Necessity is not the only mother of invention.

#7 of the Top 10 reasons why I wrote Almost Reckless.

On my Almost Reckless podcast, I’ve interviewed a range of wildly successful entrepreneurs, executives, and artists. Now “wildly successful” can be subjective, right? And I certainly don’t mean it as framed solely through the lens of monetary rewards or industry recognition - though many I’ve interviewed have had both. Regardless of who’ve I’ve spoken with, there’s a through-line of three critical stages they’ve all been through. The sooner you know about these stages, the better it can help shape your mindset to take important and necessary risks - whether you yourself are an entrepreneur, starting out in your career, or someone contemplating “what to do next.”

If you are the type of person who craves to do something new, innovative and not follow the pack, this first stage is critical. If you are someone who is continually frustrated that you’re not as successful in your job as you hoped to be, this first stage is critical. It’s the proverbial starting block and if you don’t make it off the block, you can’t enter the race. In stage one, every successful individual I spoke with came to grips with recognizing the false guardrails that we put on ourselves, on our companies, on our ideas. I see it all the time in my DM’s, the employees I’ve had through the years - the staggering number of people who have great ideas or talent, but give up or live in a vortex of doubt because they’re seeking validation in all the wrong places.

Here’s something that may be counterintuitive - being incredibly honest with yourself, and the facts, can propel you forward to innovate and do something wholly individual, authentic and maybe even groundbreaking. What are you good at, great at, and suck at is hard to write down - especially because a lot of these realizations come with time.

Writing down the “suck ats” can quite frankly suck, because it feels like an admission of failure. And there in lies the opportunity - recognizing the difference between “failure” and “opportunity”. You know the saying “necessity is the mother of invention?” Well, the saying is true and easy to embrace because “necessity” is recognizable when it’s happening. But coming to reality about your skills, when it’s wrapped up in pride, hopes, peer expectations or comparisons, well… not so much. Some of the individuals I’ve interviewed inadvertently created entirely new industries, or new roles within their companies, by being brutally direct with themselves about their strengths and weaknesses and then proceeding with creativity and pragmatism.

To eventually get in a mindset of risk taking, doing things may seem reckless to anyone else but you, is a thrilling stage to be in. Stage 3. It’s a good place and once you’re there you’ll never settle for anything less. But you have to get through stage one first, and Almost Reckless will help you do just that.

You can preorder the book below. And I hope you do, not because I’ll then determine my own success or failure against your choice, but because I know you will love it.

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