Nikhil Kabadi

Risk is sandpaper you willingly scrub yourself when working on a bold vision.

Any outcome that feels smooth and effortless from the outside is polished by the friction of risks.

Ask an entrepreneur who has survived 10 years of a start-up.

Ask a bodybuilder who makes lifting weights seem surreal.

Ask a musician on their way to the charts about singing in bars for years.

All of them endured the friction on their journey towards glory… or collapse.

When it comes to risks, Glory and Collapse are two sides of the same coin. And in the toss of life, the outcome tends to land collapse side up.

And when it does, our ability to take risks again depends on whether it’s a collapse you recover from or one that turns catastrophic and paralyzes you from taking risks again.

We underestimate the odds of bad things happening to us when we take a risk. So managing risk is about managing collapse.

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🍪 Fortune Cookie:

“Starting a company is like jumping off a cliff and assembling a plane on the way down. There’s no safety net — either you crash, or take flight.” – Reid Hoffman

But many times we don’t just make one jump. We want to optimize for multiple jumps.

People who get up, dust themselves off, and begin again carry three powerful, invisible guards with them.

These guards don’t prevent failure. But they prevent it from becoming catastrophic.

Guard #1: Financial Runway

This guard buys them time.

• Prefer variable costs over fixed costs whenever possible.
• No debt.
• They lead simple lives.

Guard #2: Health Runway

This guard protects their next 10 decisions.

• Health is their plan B. Collapse becomes catastrophic when your body collapses too.
• They protect sleep, strength, and sanity like assets.

Guard #3: Integrity Runway

This allows them to look into the eyes confidently.

• No shortcuts or cutting corners.
• They smile proudly at their reflection in the mirror.
• They have an identity beyond the outcome or the risk.

Risk is necessary; collapse is a real probability, catastrophic collapse is optional.

Related article:

Risk as feelings