Risk-Free Trades in Life You Have to Take
What are risk-free trades, and why do you want to take all of them? (dating, applying to jobs, reaching out to publishers)
When you want something and the risk is merely the threat of emotional pain, you should take the bet, make an effort, and put yourself out there. In the worst case, you’ll feel bad for a while and lose some time. In the best case, your life will change forever! That's a trade worth taking, don’t you think?
You might be asking yourself what such opportunities might look like. Isn’t there always some inherent risk? Well, since even breathing and walking outside your house are risky, I suppose you would be right. Everything is risky, but do you know the biggest risk in life?
Never taking any risk at all!
If you don’t take risks, venture out into the unknown, and step out of your comfort zone, you’ll forever be stuck right where you are. In truth, we can’t really stagnate, as inflation and old age are constantly breathing down our necks. There is no standing still.
Don’t worry. I won’t be talking about money and investing
Today, I wanted to talk to you about specific risk-reward situations in life. The kind that entail near zero risk or cost but can bring you infinite joy, fun, and upside opportunity. Oh, they exist, I assure you. You’ll see them in an entirely new light when you're done reading this post. At least, that’s my hope. So, let’s get to it!
I am a trader, and as a trader (the kind who looks at price charts all day), I’ve had to reframe how I look at the world. There is no certainty in the markets, and there are no certainties in life. We have to learn to look at trading and investing in terms of
Probabilities (never certainties), and
Risk-to-reward ratios.
Long story short. Anything can happen at any time, and all we control is how much we are willing to risk on any trading or investing idea, never how it will play out. We can never know which trade or investment will end as a profitable winner and which won’t, hitting us with a loss. Understanding this fact is crucial for anyone wanting to become a trader or investor, and it doesn’t come naturally. It has to be learned and trained.
What does that mean in practice?
Humans have this weird tendency to desire, demand, and expect certainty in this world, which is inherently uncertain and ever-changing. There is no certainty, and there are no guarantees, apart from taxes and death, as the saying goes. We must accept this fact of life and adapt our thinking around it.
Embrace the uncertainty instead of resisting or even fearing it
If we realize that we don’t know what the future will bring, we give up on trying to figure it out and predict the unpredictable. It’s a waste of time. We stop holding on so tightly to what is because we know all is fleeting. One day, it’s here, the next, it’s gone. Something dies, something is born. Everything changes all the time.
We learn to be open to change and not resist it. Change will continue whether we fight it with everything we have or learn to ride the waves. “Enough philosophy, get to the point!” I hear you.
Zero (minimal) risk, infinite reward opportunities
Those are the opportunities, chances we take that if they don’t go our way, won’t cost us anything or very little. But if they do, the reward is well worth the risk, and they can change our lives.
We’ve now cleared three things up:
There is no certainty in life. We need to learn to think in probabilities.
We want to take advantage of opportunities where we risk little to gain a lot.
The biggest risk is never taking any risk at all.
Let’s look at three types of risk-free trades that we should always take.
Asking someone we like out on a date
Most of us are shy, and we’re not brilliant on the self-image front. We overthink things and usually take everything personally, even though it isn’t.
Like most things, dating can be seen through the lens of a numbers game.
There are eight billion people in the world. We can’t all like each other. We must keep putting ourselves out there taking chances, and sooner or later, we will meet our match. Suppose we lock ourselves in a basement, talk to no one, reject all, and turn off the internet. In that case, we risk no rejection or disappointment but sentence ourselves to becoming a cat (or dog) lady or gentleman.
When you like someone and are thinking about asking them out, there are three possible scenarios:
You choose to remain a coward and don’t ask them out. You’ve taken no risk, and you now have zero chance of ever finding out if they like you or seeing what would have happened. As we said, the biggest risk is not taking any risk in the first place. You’ve condemned yourself to failure here by not even trying.
You take the chance, gather your courage, and profess that you like them and would love to take them out sometime. They reject you. You took a chance, but it didn’t go your way.
You take the chance and ask them out. You hit it off, and they say yes. You go on a date, and hopefully many more in the future. There could be some fun, intimacy, or even deep love in the books for you two love birds. Who knows, perhaps even kids and a happy ever after.
Can we know the probability of our success when we ask someone out?
Sometimes, we can sort of guess if they give us “the signals,” but for the most part, it’s a gamble. Even if they‘re all flirty, they could be married and just seek confirmation by attracting attention. Maybe they’ll like us, maybe they won't. Perhaps they have a bad day. We could end up saying some silly thing and drive them away, or we could be our most charming or seductive selves and inflame lust with the first sentence.
Anything is possible, and nothing is guaranteed. We can’t know what will happen, but we have to take the risk.
What are we risking?
This one is quite clear, isn’t it? We risk pain. The emotional pain of shame, rejection, denial, a hit on our self-esteem, and a broken heart if we’ve developed feelings for this person. Getting rejected sucks! It hurts. It makes us want to crawl into a dark hole and never return.
The worst-case scenario is that we get laughed at by some jerk or punched in the face if we’re barking up the wrong tree, and the gardener standing nearby takes offense. The odds of this are immensely low, though. Usually, it will be a polite “thank you, no thank you” response.
We will survive. We will get back up. We will be just fine. Our feelings were hurt, and it’s unpleasant, but we’re no worse off than if we never took that chance. In reality, nothing has changed. We’re still alone and have no date.
The key to better emotional handling of such rejections is to:
Reframe them as just a numbers game. We have to try multiple times to find those who like us (and we like them simultaneously). You only need to find one, and you will have to do some “trial and error” testing to match up unless you’re immensely lucky.
