If I sit back and consider where I’ve made career mistakes, I’m drawn more to the chances I passed up for being too risky than any one of my major screw ups. It’s not haven’t had any good screw ups. (We can sit down for a beer sometime and have some fun reviewing those.) It’s that the times when I took the easier route or opted against taking a risk probably cost me more and led to bigger regrets than the other ones. I have spoken to older fella’s who have openly admitted that if they had a do-over, they’d run their careers more aggresively. They’d take more chances. And I find that the ones that took the chances may not be at the top of their game, but they have fewer regrets and the greatest learnings. That risk taking made them better prepared for future opportunities.

I ran into a blog article by a guy named Boon at Leapwalking.com that spells out this mentality perfectly. Sure he’s a young guy and ripe for risk taking. The downside for him is probably minimal. But his way of thinking, even if it recommends taking a chance in this slow economy, is something to consider.

Those of us with kids in college, mortgages to pay and “a whole lot of responsibilities” can’t live completely on the edge. But I think too many of us live in fear. We allow fear to influence (if not completely cloud) our decision making convincing us we’ve painted ourselves into a corner and no longer have options.

Nothing can be further from the truth. I’m a former job seeker. My least favorite job change (for lack of a better word) happened because I was way too comfortable and became ripe for firing. It’s like I lost my edge and a series of stupid moves led me to the wrong place. It did, however, give me the opportunity (and boy am I stretching that term) to make a drastic career change without which I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now and loving it.

I can’t tell you how many other job seekers have landed positions they would never have considered had they not been fired. They’ll sit there and tell you with a straight face that without the layoff, they’d still be doing a job they hated. The job change forced them to consider options they thought were closed to them. It gave them the freedom to take those chances if only because they had unemployment staring them right in the face.

So if a firing or layoff will drive you too action, why can’t our desire to do what we can do passionately drive us just as strongly. Give Boon’s article a read and tell me what stirs within you when you read it. Is it something for you to consider?

Hope this helps