The Real Risk Of Playing It Safe

Hey, it's Dawn McGruer, the Business Growth Coach, and welcome to Dawn of a New Era, the podcast where we talk all things health, wealth, and happiness, and where founders share the good, the bad, and ugly of being an entrepreneur. So in today's episode, we're going to be talking about the real risk of playing it safe. Because here's the thing: comfort zones feel secure, but in business, they're often the most dangerous place to actually be. Because I want to talk about today the first thing, which is all about reframing risk.

And I definitely am somebody who, as a business owner, probably takes quite a lot of risk. And I think also because of when I was like 19, 20, I lost six people in a very short period of time. And by experiencing that sort of grief and loss, it changed my whole perspective on life, and I definitely became somebody who was an avid risk taker. But when you actually hear the word risk, your brain instantly lights up in the amygdala.

Now what this means is, is this is the fear center. So it's basically what's interpreting whether it's dangerous, and it's trained to seek it out. And almost, you know, if it sees an uncertain situation, it will go into hyperdrive. Now this is where we see neuroscience at work, and I talk a lot about neuroscience.

I talk a lot about Japanese wisdom and psychodynamics and quantum psychology, because these are all crucial in understanding how your brain really works. Now to understand the mind is critical, and I remember I was probably in my late teens, early twenties when I was studying psychology. One of the books that really changed my life was Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter, and it was all about how to understand why we think and feel and do certain things. And this has always been something that I probably talk about on a daily level, because even when we're posting on social media, you know, every action we take, we have to be understanding what we want that person to think, feel, and do.

And again, we have to understand ourselves. You know, how do we want to think, feel, and do? Now, I've studied numerous, numerous, probably hundreds, if not thousands, of inspiring leaders, looking at millionaires, billionaires, people who are doing philanthropic activities, people who are making real change and action and impact in the world. So a variety of people, not just people in the business world, but really looking at people's autobiographies, looking at people's mannerisms, looking at people's habits, and studying them to understand what the top 1% think, feel, and do, and what is their daily routine.

Now, this has always fascinated me. The mind is a magical place, and for me, if we can get a grasp on it, we can start to really carve out our life that's full of kind of joy and enrichment, and particularly happiness. One thing that I started to see a distinct lack of in my first sort of years in business was people who were truly happy. I met people who were very wealthy.

I met people who were very healthy. But even if I found people who were healthy and wealthy, the last part of the piece of the puzzle, happiness, was often missing. And I started to think, well, why is this? Why is it so hard for people, even if they've reached certain success levels and hit big milestones, to feel true happiness?

And the heart of the matter is it's a lot about enrichment. And when we talk about enrichment, this is about not just living a life of enrichment, but living on a daily level where we bring joy, and we bring fun, and we bring experiences that stimulate and nourish our mind, but our body and our soul. And here's the truth, because Most business risks aren't life or death situations. And when we think about risk, these are emotional risks, like risking things like it could be your reputation, or risking disappointment, or even failure.

So the key here is, is to start seeing fear as almost like data, like seeing it as a signal that you're kind of stretching into the unknown. Now what happens here is, is that you can start to use it in such a way that it's actually your advantage. And this is the funny thing that people go, well, how can fear be an advantage? Well, in fact, in some cases, my biggest growth moments came from moments that I thought like, you know, I might be too much, or I might be on the risk of really failing, or this could be catastrophic to my business.

Because when I look at when I was most scared in my business, it was the time that I had my biggest learning, my biggest trajectory of growth, my biggest learnings. And they came from challenges often. And the thing here is, is that I'm not saying all of the times I was in fear I was unsuccessful. It's a blend.

And sometimes, you know, if I think about things I've done that felt very risky, very scary, they definitely brought growth because even if they weren't successful, what I learned, what I actually understood from that actually put me on this whole new trajectory or whole new way of thinking. So I want to be clear here that I'm talking about risk, not being reckless. And this kind of brings me on to the next part, because risk is about making a calculation around something, and it's not about, like, throwing your entire business into chaos. There's a huge difference between calculated risk and recklessness.

So when we think about calculated risk, what is this? Well, it's when you've done your research, when you've really kind of leaned into the situation and you've weighed out the outcomes, and you decide to, like, move forward. Despite the fear. And this is the thing, because if you feel fear, I want you to understand that it's not a bad thing.

