I finished reading “Buck Up, Suck Up… and Come Back When You Foul Up” by James Carville and Paul Begala (a short review is found in this previous post). The last chapter had some wisdom that I have not been following of late – taking risks. Rule 12 is “Know What to do When you Win” and it is about being humble and gracious in victory. It also poses an interesting paradox:

“Risk taking breeds success. Success breeds risk aversion. And risk aversion breeds stagnation and failure. It is so much harder to keep taking risks after you’ve enjoyed success. But it is the only way to continue to succeed.”

By many measures I have been quite successful in my life – I have a wonderful family and a great career. I have worked as a Winemaker, Brewer, Street Performer (Juggler), Massage Therapist, Brewing Instructor, Web Developer, Technical Manager and now a Sales Engineer. I have enjoyed each of my jobs and my career changes and my success in business has come through taking risks (how else can you go from Brewer to Web Developer?). But I am at a point in my life where I am getting pretty risk averse – I have a stable and enjoyable job and we live in a comfortable place with a great community – I certainly don’t want to risk any of that. And perhaps I am wondering what could possibly be better than what I already have – what would I risk it all for. I will probably spend the next few years (and perhaps the rest of my life) answering that question…