Do you remember where you were when you stopped taking risks? I do. I was at my desk about 10 years ago writing yet another appraisal and felt really comfortable. My office and home routine was on automatic pilot with a sense of safety, familiarity and the "same old same old."

 

The reasons for not wanting to take risks are often past associations with some kind of pain; monetarily, emotionally or maybe physically experienced. Business regrets like being stuck on the MAI or SRA path or trapped in a non-progressive appraisal firm too hesitant to move on or start your own firm. Regret is never helpful but taking small risks will help you leave your self-imposed jail cell.

 

"Cemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreams, countless echoes of 'could have' and 'should have.' Don't choose to walk the well-worn path to regret." Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience.

 

Philippe Petit is a tight rope walker, magician, artist and street performer. Back in 1974, he illegally connected a high wire between the two World Trade Centers and successfully walked across it. Now 64, Mr. Petit is still taking risks. His new book Creativity The Perfect Crime tells of his love for mistakes. His mistakes are his teachers and instead of covering up a mistake with a list of excuses, he brings it out in the open to look at it and see why it's his fault and learn from it.

 

Mr. Petit also very much dislikes books about creativity. His World Trade Center stunt is the perfect crime. He suggests to anyone trying to free themselves of the constraints of limitations to strive for unconventional, insubordinate process of creativity, which will benefit anyone struggling to achieve their dreams. He feels that full creativity needs to be rebellious, maybe not unlawful, but outlaws of the laws that we have created.

Mr. Petit suggests using your observation skills as a conduit to knowledge and intuition as your source of power. Your goal should be to cultivate intellectual rebellion. So what dreams and plans are locked away in your head? For many appraisers, it's difficult to stop working for a minute and honestly assess your situation. Inertia can also be the reason of your failure to act. For others it may be a form of depression, sometimes defined as anger without enthusiasm.

As appraisers, what risks are you avoiding? Some common themes - too afraid to make a mistake so you avoid investing in software and technology, never getting around to creating office systems, avoiding training your appraisers to be more productive, or perhaps delaying retirement and thus turning your back on a call to action to "give back" to society.

I think Richie Norton, who wrote The Power of Starting Something Stupid, got it right. "Live to start your stupid ideas, and start to live a life without regret - a life filled with meaning, freedom, happiness, fun, authenticity, and influence." The key to freedom from your Alcatraz is staring at you in the bathroom mirror.