Why It's Important To Take Risks

Bob Proctor is gaining momentum in his quest to help people reach their goals. More people know who he is because is one of the teachers featured in The Secret. In the following article, he explains the power in taking risks.


Risk Will Set You Free
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."

by Bob Proctor

My dictionary tells me that to risk is "to expose oneself to the chance of loss." I suppose that is true. Another piece of literature I was once given suggests that:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.

You may avoid suffering and sorrow if you don't risk, but you simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live. The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing, does nothing and has nothing. Only a person who risks is free.

What causes individuals to shy away from taking a risk, even if it is a low risk and will give them something they really want? Well, certainly high on most people's list would be fear of loss, failure, and perceived humiliation if the loss were to occur. Now, why would we automatically think that we would fail at something? Why wouldn't we first try and see, and then if we did fail, learn from that experience and move on? What causes us to have these thoughts of inferiority?





Since risk-taking, to my knowledge, is not a subject that is taught in school, it would lead me to believe that a person's fear of taking risks might stem from before they can even remember. When you were a child taking your very first steps, it wasn't uncommon to hear one of your parents or guardians say, "Be careful; you might fall." Or, "Don't do that, you'll ..." Though some of this is rhetoric and you don't really pay it much conscious attention, it begins the pattern of playing it safe.

Think of how much better equipped we would be to face life's challenges and succeed if we had repeatedly heard, "Take a chance and don't worry about falling, because you're going to fall ... probably quite often. Falling is an important part of learning." Many of the greatest lessons you'll receive in life are going to come from falling ... from your failures.

Failing will never make you a failure unless you quit. Unfortunately, very few people heard that when they were small. The vast majority of our population has been mentally programmed to play it safe.

Young babies are natural-born risktakers. They never consider the consequences of falling when learning to walk. Falling is simply a natural consequence to learning to walk. I guess you could call it a calculated gamble; it's a prerequisite to mastering a myriad of motor skills required to get you on your feet and moving. It's a natural progression in movement. Why then, wouldn't we stop to consider that any movement into uncharted territory should be viewed with the same consideration? What happens to us?

Why is it that we do not see the process of reaching our goals as having steps similar to the ones the baby must take in order to learn to walk? There will be some stumbling and falling in the learning process, but success can be reached only when we are prepared to take those steps — all of them — even the ones where we may fall down. The real win is the confidence and experience we acquire that translates into new opportunities for growth, enjoyment, and expansion in all areas of our life.

When I was a youngster in school, I participated in track and field. Polevaulting was my specialty; it was the one event I seemed to excel at. I clearly remember knocking that bar flying more often than I cleared it. I also remember I was not very enthusiastic when that happened. Knocking the bar off left me with a feeling that because I had failed, I was a failure. I had failed, and, as I remember, no one advised me of anything different. In retrospect, it would have been an excellent opportunity for one of my teachers to help me understand one of life's greatest lessons. But, it never happened, and it would be many years before I learned the truth, the hard way.

While we're still on the topic of children, I'll throw up another caution flag. There's a four-letter word that most parents use around their children so frequently that the children pick it up and — before too long — it is buried in the treasury of their subconscious mind. That four-letter word is CAN'T. This word has done more damage than a lot of other frownedupon four-letter words put together. I know of some forward-thinking parents who have literally banned that word from their children's vocabulary!





Can't is a word that paralyzes any constructive progress. It switches your mind into a negative mode. It is a fourletter word that will open your mind to a never-ending flow of logical, practical reasons that will enable you to justify why you are not able to do something you sincerely want to accomplish.

The only alternative to that four-letter word is its polar opposite — I CAN. I can is far more important than IQ. You don't necessarily have to be very smart to win ... but you must be willing.

Reaching the goal is not success; success is moving toward the goal. When I was knocking down the cross bar, I was attempting to reach the goal. I was stretching, giving it everything I had. That could hardly be considered failing. Every time I tried to clear the bar, I was risking being ridiculed by the other kids. I risked having them laugh at me when I missed ... and they did laugh. However, every time I ran down the field and lowered the pole into the box, attempting to vault myself over the bar, I was challenging myself. Taking risks is essential when you want to reach a goal, and the purpose of goals is growth. When you challenge yourself, you bring more of yourself to the surface. If you knock the bar flying today, at least you will know you are challenging yourself; you're a success!

If you dream of living your life in a really big way, you must accept risktaking as a very real part of the apprenticeship you must serve. Make a decision right now to change. Decide this very moment there will be no more playing it safe ... no more "saving it for a rainy day" type thinking in your life. When people get caught up in the habit of saving for a rainy day, that is generally what they get ... a rainy day.

I clearly remember the first time I heard Earl Nightingale. Earl was telling a story about a farmer who was out walking in a field. He looked down and saw a tiny pumpkin growing on a vine. Nearby, he spotted a small glass jar. The farmer reached down and placed the tiny pumpkin inside the small jar. The pumpkin continued to grow until it filled the inside of the jar. Beyond that it could not grow.

There are a number of people like that tiny pumpkin. They limit themselves with artificial constraints and refuse to take a risk. They never truly test the strength of their abilities and they never step out and bet on the surest thing in the world ... themselves.

