My father, who I love dearly, is a conservative, cautious sort. He has 5 credit cards to his name — a couple of Visa’s, an American Express, and a Costco credit card — because if he’s in Europe he wants to have $15-30 thousand dollars of credit “cash” available to him in an emergency.

Why is this a problem? It’s simple. Being cautious becomes a way of life. And in this life, you need to take risks. Yes, being a success requires risk-taking. But even just surviving on a normal basis takes risk-taking. In an ordinary emergency situation, the worst thing you can do is to do nothing, be paralyzed. You’ve got to move, get going, forge ahead with risky activity that may well bear fruit.

My father aims low. He wants his children to do well, but less than they are capable of. The only good thing about him is he supports my writing endeavors — but I think this is because he recognizes the value of having a dream, and not as a venture worthwhile on its own merits. He thinks science fiction novels warp the mind, unbelievably enough. He thinks reading is bad for you, even though it is by reading I become a better writer, well on my way to financial and societal success.

Risk is built-in to the fabric of life. Look at mice. They are tiny, defenseless creatures — who forge ahead in a risk-filled manner, scampering out of curiosity and need to explore their environments, looking for food and a place to sleep. The mouse knows there are cats and owls out there, but that doesn’t stop him.

The weak-constituted human being should be like the mouse. The strong-constituted human being should be like the lion. Of course some prudence at some times is necessary. But prudence is a misnomer. You are aligning yourself with the grain of the universe. There are forces going wavily in straight lines in every direction. And these forces, metaphorically, dictate the actions that should be taken. This can be mistaken as prudence, but you are really flowing with Power, adding its Power to your power, Power to Power.

Caution breeds inaction. It feels safer to do nothing and “hope for the best.” But the best rarely occurs. I am reminded of bullies and their actions. The victims of bullies are typically overly cautious. They would be better to turn violent and confront their harasser with flying fists than run away or stand shock still. Their cautious cowardice defeats them.

Wild risk-taking is a thing of the untamed rebel. Even it may have its place in times. But generally what you want is to take risks when and as they’re warranted. This may be often. But it’s only “wild” if you’re lashing out at the boredom of things and want to shake things up.

My father lived a moderately successful life as a slightly above middle class man. He ended up with $400,000 in the bank (conservatively making 5% interest at the Meridian credit union, much higher than the RBC bank where it had been parked) and a nice condo in a retirement building. But he could have done so much more.

He thought that approaching women on the street with the ultimate purpose of getting a date was “risking trouble.” He reserved his efforts for established places like adults-only dance clubs. Yet I’ve approached women on the street and never had a problem. It doesn’t always work out, but who says taking a risk always pans out? It is the probability you are seeking, not the certainty. If everyone sought certainty, there would be no risk-taking whatsoever.

The biggest risk of all is to take no risks at all. Remember that as you navigate through life. I could have made this article a “Life Lesson” but I think it’s important enough to make it as a General Article. Caution is a veritable hazard in existence. The world was colonized by Western European man because He took a big risk and it paid off huge. That’s the thing about risks: there’s often a sweet bundle of a payoff at the end of them, making them not only worthwhile, but satisfying to engage in.

So let your freak flag fly. Go wild for a while and see what happens.