What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

This is one concept I have been thinking of in recent days.

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

I have been doing some introspection, and I have thought - the times when I have conned myself most, have been those when I did not want to go for the most.

Many problems can be traced back to this:

• Choosing a degree that was easy to get into - because I could have failed at getting into a more difficult one.
• Not being honest with female friends who I have been attracted to - because I could have rejected.
• Not going to the top boss at the company I work for, and telling him my new idea - because he might not have acted on my suggestion.

Now, of course there are losses that could occur from taking risks - I could have ended up at a far poorer university, I could have alienated my female friends, and I might have had a tough ride at work.

But thinking about this - you only have one shot at life. But within life itself, you can take many routes.

If you were to take the highest risk, highest return route at every turn - would your life turn out better?

This interesting article by Lena Sanchez attempts to answer that question. Failure, is simply a lesson. Anthony Robbins and others prefer to speak of mis-takes, just like a take in a movie was done incorrectly. Learn, think, and take again - maybe going for a different angle or shot this time.

Look retrospectively. If you had actually done something you wanted, but didn't because of failure, what would you have actually lost by now, at this moment in time? Would you be dead? Probably not. Would you be starving? Unlikely, unless you were foolish in your risk taking. Would you have learnt something? Absolutely.

My opinion is that fear of failure comes from in many cases the Ego. You don't want to appear bruised. You'd much rather go for something second-rate, get that, and then overblow its significance to your friends, business contacts, whoever.

But likewise, in myself, the desire for success comes from the Ego. My Ego wants to achieve things. So, what do I really want?

Is my Ego hedging my life?

Now, this is a thought that has just sprung to mind. Hedging is a tool used by the financial industry to reduce risk with investments. Put it simply, if you put money in two pots, there is less chance of both of them going completely empty. If the over all sum gets bigger, you can show this growth off - i.e. boast about your success in life. If it gets smaller, well, you haven't lost everything.

Many tools for business analysis can also be applied as life strategies:

• SWOT analysis - looking internally at your strengths and weaknesses, and looking to the world outside for opportunities and threats.
  
• Determing your personal Mission, Vision and Values.

The thing with hedging your life though is, although it might turn out profitably, did you really get what you wanted? Wouldn't you feel disappointed that you didn't go for something that truly fitted with your nature?

The key question for me, in asking why I have done the things I have done, and why I have avoided the things that I thought I could fail in, requires some form of introspection.

Who am I? What is man composed of?

What do I really want? Or, is the question, what state do I want? What existence do I want?

Do I want to make a story, or live a journey?