Taking Risks

Fourteen years ago, a couple of dudes who were frustrated at the cost of razors got this wild idea to start a business shipping monthly supplies of shaving products to men in their homes. They ended up selling the business five years later for a billion dollars. That's billion. With a "B".

We love those stories, don’t we? The big risk that paid off. Netflix moving from DVD rentals to streaming services and shifting the paradigm entirely. The two Steves starting Apple in their garage – and then Apple changing the world with a phone that could browse the internet.

But for every success story, you know there have to be dozens of failures – big risks that did NOT pay off. And probably a lot of them were great ideas! But for whatever reason, they just didn’t take off like the iphone and streaming and razors in your mailbox every month.

I was reminded of this recently thinking of the adventures my youngest has had living in Atlanta. She has gotten involved with a few ventures starting at the ground floor. Entrepreneurs with grand ideas to change the world. And dang, y’all . . . it’s hard not to admire people with that kind of vision, that kind of passion, that kind of hope and promise. It’s exciting to get involved in something like that.

But it’s also risky. And she has gotten dinged by some of those entrepreneurs . . . to the point that she’s a bit gun shy now.

Every school year, I start my new drama class with a game called “Little Sally Walker”. It’s a ridiculous little game – and I tell them that the whole purpose of it is to look like an idiot. Because they have to be very comfortable with the possibility of looking like an idiot in drama class or they will never be willing to push themselves in the way required to perform well on stage in front of an audience. And that is one of the great benefits of being involved in theatre as a young person: finding the courage to try something new and scary in front of the world. Even if they never perform in a play again in their life, the fact that they took the chance of looking like an idiot and didn’t – and even enjoyed themselves in the process – that will build up courage for other ventures coming later.

Because risk is necessary in life. Certain kinds of risks. Certain levels of risk.

I talk a good game to my drama classes, but the truth is, I don’t do risk well. I’ve gotten better over the years; my divorce a few years ago threw me into taking some huge chances and trying some big scary things, and I was proud of myself for facing those challenges and conquering them, with the Lord’s help, of course. But I still get nervous about risky ventures. 

That’s why I’ve actually been so proud of my daughter for the courage she has shown putting herself out there the last three years in Atlanta. I could never have done that. Certainly not at her age, but not even now.

She’s moving back home this summer. Not out of fear or defeat . . . just out of a sense of God calling her to stuff here. Which itself is a bold move on her part. It will just take some adjusting – we’ve each gotten used to living alone for a while now.

But I think it will be good for us. Specifically, good for me. I’m hoping my girl's boldness will rub off on me a bit.