Their reasons vary wildly. They are called risk takers because they realize that in reality things don't always go well... but what the hell? They give it a go.
One of the reasons people take a chance is because they want to be famous.
Take Walt Disney for example. He experienced failure repeatedly before becoming a household name. He was actually fired from the Kansas City Star because his editor felt he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas!" Worse yet, he was unceremoniously removed from the company (Laugh-O-Gram Studio) he started at 30 years old.
The moral of Disney's story is never give up and keep taking chances until you achieve your goal. Walt became an icon because he didn't give up despite years of failures.
Types of risk takers
* There are the calculative and perceptive (hedge funds, contractors, entrepreneurs) people who observe what is going on in the markets and pick their moments. They realize that risk is a variable in the equation that leads to return. Their strength is deductive reasoning and oversight.
* Then we have people who take risks because it gives them a thrill. They don't always think ahead and are likely to fail through lack of planning. But when they succeed it becomes addictive. They are generally fearless and take on challenges that most people wouldn't consider.
1. Albert Einstein - He didn't speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped.
2. Thomas Edison - Teachers told Edison he was "too stupid to learn anything." He failed at 1,000 attempts to invent the light bulb.
3. Michael Jordon - He was cut from the high school basketball team. He didn't allow that setback to stop him however and became a legend on the court.
4. Babe Ruth - One of the greatest players in baseball had the unenviable record, for decades, of strikeouts. When asked about this he said, "Every strike brings me closer to the next home run."
5. Henry Ford - His early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
6. Dr. Suess - 27 different publishers rejected his first book To Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street.
7. Jack London - While he would go on to publish popular novels like White Fang and the Call of the Wild, his first story received six hundred rejection slips before finally being accepted.
8. Fred Astaire - In his first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire, "Can't act. Can't sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little." Astaire went on to become an incredibly successful actor, singer, and dancer and kept the note in his Beverly Hills home to remind him of where he came from."
9. Paulo Coelho - The author of one of the most well-read books worldwide, The Alchemist, was released by an obscure Brazilian publishing house which told him to give up. He didn't give up however and kept knocking on doors until he found success.
10. Vincent Van Gogh - During his lifetime, Van Gogh sold only one painting, and this was to a friend and only for a small amount of money. Still, he plugged on and created over 800 known works. Today they bring in hundreds of millions.
As it Stands, if you think about it, you're taking a chance every day of your life.
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