If you hope to accumulate great wealth or achieve high goals, history shows us that it's the first few steps that contain the highest degree of risk. You must turn your back on safety and security and take those steps. To make it big, you must take big risks. You will very likely have to put yourself in a highly vulnerable position. It is also worth remembering you cannot almost take a risk.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face." Follow her advice and liberate yourself from the crippling emotional state of fear — and enter into a world of freedom.




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Booster Shot of Confidence

The movie The Secret teaches us that our thoughts create our reality. Our feelings bring strength to our thoughts. It is important to really feel the emotion of having already achieved the desired goal. Bob Proctor, a teacher featured in The Secret gives some helpful advice on maintaining a positive vibration in order to creat the life you want.

Create That Winning Feeling
by Bob Proctor
Insights to Success
Brought to you by the faculty of TSTN – The Success Training Network.

I believe we would all agree that having a winning feeling is prerequisite to achieving outstanding results. A person can’t possibly expect to win if they’re constantly focusing on failure! The real secret here is to capture that winning feeling of success as often as you can to create the environment necessary to succeed.

If you’ve been a little down in the dumps, feeling insecure or perhaps not feeling as confident in your ability as you’d like, I have a great tip for you. My suggestion to anyone looking for a success track to run on, or to a person who is looking to get back on one, is to start capitalizing on short-term victories. That means specifically focus on tasks you can achieve daily. The principle is to start with an adversity over which you can succeed, and gradually take on more and more difficult tasks. Nothing succeeds like success.

Another technique used by many people in developing or maintaining a winning feeling is what we call the reflection method. Think back during a time where you were really successful at something… we all have times to which we can relate. It could have been a sale, a particular speech, a school play, or standing up to the town bully. Each one of us can reflect back on a moment in time to recapture that winning feeling.

Professional sports coaches often replay winning games of the past for their team prior to a big game to stimulate and create a winning feeling!

Years ago, a good friend of mine had left his job and a company that he had worked with for many years. He was one of the top VPs with his company and had done extremely well. He had left because he wanted to start his own business. I told him he could use one of our offices until such time as he was ready to open up his own office.

In any event, I happened to be in the office one afternoon and Grant, who normally was very upbeat and positive, was really having a difficult time. After a few moments of small talk, it became apparent what the problem was. Grant had hit the terror barrier and the possibility of starting his own company was overwhelming him… he just didn’t think he could do it. Here’s a man who had risen to the top of his field, made a high six-figure income for years… and yet was still having doubts as to his ability to start his own company.

I asked Grant to go home, get a notebook and start to write down all of his accomplishments, as far back as he could remember. The look on his face was priceless – I’m sure he thought I’d lost my mind. I told him that the accomplishment could be small or large… it didn’t really matter. The point was to focus on something positive. I still remember him asking, “Well, what if I only fill half a page.” I just smiled and asked him to do his best and start writing.

Monday morning came and Grant was back in the office with a notebook full of accomplishments. I smiled and said, “You must have been fairly confident, you picked up a good sized notebook!” We both had a good laugh. Grant went on to build a multi-million dollar financial planning company and later franchised the operation to extend across Canada and the US!

This is a great exercise for anyone needing a bit of a boost. What would give you a winning feeling of pride and satisfaction? Remember… a winning feeling is a confident feeling and one that forgets misses, and reinforces successful attempts.

Manifestation Through Meditation

The Silva Ultramind System can help you increase your intuition through meditation and training yourself to go to the alpha and theta brainwave level. A teacher of the Silva program explains how you can increase your sales using this method.

Using ESP to Help You Increase your Sales Closing Rate
by Dennis Higgins
Sales Trainer and Consultant

To increase your sales, learn to ask questions on a subjective, intuitive level.

Before you meet with a person, you can earn the right to ask them subjective questions by working a health case on them. That's a moral feeling on my part.

First you help them, and that will tune you in to them.

In the Silva UltraMind ESP System, you get all kinds of points of reference by projecting into metals, plants, animals.

Have you been getting points of reference in your sales field?

Are you getting points of reference on desire?
Are you getting points of reference on why people want to buy?
Are you getting points of reference on when it's time to close?
How would you do that? How would you get points of reference on when someone is ready to close?

You could go to level, go back over sales that you have made, and follow that person and see when it was that they were ready to say "Yes." That is a point of reference for you.

Feel it. Feel what it felt like to sit there. Listen to what they were saying, and what the meaning was behind the words. Replay it, and make that point of reference yours.

Then recall another sale when somebody bought from you, and make that a point of reference.

Everyone wants to know, "How do I handle objections?"

Your job is to find out what they want, and to find out how your product can help them attain it.

So when somebody comes up with an objection, what is the first thing you would do, as a Silva grad?

Go to level, take a deep breath, and mentally ask them, "What's your real objection?"

Using the Silva techniques while you are on your feet is very simple.

If you were sitting in front of someone and they started having a chest pain, what is the first you would do, as a Silva grad?

You'd go to level.

So, there's no difference at all. In fact it is easier.

