In Defense of Risk

I’ve got one more story for you all from our Korea trip and then I promise I’ll move on. 

We had an absolutely surreal moment while staying at the Skybay Hotel at Gyeungpo Beach. Modeled after the famous Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, it’s a two-tower hotel connected by an incredible rooftop infinity pool. The view from the top is stunning in all directions.

After a week of walking around crowded Seoul, the kids were ecstatic about the idea of spending a day swimming in the pool. So was I quite frankly. But when we got up there, our hopes and dreams were quickly smashed. 

We checked in at the desk and grabbed some towels. As we were walking away, the lifeguard ran after us, “I’m so sorry sir but your kids need to wear a life jacket.”

“Oh no thank you. They all know how to swim.”

Smiling awkwardly, “No, no. They have to wear a life jacket. It is required for anyone under 13.”

“Wait, really?”

As she pointed to a sign, “Yes.”

I couldn’t believe it.

Even though it was a ridiculous rule and the kids were disappointed, I begrudgingly grabbed some life jackets and put them on the kids. I figured we could still have some fun up there and enjoy the view.

As we settled in, I realized something even more absurd was happening. The hotel was blaring this awful fake AI pop music. What’s hilarious about this is that these songs are absolutely terrible. They may have the general structure down but the beats are elementary and the lyrics so devoid of true human emotion that they fall completely flat.

“When I think of you

My heart is full

Like the sky is blue

…”

That kind of nonsense. Makes you wonder just how that decision got made. Anyway, the music was so loud that you couldn’t enjoy being up there, lifejackets or not. 

I remember thinking in the moment that this is precisely the problem with safetyism. What starts out as a genuine concern quickly goes off the rails and before you know it you’ve precluded all possibility for joy. Who wants to live like that?

This is a phenomenon with an American origin, like mass consumerism itself or the selfie, and it shows up everywhere in our society—in parks with equipment so safe even the kids find them boring, in all the waivers and releases we are forced to sign before doing anything, in helicopter parenting, and even in the so-called financial wisdom we teach our kids. Now apparently, this obsession with safety is going global! Not good.

Later, it occurred to me that this was yet another manifestation of the global cult of ego infecting our culture. The ego—the “I, me, mine” part of us—is literally designed to protect and defend. It’s like an armored scaffolding hiding your real, authentic self and it’s only concerned with one thing: you and your survival. To be sure, the ego has its purpose but we’ve made a big mistake in allowing it to supplant the sacred. 

We’ve gone so far in our acquiescence to the petty rule of the ego that we have people quite literally trying to live forever again. I suggest they dust off “The Epic of Gilgamesh” or study the history of all those people who went looking for The Fountain of Youth. These quests never end well.

As we’ve turned ever more inward in our orientation, “risk” has become a bad word, something to avoid, something to hide from, something from which we need protection.

This thinking is all wrong!     

Risk is the pathway to your destiny, the lifeforce of self-discovery, and the stuff of the Universe. Uncertainty is constant and ubiquitous. The sooner you accept this feature of reality; the sooner you can get busy living. 

Now, I’m not advocating that you become flippant with risk. That would be foolish and hubristic. There are plenty of situations in life—e.g. certain high-risk physical activities or gambling—where you should listen to the ego’s impulse for safety. But when it comes to the big questions of life—like love, your vocation, your beliefs—you have to learn to see risk as your ally.

The truth that no one wants to tell you is that it’s risk that creates wealth. It is a feature not a bug of our capitalist system and intelligent risk-seeking is the secret driver of all success.

By the way, it’s not some coincidence that all the stuff you learned in school about finance and all the “conventional” wisdom coming out of Wall Street marketing firms is screaming at you about the dangers of risk. 

“Get good grades so that you can go to a good college and get a good job.”

“Diversify your portfolio using low-cost index funds.”

…

These messages are not intended for your best interests but rather for someone else’s. This is one of those “Do as I do, not as I say” areas of life. Take Warren Buffett, for example. He is by no means a bad guy. Not even close. But here’s someone whose name has become associated with a whole bunch of conservative and so-called prudent investment ideas—e.g. avoiding leverage, watching out for high-fee investments, and diversifying. But when you take a deep look at his track record and examine how he actually made his money, he’s someone who has taken enormous risks. We’re talking massively concentrated positioning, leveraging off other people’s money, and even selling high-priced opaque financial products like insurance. Literally, the opposite of what he's known for. 

So, think twice the next time you hear something about why it’s so important to protect yourself from risk. Ask yourself: “What’s behind that message? What is the system trying to convince me not to do and why?” Not always, of course, but often, the opposite is what you should do.

If there’s a secret to success in capitalism, it is learning to embrace risk, to use its incredible power to challenge the quality of your thinking, to test your beliefs and values, and to express fully what’s in your heart. Now, there’s a big difference between intelligent exposure to risk and just plain old recklessness. Don’t just go looking for risk—that’s nothing more than gambling—but don’t hide from it either. There’s more truth than you can know in the statement “The biggest risk is not taking a risk at all.” 

Top 8 Things to Try in South Korea

1. Korean BBQ  Born and Bread

2. Salt Bread  Jayeondo or Soha Salt Pond

3. Black Sesame Cream Latte Café Toenmaru

4. Beef Rib Soup  Gangneung Galbijjim

5. Fancy Pastries Café Onion

6. Clam Fried Rice  Umjine

7. Italian Cheese Room

8. Unique Desserts Mingles