Some thoughts on risk-taking

I'm not a risk-taker, not even in a way where I can spin experiences to make myself sound like one. Therefore, the "risk-taker" aspect of entrepreneurialism that we discussed last class is something that I feel might be one of my biggest barriers in letting some of my ideas come to fruition. It's true, that in the media we are barraged with stories about entrepreneurs who go from having nothing to suddenly finding that one idea that completely revolutionizes the world. Think of all the stories of children entrepreneurs, nearly-broke entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs who just happened to think of the right idea at the right time and made millions. These are the stories that we are fed because the rags-to-riches story is classic and rewarding in society's eyes. These individuals took a risk, and were rewarded.

This little guy has more guts than I do. 

That being said, it is less often that we are presented with stories of failed entrepreneurs. I have a feeling that the profession would be less glorified if we were allowed access to the stories that aren't told as often, the risk-taking ventures that never paid off or took off the ground at all. This here highlights my fears about entrepreneurial journalism, the fear that there will be a moment that you have to throw all of the data aside and just take a leap of faith that this idea is worth one pursuing and putting yourself behind, even when the end goal isn't exactly clear.

  In today's day and age, many journalists yearn for the good old days. Sometimes even I, who have grown up in an era where tools like Facebook and Twitter are almost second-nature, wish that the industry could be its simple, come in every day, edit, then leave industry that it once was. With the journalism industry practically shifting further and further away from that model by the day, journalists have to think of new ideas and new ways to do things in order to stay on top of the changing landscape. It seems, almost, that risk-taking isn't just a luxury for entrepreneurs anymore, but a necessity for anyone looking to make any kind of ripple in the journalism industry.

That being said, while I do not look at myself and see someone who is necessarily willing to jump out of a plane or scale an icy cliff, but I think one of the valuable skills that I will learn in this class is being able to take a little bit of the "risk" out of risk-taking by learning how to identify aspects of a project that are promising and those that are a red flag. Maybe that way, I will be able to produce something that requires a small leap of faith, but not a blind flight off a cliff.