And, you know, when we think about recklessness, that is a bad thing because that's when you move without a plan. Fear can become with the most strategic plan. It can come with actions. It can come with clarity.

It can come with confidence and utter conviction. But it's whether we lean into that fear and decide to do it anyway. And now, often fear is the thing that stalls us. And yes, it's scary, but we know that staying in your comfort level is not where growth happens.

Because if I think about when I invested in my sort of first ever, like, big personal brand push, or, you know, had PR, I was doing speaking events, media features and things like that, it was absolutely terrifying. I was panic-stricken by public speaking. I hated it. Absolutely hated it.

I would have wished for, like, a fire alarm if I was being put on stage somewhere. And then I decided to, you know, to face my fears and show up anyway and, you know, got on stage. And what's interesting is, is that the fear reduces as something becomes your new normality. So the more I did it, and I didn't die, and I didn't fall off stage, and nothing bad happened, the more I started to understand that, oh, actually, fear can be something that really, like, catapults me into the next level.

And fear doesn't have to be something that I avoid. Fear can be something that I embrace. So, you know, if I think about the investments, even when I've done things like, you know, big five-figure or six-figure investment. I'd run the numbers first of all.

I'd maybe map out the ROI and the possibilities. And if I knew that it was going to bring sort of the visibility and it was going to catapult my business, I did it. And, you know, within five months, I'd have five timesed that revenue. You know, the ROI on it was huge.

So I would urge you to lean into a little bit of fear and to think that, you know, even if you're investing in something, when I've invested in mentors, masterminds, retreats, I always feel the fear. And I think it's a good thing because it means that you are weighing it up. You are actually tuning into the fact that if you invest in this, you're going to have to commit to it. So it's like having skin in the game.

I think, you know, investment is great because as long as you put the effort in and you know that this is something that feels right for you, then go with it. And the thing is here is that even if something doesn't go right, that investment, that fear will bring learnings. And I promise you, it will be part of that biggest growth for you either way. But doing nothing and not moving forward, that's the biggest risk you can take.

And that, to me, feels reckless that we are not moving forward. Now, the next stage here.

This is something that you may not have heard as much in the business world. It's the opportunity cost principle. It's something that I learned in a very young age, probably my twenties, that we don't really talk enough about this in business because often money is kind of seeded as this thing that we shouldn't ever be talking about. And, you know, playing it safe does actually cost you more than taking the right risk.

So what is the opportunity cost? Well, it's the value in what you lose by not taking action. And this really did change my whole mindset, and it got me thinking. And I remember being in my twenties and thinking, well, if I don't do this, what will happen?

And looking at it, you know, the risk there was far greater than losing the money itself because I could always make the money back. So it's the cost of the value around not taking it. And if I think about this, every time, you know, you hold back from doing something, or I've held back from doing something, it could be launching or hiring or investing, it's because it feels scary. And you're not just avoiding risk, you're losing potential revenue, you are losing market share, and you're definitely losing momentum.

So when I think about it like that, that definitely repositioned how I thought about everything from my twenties to my thirties and forty-six now. And sometimes the safest move can sometimes be the most expensive to us, if that makes sense. So I want you to think about it because one of the things that I wrote down here and I really wanted to share, almost like if this was the one thing that you took from this podcast, is that— The next time that you're weighing up a decision, like ask yourself this: what's the cost of staying where I am? And what's the upside of moving, even if it feels uncomfortable?

So when you hold those two thoughts, the next time something comes to you, the next time an opportunity presents itself and you think, Oh my goodness, like this is huge, but oh my goodness, this is scary, and you feel the fear, weigh up the two options, you know, and is it going to cost you more by not taking the risk and feeling the fear? So we know that leaders who scale the fastest, they're not reckless. They are definitely risk takers, but they also don't let fear define them, and they definitely don't let fear keep them stuck because they understand that calculated risks are actually part of the journey. They're like this bridge between where they are now and where they want to be.

So the real danger here is, is that please, please, please lean into this every time you make a decision, that if staying in a place that no longer challenges you, that could be the most expensive thing in your whole business journey. So think about this: make a decision, weigh the risks up, and always think about what is the worst thing that can happen. So again, I hope you enjoyed the podcast. If you're watching this on YouTube, please subscribe.

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