyday” .

I paid a visit to her house one of those days and I saw a stack of interior decor magazine. I asked about them and she told me she drew inspiration from them daily. She never missed purchasing every month’s edition of that magazine. Even as a boss on paid employment, she grabbed every opportunity to decorate any space available for a makeover.
After a while she pulled out of paid employment to face a long nurtured talent. Today, she grown so prosperous at what she does within and outside the country.

Sometimes, taking calculated risks requires you change your job from where you may currently work to a firm where the business of your talent is practised, even for a lower pay check. You might have to understudy the business side of your talent. Learn on the job, grow your own clientele before pulling out to start yours. These are all several active steps in taking calculated risks.

If you put out your gift and there is no market for your product (talent), it means you have not developed your talent fully. This invariably means that you are not done with your homework. You might still need to work on your talent while you remain on paid employment until your talent his polished and ready to make you money.

Punch line, major risks or calculated risks, whichever one works for you, just make sure you are taking active steps to your talent every day. Stop at nothing until you get there.