During the first period of a man's life, the greatest danger is: not to take the risk." Soren Kierkegaard.
It starts in school. Major in something safe. The job market is everything. Choose your courses carefully. Treat your teachers like the future references they are. Then make sure you learn how to get the grades you need. Don’t sign up for anything that could possibly drop that all important GPA. Then find a job with security. Keep your head down. Do what you’re asked. Smile. Respect authority. Forget your individuality. And don’t ever, ever read Kierkegaard.
The father of existentialism, the thinker who advocated taking a LEAP OF FAITH whenever appropriate, would not fit into the mold of the Standard Guidance Counsellor Advice these days. When he was alive, he was utterly contemptuous of the herd mentality that seems to define so much of the modern world. Kierkegaard believed that you should follow your own sense of who you are and what you can do. And on occasion, be prepared to take a risk. By playing it safe in every way, you’ll never find out who you are. It turns out that always playing it safe ends up as the most dangerous way to live. You forfeit your soul. You lose who you're meant to be. You fail to grow into your best.
And this is just as true of companies as of people.
You may need to heed the philosopher’s advice here. Or you may need to pass it on to some young friend who's just playing it safe and losing himself in the process.
Think about it.
Today.
