Skip to main content

On Risk and Growth

Karl Wallenda spent practically his entire life on a high wire, thrilling crowds with his daring high altitude act.  That all need din 1978 when Wallenda plunged 75 feet to his death before an audience of thousands in San Juan, P.R..  When Wallenda’s widow began to sort out what might have happened that dreadful day, she noted that recently her husband had become more and more concerned with little details of safety.  His precautions became a preoccupation.  Instead of all his energies being channeled into performing his act, his purpose had now become how to keep from falling.
Out of this terrible story comes a new label- the “Wallenda Factor.”  It cautions us to be aware of being so afraid of failure that we dwell only on the negatives..  Life is a risk we must take.  While we should be careful in a prudent sort of way, we cannot allow ourselves to become paralyzed by fear of failure.  –C.W. Bess

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Contact

“Between 1305 and the early 1800’s. the House of Taxis ran a form of pony express service all over Europe….   Its couriers clad in blue and silver uniforms, crisscrossed the continent carrying messages between princes and generals, merchants and money lenders.” –Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave We may think we are the first generation consumed by rapid communication but we are not.   Throughout our history it has been a priority. Of course, now in the 21 st century we must ask: are we better or worse for it?

Speech

  “To say the right thing at the right time, keep still most of the time.”     John W. Roper Those who get in trouble most often are those cannot seem to keep still, remain silent.  Life teaches many lessons.  Among the best lessons of life is one my father taught me at an early age was, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.” The contributions we make to life via our mouth are many and varied.  Most of the time, I reckon, they are not contributions at all, but things that diminish the richness of life.    

Your Worth

  A father  congratulates his daughter on graduations and was about to present her with a car, his car.   “ But before I give it to you, take it to the used car lot downtown and tell them I want to sell it and see how much they offer you for it.” The daughter went to the used car lot, returned to her father and said, “They offered me $1,000 because the said it looks pretty worn out.” The father said, now “Take it to the pawn shop.” The daughter went to the pawn shop, returned to her father and said, ”The pawn shop offered only $100 because it is an old car.” The father asked his daughter to go to a car club now and show them the car. The daughter then took the car to the club, returned and told her father,” Some people in the club offered $100,000 for it because “it's an iconic car and sought by many collectors.” Now the father said this to his daughter, “The right place values you the right way,” If you are not valued, do not be angry, it means you are in the wrong place...