It can be frightening to take risks because we don’t know what might happen, but it is essential if we want to explore what is beyond them. I am not talking about risks that could be harmful to us, but those risks that have the potential to improve our lives. That is why it is so important that you are not afraid to take risks.

There is one particular risk that stands out in my mind from my last corporate job. My manager, Clarissa, who was in her mid-50s, slightly overweight, and had a very bossy attitude, came to me and said "Gene, since you are my assistant manager for the next week while I'm out on vacation, you will be responsible for the team making progress on the 5 corporate account's data that need to be updated.

We have the month to update the accounts so make sure you have the team working on one account at a time. Her request confused me because we had 50 employees on our team and 5 accounts, so I didn't understand why she wanted us to work on one account at a time.

While she was on vacation, the team and I started working on the accounts. I didn't feel good about working on one account at a time while the other four were left untouched. I thought we could get all the accounts updated quickly if the work was spread out equally among the staff. It would have been taking a risk because I would have been going against the instructions my manager gave me.

Even though I was afraid my plan may not work, I decided to take the risk anyway. I assigned 10 employees to an account, so they could all be worked on simultaneously. At the end of the week, each of the accounts were caught up.

One of our executives, who oversees our accounts, called me and said "Gene, could you please come to my office." I walked into Mr. Simon's office, and he had a smile on his tanned face. "Gene, did you lead the team in updating those accounts?" "Yes I did." "Good job, you guys got a month of work down in a week. Keep up the great work!"

The following week, Clarissa returned from her vacation, and I anticipated she’d be pleased with the progress we made in her absence. I was mistaken. She called me into her office and said, "Mr. Simon told me you all completed the accounts while I was gone. I specifically told you to work on one account at a time since we had a month to update them."

Shocked by her disappointment, I said, "I know you said that, but I didn't think that was an effective way to get the work done, so I assigned 10 employees to an account, and it worked."

She raised her voice and said "It seems like you just want to do things your way. You need to listen to the way I say you need to do things." I got angry when she started yelling at me, but I kept calm and responded "We got the work done and Mr. Simon applauded it so that is all that matters as far as I'm concerned." We sat silently and angrily stared into each other's eyes, then Clarissa asked, "Please leave my office."

I left her office and for the next few weeks she micromanaged me as if she was a human magnifying glass. It didn't bother me because I had the discipline to do my job whether she was watching me or not. Early the next month, Mr. Simon told me that I would be in charge of more accounts; my risk had paid off because I was getting more responsibility and more pay. Clarissa was no longer my manager and my career had been enhanced because I wasn't afraid to take a risk.

You will have moments in your life when you’re afraid to take a risk that could improve your life. I want to encourage you not to be afraid to take that risk, so you can achieve the goal or dream you desire because YOU ARE WORTHY TO BE GREAT!