| Women need to start taking more risks if they want | | | | comparison to men. Women simply haven't had |
| to make more money! And if women are going to | | | | enough practice, to tolerate the anxiety that risk |
| take more risks, they need to be able to tolerate the | | | | taking entails. And it is in mastering this anxiety that |
| anxiety that can come with risk taking, for that is | | | | the answer lies.How do you do this? By flexing your |
| why risk taking is so difficult. We need to risk picking | | | | risk taking muscles. Actively look for situations and |
| up the phone and calling a potential referral source. | | | | places where you can take a risk. Obviously, start |
| We need to risk speaking up more at networking | | | | small. Some of you need to start by negotiating with |
| meetings. We need to risk offering a new service or | | | | your waiter about the irregularities of your order. |
| creating a new niche. We need to risk raising our | | | | Some of you are ready to offer yourself as a |
| fees.So if we have so much to gain by risk taking, | | | | potential speaker. But push yourself, wherever you |
| why is it so difficult? Because on top of having to | | | | are, until you feel uncomfortable. (Remember, if you |
| deal with anxiety, the other reality is that you won't | | | | are not pushing on your comfort zone, it actually |
| always win. You won't always get what you ask for. | | | | shrinks!) Now it's true that by not risking, you are |
| Therefore, being able to risk really means being able | | | | able to avoid feeling uncomfortable. But the more |
| to deal with hearing a possible "no" or "not right | | | | you flee from an anxiety provoking situation, the |
| now", and a lot of women tend to interpret this as | | | | more you build up your aversion to taking risks and |
| rejection. Rejection always feels more personal than | | | | feeling anxiety. It will become more and more |
| simple defeat.Boys learn to deal with risk taking | | | | difficult.Remember, you can practice risk taking in |
| anxiety at a very young age, hurtling their little bodies | | | | your own mind. Imagine yourself taking the risk and |
| off of play structures and later on the sports field. | | | | see yourself as being calm and okay, no matter |
| Girls are actively engaged in their social | | | | what. See it again and again. The more you think |
| interconnections while boys are playing a variety of | | | | about risk taking, and imagine yourself able to do it, |
| "games", sports related and otherwise. Game playing, | | | | the easier it will be to actually risk something. Actively |
| which boys tend to engage in far more than girls, | | | | ask yourself, where can I take a risk?The bottom |
| teaches important skills. Boys learn that sometimes | | | | line is that it will be difficult to make great money if |
| you win and sometimes you lose. If boys interpreted | | | | you do not take risks. So learn to tolerate risk taking |
| all "losses" as "rejections", their game playing careers | | | | by flexing your risk muscle often. More money awaits |
| would be short-lived! And in the dating arena, it is still | | | | you!Mikelann Valterra, MA is the founder of the |
| far more common for men to do the asking, (do the | | | | Women's Earning Institute and the author of Why |
| risking) and consequently they must deal with the | | | | Women Earn Less- How to Make What You're Really |
| anxiety of "getting shot down".Indeed, there is some | | | | Worth. As a specialist in women's earning issues, her |
| evidence that risk taking is at least partially gender | | | | mission is to empower women to earn what they're |
| specific. (For a great discussion of this, see Linda | | | | really worth. Through trainings, business support |
| Austin's What's Holding You Back? 8 Critical Choices | | | | groups and private work, she teaches women how |
| For Women's Success.) But this means we must | | | | to make peace with money and create more |
| leverage our ability to take risks even more, because | | | | profitable practices. 206.634. |
| we are already partly behind the eight ball, in | | | | |