IdeaBank : Free Samples : Risk

Risk—samples from our database

From the Quotations file of IdeaBank

One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Andre Gide (1869-1951)
French writer
in The Counterfeiters

Keywords: bold, development, entrepreneurial, experiment, explore, faith, investment, marketing, patience, planning, risk, venture

From the Quotations file of IdeaBank

The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out and meet it.

Pericles (c. 495-429 BC)
Athenian statesman

Keywords: brave, courage, danger, entrepreneur, entrepreneurial, entrepreneurship, gamble, perseverance, risk, unknown, winning

From the Quotations file of IdeaBank

For me, walking the tightrope is living. Everything else is waiting.

Karl Wallenda (1905-1978)
German-born American circus performer

Keywords: banker, danger, enjoy, expert, fun, gamble, invest, job, lawyer, medicine, perspective, physician, power, profession, professional, risk, sales, skill, stress, surgeon, work

From the Quotations file of IdeaBank

If no one ever took risks, Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor.

Neil Simon (1922- )
American playwright

Keywords: art, error, humor, insurance, joke, mistake, risk

From the Anecdotes/Excerpts file of IdeaBank

IT'S RISKY IN DEEP WATER

When lobsters grow to be about one pound, they instinctively know they are facing a crisis. They have lived in a hard shell that protects them, but inhibits their growth.

To become mature, the lobsters must shed their old shell and grow a new one, a process that takes about two days. This isn't long but during that time, they are left naked and vulnerable.

Other denizens of the deep may eat the naked lobster. Or waves may slam it against a rock and damage it. Yet there is no alternative. The lobster must endure two days of risk to grow a new shell and become mature.

Humans often have to do that too.

Keywords: anecdote, business, danger, fish, grow, growth, ocean, risks

From the Quotations file of IdeaBank

Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the "ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome." You must be willing to fire.

T. Boone Pickens (1928- )
American businessman, entrepreneur and corporate raider

Keywords: action, bureaucracy, career, courage, entrepreneurship, executive, fear, job, leadership, manager, plan, risk, timid, work

From the Humor file of IdeaBank

Economists are famous for hedging their bets. I was walking through a cemetery last Sunday and saw a tombstone of a famous economist buried there. The inscription on the stone read like this:

"I am guardedly optimistic about the next world but remain cognizant of the downside risks."

Keywords: economics, financial trends, forecast, hell, humor, inflation, investment, joke, money, wall street