What Do You Do When All Of Your Cards Are On The Table?

by Robb Sutton

It is the bottom of the 9th, 4th quarter and you are all in. You size up the situation around you…look at your competition…read your opponent…dig deep within your gut and make a decision. You make the decision to fold or go for it. This decision is made in a split second based off of facts that are nothing but educated guesses. You go for it…hit it big and enjoy the reward…or you sit back and wonder what could have been. Either way…the decision was yours…you made that decision and now you are the one that has to live with it. Success or failure…it is all on you as you move forward.

What Do You Do When All Of Your Cards Are On The Table?

Pressure does different things to different people. How we react to a given situation varies depending on variables weighed in at the time. Do react differently when the risks are higher? Absolutely! The question is when do you make the decision to hit the risk when everything isn’t on the line.

Many times, we get stuck in a pattern. We hate our jobs but don’t do a damn thing about it. Why? Because it is a steady income stream and you hope and pray that it will get better over time. You put off the risks of today in favor of the sure thing. It is a difficult situation to contemplate as you move forward in life, but what separates the really successful from the routine employee is that willingness to step outside of the box and take that risk.

This risk is not always monetary in nature. Maybe you are stepping out of your comfort zone by really putting yourself out there for the ridicule or praise of others. Maybe you are stepping into a new, unknown field where you will have to learn a new trade all over again. Maybe you are just taking that risk to push for that promotion or raise.

As you look at your business and life decisions, you need to ask yourself a question. How would I approach this situation differently if my life was on the line?

In all reality, our lives are on the line each and every day. We do not know with 100% certainty that we are going to be here tomorrow, so why do we treat all of our decisions like they can just be handled later? As you go through your blogging or business building, are there certain decisions you have put off until tomorrow because you are afraid of the reaction? The result could be life changing, but you put it off out of fear of rejection, losing it all or just the fear of actual work?

If you would handle the situation differently if you suddenly lost your job or got a massive pay cut, then you should probably analyze the current situation and ask, “why not now?”.

Why would you treat the situation differently if all of your cards were on the table and what can you do now to further enhance and better your life through action? Tomorrow is too late and today is the day to start living. Complacency and laziness will keep you trapped. Motivation and the willingness to take calculated risks will catapult you into another world.

Image by GonchoA

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6 comments

Lorena Heletea January 25, 2010 - 4:36 pm

Great points and great questions we need to constantly ask ourselves.

“Why do we treat all of our decisions like they can just be handled later?”
Habit – we just do things that are comfortable because of Self Image Absolutely, Self awareness,lack of understanding that we were programed since we were little children to do certain things a certain way and we act based on our Paradigm. Most people have no understanding that as adults we can choose our beliefs and habits and that we have the ability to reprogram our Mind and create new Habits for improved success in every area of life.

Cool post Robb.

Thank you

LorenaHeletea

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Robb Sutton January 26, 2010 - 8:05 am

You bring up a great point Lorena. I hear people use the excuse “I had no guidance…that was the way I was raised…that is just how we do it where I am from…etc.”

At some point in everyone’s life, they have to take ownership and responsibility for their future instead of blaming some other excuse.

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Tara Jacobsen - Marketing Artfully January 25, 2010 - 7:29 pm

I have to say that in talking with someone it is immediately obvious if they are all in or not. All in people are passionate about the course they have chosen and aren’t always assuming something will go wrong – they wonder what next right thing is coming around the corner!!!

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Robb Sutton January 26, 2010 - 8:05 am

It’s amazing how you can tell right off the bat isn’t it?! It’s not an attitude or cockiness either.

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Lee January 25, 2010 - 8:12 pm

Great read. This something I need to be reminded of on a regular basis. To Risk is to Journey. Challenge yourself (me) to do something everyday that I know is important in my life and it has to be something that I don’t want to do, yet I know it will help me, either for this day or the next. It’s not always an easy task but important.
Send this to me again sometime Robb. I need to see this regularly.. LOL

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Robb Sutton January 26, 2010 - 8:06 am

Thanks Lee. Challenge yourself is key. Too many people choose the easy way out.

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