Realize it’s nothing personal. Their rejection says nothing about us, only them. THEY just happen not to like us or aren’t in the mood for dating. It doesn’t mean we might not entirely enamor someone else. Here’s the thing. You don’t like everyone in this world either, do you? There is nothing wrong with that. One hundred people, one hundred tastes. All good.
Practise. What? Unfortunately, the best way to get a thick skin and learn the above lessons is to seek rejection purposefully. Go and talk to as many people as possible. Ask out anyone you even remotely like. Swipe right on anyone passable, and ping them with a “hi.” Get comfortable with rejection. What do you think would happen if you went out today, walked the street, and asked one hundred people out (I’m not advocating for it)? I can’t predict your success rate (it’s not zero, though), but I can tell you that you wouldn’t care about rejection by the end of the day.
What do we stand to gain?
A night of passion, a new friend, a few pleasant dates, weeks or even years of a joyful relationship, perhaps even marriage and kids one day. It’s well worth the price of the potential emotional pain we might experience with a possible rejection.
More importantly, it’s the only way we’ll ever find someone - by taking a chance and risk getting hurt. Go on, ask them out. You’ll either end up licking your wounds or something much sweeter.
Applying for a new job
Applying for a new job is very similar to looking for a lover. You both (the employer and you) have some ideas about what you need and want and are looking for a perfect match. If you happen to hit each other’s bells, you’ll complete your mission. If not, you’ll have to move on and continue the search.
Can we know the probability of our success when we apply for a job?
Unless we’ve got connections or an extremely sought-after skillset, probably not. Millions of factors influence how your potential employer will evaluate your application. Will they even see you among hundreds of applicants? Will something jump out? Will there be better candidates? Will you hit it off on a personal level with the interviewer? There is only one way to find out - to take the risk.
We have the same three possible outcomes as above:
We don’t apply and never know what could have been
We apply but get rejected (don’t get picked).
We apply, and we get the job.
What are we risking?
Nothing! We risk nothing. The worst-case scenario is specific to your situation like your current boss (if you have one) finding out you’re looking for a new job and taking it personally.
Otherwise, you just stay right where you were before applying for that job. It is the same thing if you do nothing or apply and get rejected. Nothing happens. You didn’t gain anything, and you didn’t lose anything, apart from some time invested.
Feelings, good Sir!
Yes, your feelings could get hurt. I know. I’ve been on the receiving end of over four hundred rejections in my job-hunting career (I always reach for the impossible), so I know it hurts, and it makes you question your worth. But guess what? You’ll live!
Here’s how to diminish the emotional price of a rejection:
Never take anything personally, especially a job rejection. You just didn’t match up at this moment. It’s not a negative comment about you personally, but a mismatch. They wanted ice cream, and you were the cake. Both are great in their own way.
Focus only on what you can control, which is your mind and your actions. You can prepare and offer your services. At any interview, you can show up and introduce yourself. The rest is out of your hands.
Don’t build up expectations. You don’t know what will happen. Anything is possible. What will be, will be. If it's "meant to be," it will be. If not, you don't even want it!
Reframe not getting a job as a good thing. You never know; not getting a particular job can be the best thing that happened to you. Maybe a better one is just around the corner, and you could have been miserable here.
What do we stand to gain?
The upside outweighs any possible emotional pain you may experience. Especially if you’re reaching for your maximum potential. There is always a chance, however small, that you get the job or are offered another job. Focus on the process and what you control (applying), and let go of the results you do not control.
Applying for a new job is a risk-free trade you should always take! You risk nothing but stand to gain everything. Just reframe it correctly in your head and take nothing personally.
Reaching out to publishers (customers, partners)
A lot of my readers are writers. Writing is a lonely job, filled with rejection after rejection- rejection from publishers, rejection for collaboration, rejection from readers, rejection from critics, rejection of your payments - starving artists and whatnot.
Even the most famous and successful writers talk about how their beginnings were filled with enormous rejection. But they persevered and ended up where they are now.
Can we know the probability of our work being accepted by a publisher?
No, we can’t. We know the odds are bad, but we have to push against them to succeed. They sometimes get buried in emails from thousands of similarly hopeful writers and have to pick only a few lucky winners. There’s always a chance, though.
What are we risking?
Nothing. A bit of wasted time and a ruined day if our story gets rejected, but that’s about it. It is a prime example of a risk-free trade. We do nothing, and our work doesn’t get published. We apply and get rejected, and the result is the same.
What do we stand to gain?
Our work gets published, we get paid, gain new followers, readers, subscribers, and a publisher to work with. Again, the sky’s the limit here.
It’s well worth the risk of rejection and the little time we have to invest to open ourselves up to new opportunities. Open the email and contact that publisher.
Conclusion
There is a price to most things in life, but there are those rare exceptions when the risk (or cost) is so tiny that the potential reward far outweighs the risk. Those are the chances you should always take. Win or lose, you’ve won by giving it a chance, taking the leap, and opening yourself up to new opportunities and people.
No one likes to feel the sting of rejection, but rejection is a part of life. We should learn never to take it personally and see everything through the lens of possibilities and risk-reward plays. Here’s a simple rule:
When you want something and the risk is merely the threat of emotional pain, you should take the bet, make an effort, and put yourself out there.
In the worst case, you’ll feel bad for a while and lose some time. In the best case, your life will change forever! That's a trade worth taking, don’t you think?
So, the next time you see someone you want to talk to or ask on a date, notice a job opportunity that makes you feel alive, or want to reach out despite a low probability of success, remind yourself that it’s a RISK-FREE TRADE. Take it, regardless of the outcome. It’s a chance you just can’t miss. Yes, it can fail, but WHAT IF IT SUCCEEDS?
Good luck out there. Live boldly, my friends.
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