HE WHO DOES NOT RISK DOES NOT WIN: 4 INCREDIBLE EXAMPLES - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

I am one of those who think that he who does not risk does not win. Think about it, in a world of 7 billion people, if you do the same as everyone else, you are unlikely to get good results. And winning is getting very good results.

A prestigious Harvard University professor, Ronald Heifetz, says that if you make a drastic decision in your life, you already do much more than most people. Taking a real risk is therefore a real rarity.

The psychology of lose-win

As one of the most important psychologists in the world, Kahneman, comments in his book Think fast, think slowly, the human being tends to be safe and avoids risk.

Therefore, it hurts us more to lose than the pleasure of winning. This could be an explanation of why few are those who dare to try difficult things.

However, I think there are people who are genetically prone to risk and are therefore more likely to achieve great results.

But let's not kid ourselves: if you don't risk, you don't win, but taking risks doesn't guarantee winning. Out of 100, 1 (1%) may win, and the other 99 will stay closer or further away. The problem is that our focus goes to the winner, forgetting about everyone else, who are actually the vast majority.

Due to this psychological phenomenon, for example, the typical case occurs that someone wins the lottery and automatically more lottery tickets are sold. What we cannot forget is that there are millions who have not been touched.

Increasing the odds of winning

In my opinion, the best way to increase your chances of achieving what you set out to do is to take a risk and persevere. The more you persevere, the more people drop out and the more you advance on the path that leads to your goal.

Although the risk should not suppose a loss that seriously influences your health or financial situation: for example, I would never risk going into debt with the bank for thousands of euros.

In my opinion, the risk should carry some benefit, although in the end it does not lead to your main goal. Examples:

• If you take the risk of presenting yourself as a group leader in your work and don't succeed, at least you will have learned from the process. But you will not have risked your health or money.
• If you risk going to live with your partner in another country and the relationship breaks down, you will not have lost your health or become poor.
• If you risk starting your business without going into debt and you don't succeed, you will have learned from mistakes and many skills along the way.
• If you go to look for work abroad and you cannot find anything, you will have practiced a language, you will have gained autonomy and you will have visited another country.

As for the lottery, it is clear that if you don't buy, you don't win, but I personally don't like it. I think it has no merit to touch because it does not depend on one and on the other hand, the probabilities are infinitesimal.

As I have read, in the Euromillion you have 1 probability in 116,531,800. This is difficult for the human mind to understand, but imagine that a person across the country has a marble in their pocket. You have to choose who it is, at random, without having any idea who it is. You have little chance of getting it right? Well, in the lottery those few probabilities are almost multiplied by 3.

How to have more desire to win

As I have commented previously, human beings tend to avoid risk, they do not want losses. And I have also explained to you how you can take risks without losing too much.

So how do we find the motivation to take risks?

Without a doubt, focusing on the reward. But that reward must be of real value to you.

• Lovers, for example, risk going to live in other countries for their loved ones because the other person is a valuable asset.
• It is said that some of the people who achieve great achievements have low self-esteem and when they reach their goals they have the much desired social recognition.
• Great footballers, tennis players, swimmers and cyclists have an achievement motivation. In other words, they really want and want to win trophies and championships. Have you seen anyone more motivated to get the ballon d'or than Cristiano Ronaldo? Or more hard-working than Nadal?

4 Cases of people who took a risk and won

Actually I think that everyone who has achieved a great achievement, has taken a risk in a certain way. Although we do not see it, at one point or another they have had to take a step that was not safe and that could mean "falling" (you already know that you have to risk falling, but with the probability of getting back up).

Important: these cases are inspirational, you don't have to risk so much;).

1-Raoul Wallenberg

It was a Swedish diplomat who saved about 100,000! Jews of the Nazi Holocaust. In this case, I don't earn so much for myself, but for others.

Due to his status - first secretary of the Swedish delegation in Budapest (Hungary) - he gave protected passports to Jews, which identified them as Swedish. These documents were not legally valid, but they had the appearance of officials and were accepted by the Germans and Hungarians.

He also sheltered hundreds of Jews in houses that he posed as the "Swedish Library" or "Swedish Research Institute" and negotiated with senior Nazi officials such as Adolf Eichmann to prevent the deportation of more Jews to concentration camps.

Without a doubt, he risked being assassinated by the Nazis, in fact he got to get high officials to disobey Hitler. Although in the end he was accused by the Red Army of being a US spy.

2-Bill Gates

This man is today the richest person in the world and donates billions of dollars to charitable acts. You have probably bought one of their products.

He also took a risk; in 1976 he dropped out of one of the best universities in the world -Harvard- and moved to Albuquerque to work in his company. If he had played it safe, finished college and found a job, the story would be completely different.

3-Christopher Columbus

It is known almost for sure that he was not the first European to set foot in America and it is probable that someone told him (Alonso Sánchez) that traveling west could reach what he believed were Las Indias.

The fact is that without a doubt he took a risk, he did not know what he was going to find or what he would have to do. In fact, on one of his trips he was about to die and became isolated on an island near what is now the Dominican Republic.

If he hadn't dared, the story might be totally different.

4-Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin «Buzz»

They were the first men to set foot on the Moon (although there are people who say that they did not) and in reality the Apollo 11 trip was very likely to fail.

Later there were 5 other missions: Apollo 12 (1969), 14 (1971), 15 (1971), 16 (1972) and 17 (1972) with 15 astronauts who reached lunar orbit: Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon, Alan L Bean, Alan B. Shephard, Stuart A. Roosa, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James B. Irwin, Alfred Worden, John Young, Thomas Mattingly, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt.

And what do you think about taking risks? Do you usually do it? What people do you know who took a risk? You can comment below. Thank you!