I recently sat down to speak with Ffx Academy founder, Patrick Kenney about ways people can apply risk management in their personal lives. So, this is what I learned and what I want to pass on to you:
1. You should surround yourself with the proper individuals
Surrounding yourself with people you can trust puts you in a place where risk becomes minimal. It puts you in a place where you have some control instead of no control. Being able to have some control over your surroundings and your environment helps downplay the risk(s) you take in business, especially since risk is inevitable.
2. Educate yourself in whatever it is you are doing
If you are educated in whatever you are doing, then you are lowering the amount of risk because you have a lower chance of making the wrong decision. There won’t be much setback because you either have a general idea about what you’re doing or what you’re trying to accomplish—even when something bad does happen, you have the knowledge to fix it. Usually, worst things happen when you don’t know what you’re doing.
3. Only listen to the people who have what you want
If you’re trying to be a good basketball player, don’t go to the person who’s never played basketball in their life. Go to someone who is where you want to be at and get them to teach you how to get there. There’s a few people out there that are perceived to be good until you figure out that they’re only perceived as good. You need to find someone that is legitimately good at what they do in the area you want to be in; that way you minimize risk of taking advice from someone who has never done it before.
4. Understand you can’t have the good without the bad
In life, there’s no way you are going to be happy every single day of your life. You are going to have bad days and good days. It’s inevitable. But don’t let that stop you. Just knowing that it’s a part of life will minimize your risk of having mental breakdowns or making irrational decisions. With business, if you make a lot of money but have bad money management and you don’t think about investing, saving, taxes or expenses, then you are heightening your risk and can put yourself in a deeper hole than you were initially in.
5. Remember to enjoy the little things in life
People can be so stressed about becoming the next big thing that they forget to enjoy the little things in life. This might be the ultimate risk of them all because if you focus your entire life on working and not living you can end up missing out on a fulfilling life. It’s important to slow down and take the simple things in because we don’t get a second shot at life.
6. Risk is generated by character
If you’re an unethical person and step on people’s toes you have a higher risk of setbacks when you’re trying to accomplish something because you have more people out to get you. Even if people aren’t out to get you, they sure won’t want to help you. But if you’re a genuinely good person then of course their first thought isn’t to come and get you. In fact those people will push you further to your goals and help you get there. They will connect you with those you need to connect with.
7. Don’t overthink it
You probably have been told to think long and hard about making the right choice. But too often you may find yourself overthinking about something that’s incredibly simple. You may overthink it and find all the possible bad things that can happen and then end up not taking the risk. Risk management is not solely on minimising risk. It’s also about taking them too!
