Taking risk is partly a matter of mind-over-matter, but mostly about environment. It’s more about being in a position to take risk than having the willpower to do so.
The following factors create the environment for risk-taking:
Financial risk
- Marry rich
- Professional qualification to fall back on
- Savings
- Wealthy parents (that love you)
- Low personal overheads (the fewer holes in the bucket, the slower the water leaks out)
Emotional risk
- Stay close to family, especially siblings
- Stay close to friends from your childhood
- Live geographically nearby friends and family
Reputation risk
Reputation boils down to what people think and say about you. Or rather what you think they think and say about you. Of course, it doesn’t matter what other people say, but these words of wisdom are virtually impossible to internalize without experience.
Which means the only way to overcome the fear of public humiliation is to take a small risk of public humiliation, i.e.: public speaking. The more you put yourself out there, the more you’ll fail, and the more conscious you’ll become of the irrelevance of what other people think.
Once you’ve figured out this secret you’re good to go:
The people who matter don’t care; the people who care don’t matter.