There is a parable that Jesus tells in Matthew commonly called the Parable of the Talents. The parable tells of 3 servants who were given am certain amount of money - one got 5 bags, one got 2 bags, and one was given just 1 talent.
The man with 5 invested and got 5 in return. The man with 2 put his to work and got 2 in return. The man with one dug a hole and buried the talent. Long story short, the man with 5 and 2 got a return on their investment and were rewarded for their efforts from the master. The man with one who had buried the 1 bag of talents (money) was punished. He was stripped of his bag and put out.
Why do I tell this story, well for a long time I read this story and identified with the guy with one bag. I thought to myself, nothing wrong with that, at least he did not lose anything. I have lived my life burying my talents, limiting the risks I take, and living the middle. The middle is no place to live. The middle is risk free, the middle is fading, the middle is no place to live.
The middle class is fading.
Mid-size cars are boring.
And nobody in the NBA can make a mid-range jumper.
The middle is disappearing...
I have lived like the guy who been captivated by fear that if he lost his master's talent he would be punished. The "one bag" of talent guy did nothing with what he was given not for selfish reasons, but out of fear. Fear of failing, fear of risk, and the fear of taking a chance caused him to do nothing with his talent!
Without risk there is no chance at reward. My reality is that I have lived comfortably in the middle, risking little, gaining little and losing most everything. Without taking risk you are really losing. The man with one bag was stripped of his talents and kicked out!
I am working at being a risk taker. I am working at changing my reality. Without taking risk there is no chance of knowing what reward you may find.
Risk is scary.
Risk require facing fear.
Yet, risk has the potential reap reward and change reality!
Learning to take a risk with my talents!
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