Tip: The person who has the least to lose always wins!
Sometimes, in certain situations, fear grips our heart. We do not know what to do. It is a feeling that some of us may have had when we graduated from high school and were trying to decide where we should go to college or what vocation we should pursue. Often our response to a situation like that is a bit like throwing a dart at a dart board; we just hope we get lucky and hit somewhere close to the bull’s eye.
Or perhaps, as I have, you have experienced that gripping fear at closing when buying a house. We start signing papers, but have no idea what they are really all about. Unfortunately, that can lead to some interesting challenges as well. However, when you get into a situation where you have nothing to lose, that is actually a very good place in which to find yourself. Let me explain a little further.
Zig Ziglar often asks the question in his seminars, “What would you do or attempt in life if you were absolutely, 100% sure that you could not fail?” It is an interesting question. It causes you to stop and think. Would you step out and try to do bigger and better things in your life if you knew you could not fail? I suspect that the answer is a resounding “yes”. Yet the truth of the matter is that we really do not know what we are able to accomplish until we do step out and take that risk!
There is an ancient story of four men who had leprosy. It was a dreaded disease and one that caused them to be outcasts. They were not allowed to live within the city walls, but were forced to sit outside the city gate. No one wanted to touch them or even be near them.
The men were also starving because an enemy nation was camped all around this particular city, cutting off the food supply. As they sat there, they discussed their predicament. They knew that if they stayed where they were, they would die. Even if they went inside the city, they would still die of starvation because food was scarce and they had no money to buy food. Then they had an idea – why not go to the enemy’s camp? They had food! And, even if that didn’t work and the enemy killed them, they were doomed to die anyway. They were in the perfect place. They had absolutely nothing to lose. (And, remember, the person who has the least to lose, always wins.) So, they decided to take the risk and go to the enemy’s camp.
When they got there, they were shocked! The camp was like a ghost town; no one was there. It seems that the enemy had been so frightened because they thought they heard a huge army coming against them that they had fled in the night, leaving everything behind. The four lepers ate and drank to their heart’s content.
Those four leprous men were really quite smart. They knew that doing nothing about their situation could lead to problems, and that doing something could also lead to problems. But, either way, in the end, they had nothing to lose. Isn’t that the way life usually works out? Sometimes doing nothing leads to big problems; but doing something may lead to bigger problems. Either way we have nothing to lose.
The older I get the more I see that life is a lot like a sporting event or playing a game; you must be involved in the process. It does you absolutely no good to sit in the stands and watch.
I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. Some of them have been small and inexpensive and others have been large and very costly. However, I really would not trade any of those experiences because they have shaped my life and given me wisdom that otherwise I would not possess. Oh, sure, I could have read a book that may have helped in some of the situations, but actually having the first-hand experience always makes the lesson a lot more endearing to my heart.
I do not know what you have to lose in a particular circumstance, but I would encourage you to step out and take a risk. Neither you nor I want to get to the end of our lives, lying on our death-bed with the haunting thought, “I wish I had tried a few more things in life instead of always playing it safe.” I do not believe you should be reckless, but neither do I believe that you should avoid taking a chance, whether you have something or nothing to lose. Think about it and seek wisdom and guidance as you move forward in life. Be willing to take a risk. I believe that you will be glad that you did!
Tip: The person who has the least to lose always wins!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