Which is easier, to talk to someone ahead of time, when all you have is their name, and mentally ask them what they want in life; or changing the very structure of a heart valve when you work a health case?

Use the tools that you have.

If I am going to go talk to a group of people that I don't know, I try to get points of reference. Where is the building where you will be making the presentation? Look it up on the map. Go visit the building. Get some points of reference. Who are these people? What are their names? At least get the name of the company.

If you know where the building is, then you can go see what kind of people go in there every day.

The night before a big talk, you can program yourself to wake up automatically at the exact time when most of those people are going to be the most receptive. Then program them. And program yourself.

Then when you walk into the room, make your talk a needs-based talk. In fact, it would be great to make your life a needs-based life, so that you can leave this a better world, as Jose Silva says.

If you really care about the people that you do business with, it shows.

Dealing with fear

Gain confidence by recalling the benefits that people receive

Some people are afraid to go see the big clients, or to go see a lot of clients.

It is okay to admit that you are afraid. That's why we have the blue framed mirror.

The first question, at level, is: What is it that I am afraid of?

Let's say that you do not like making cold calls on the telephone. If you don't know why, then enter your level, mentally picture yourself calling someone; see what happens, what the response is, and what you might be afraid of.

Perhaps you don't want to bother people, because you know that they are busy. You want to be liked, and therefore you don't want to bother them because they are busy.

If this is the case, then go to level and check, What are the reasons that someone would want to talk to you, and What are the reasons that they would like you. Instead of worrying about yourself, concentrate on why they would want to talk with you. Instead of focusing on yourself, focus on your client.

Maybe you are afraid that they will say No because of lack of money.

Enter your level and ask yourself, How many of the people that you are going to talk to can really buy your product? Ask yourself why they would buy your product. Come up with several good reasons.

Perhaps you are afraid of being rejected.

Go to your level and think about whether they are rejecting you, or rejecting the product. Don't make yourself the issue. You are not the issue. As long as you are concentrating on them and their needs and what you can help them get out of their lives, you are not the issue. If they say "No" to getting more out of their lives and what they want in their life, then you might want to look and see whether you want to put that option in front of them so they can see it.

When you enter your level yourself, and you ask questions like these, then you will come up with the answers that are right for you. This is one of the greatest things that Jose Silva discovered in his research:

Nobody else can do it for you as well as you can do it for yourself. No hypnotist. No sales manager. No psychologist. Nobody can help you, as effectively or as quickly as you can help yourself.

So enter your level on your own, ask the questions yourself, and you will get the information that you need to solve your problems.

Finding the right job

Combine your insight with your tutor's help and you'll succeed

In order to find the position that is right for you, you might choose to use the creative and intuitive insights that are available to you at the alpha level and discover what it is that you need around the job.

It is also important to call on higher intelligence, which you can do with the MentalVideo technique, and obtain guidance and insight about what is best for you to do.

First, use your intuition and the creative insight you obtain at the alpha level to figure out what you think is best for you.

What are your needs? Not just money, but what are you looking for in a job?

Do you want to prove something to yourself?

Do you want to acquire some knowledge?

Do you want to look at yourself in a different way?

Find out what your deep emotional needs are that you desire. Find out what you want out of a job, and what would feed you.

After you identify that, and make your "beta" MentalVideo, then, at your level when you are ready to go to sleep, make a second MentalVideo so that your tutor can guide you to a job that is perfect for you.

Work yourself as a case and find out what you needs are. Identify them, then include that information in your MentalVideo to help your tutor help you.

Determining the best prospect to call

Use points of reference to help you achieve your next success

Suppose you have a list of names of people to call to see if they are interested in your product. You'd like to call the ones who have the greatest need for you product first, and call the others later, wouldn't you? Here is a way that you can you develop your intuition so that you can sense which ones have the greatest need for your product, and are the most likely to buy:

Go back over your old list and find people who bought. Look at that list and find out what points of reference you have about people who are qualified and who buy.

In the Silva training, Jose Silva has you project into metals and leaves and other things in order to get points of reference to answer questions. One of the things you need in your business is points of reference about who is qualified, who can buy, who can't buy.

You get those points of reference from the past, from previous sales. You keep adding to your points of reference. Go back and work a health case on everybody who has bought from you.

Then those points of reference that you have established will guide you to intuitively choose the people who have similar characteristics, who are most likely to need your product.

Now, if you have a list of ten people to call this morning, then first sit down and work a health case on everybody on the list. Then, after you finish with each health case, go back and ask them mentally, "What do you want out of life? How can I help you get what you want out of life?"

Then when you call one of those people, they will feel on a deep level that you care about them.

Has this Lesson Utilizing Your ESP Helped You?
Now you can advance your ESP abilities with the next level in Mind Training - Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing. Unleash the most powerful source of personal power with this Home Study Course led by top Silva Instructors - Dennis Higgins and John La Tourrette.

The techniques in the Silva UltraMind Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing Course are part of what many say is the most advanced set of mind training techniques developed. In fact, Jose Silva developed these techniques over a period of 40 years with some several millions dollars worth of funding and tens of thousands of participants.