5. The value of risk

Education is a fundamentally good thing. Anyone who argues to the contrary is, in this writer's opinion, incorrect.

That being said, the educational system in America (and to a lesser degree, in Europe - and in Asia, although to an even lesser degree than Europe) does tend to train, prod, or scare, the risk right out of students.

My experience in college taught me to follow the rules, be patient, be an obedient employee, wait my turn, and slowly, methodically earn my promotion through the ranks of corporate America. I followed those rules, I played the game, I waited my turn; in time, I was requited with a six-figure salary, a company car, and all the fringe benefits a 20-something year old kid could ever want. I played it safe & it had apparently paid off... I thought I had achieved success.

What I never learned in college is that all of those things can be taken away in the blink of an eye. When the financial markets took a nosedive in late summer of 2008, my job was eliminated. I was suddenly unemployed with no severance pay, no benefits, no backup plan.

What if I had played it differently? What if, instead of selling my time to a corporation in exchange for $100k+ per year and a sense of security, I had trusted myself and taken more risks... invested more aggressively or taken some flyers on start-up businesses of my own?

Fortunately I did those things in addition to working at my job in the pharmaceutical industry. I had purchased almost 3/4 of a million dollars in investment properties that are now paying me cash every month. Sicne the layoff, I have also started another small business. But, what if, I had learned to do those things sooner? What if, when I was 20 years old, someone told me that the security of a corporate job is bullshit and that, in the long-term, the greatest security comes from within?

The point is that at no time during my years in college did anyone talk to me about the importance of taking those risks - I had to learn it all on my own. Fortunately, I had some great mentors along the way. I will share many of their insights with you on further posts.

For now, the lesson is that risk can be a good thing. Your willingness to take well-calculated, and well-executed risks can determine the degree to which you will be successful. Protect that willingness to take risks - do not let yourself be "educated" into always playing it safe.

-The Gradvisor