Ricky Cohen - Risk to Succeed: Essential Lessons for Discovering Your Unique Talents and Finding Success

Copyright 2013 by Conway Capital, LLC. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-180908-5
MHID: 0-07-180908-2

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This story about courage, discovery, risk taking, and success is dedicated to the memory of my parents and my brother.

My father, Abe, was a visionary and leader, a southern gentleman, and a perpetual entrepreneur.

My mother, Geri, was a beautiful, regal woman, who committed her life to building the lives of others.

The beneficiaries of their magnificent marriage of 68 years are 6 children, nearly 30 grandchildren, a similar number of great grandchildren, and thousands of men and women in the Sephardic community of Brooklyn, NY.

And to my brother Alfred who died at the age of three. Your purity is our teacher.

PART ONE
JUNGLE WISDOM
REVEAL

PART TWO
JUNGLE WISDOM
RISK TO SUCCEED

PART THREE
JUNGLE WISDOM
SHED, SHED, SAVE

PART FOUR
JUNGLE WISDOM
SURVIVAL IN THE JUNGLE

To my student, and friend, Marianna Leybengrub. Thank you for your invaluable insights and the perseverance to bring Bella and Cee to life. May your courage to take risks and your commitment to your dreams guide your life always.

There is no book without an introduction. There is no
relationship to the author, his words or ideas.

We live at a fascinating time.

Intellectual borders are disappearing. Geographic boundaries are blurred. The lines between politics, the business world, and the world of nonprofits are fading as key personalities in each discipline take leadership positions in the others. The local marketplace is global, and stakeholders compete and benefit from talent, brain power, and initiative nurtured at the farthest points on the planet.

The power of the mind has replaced physical strength and is quickly replacing natural resources as the worlds currencythe most resilient tool to ensure influence and success.

Smart risk takers have amassed more wealth than nations, and age and experience are revered again, as they were centuries ago.

Opportunities for success and personal fulfillment abound. The constants are courage and the amassing of knowledge. Transparency and integrity are the expected norm, as the global knowledge economy peels away the obliqueness from everything and everyone.

There is an unprecedented opportunity for an individual to maximize his career by mastering the age-old principles that have guided human success forever. Whether youre an entrepreneur or an intra-preneur, (someone looking to maximize his/her success within a traditional organizational structure), the opportunities are great and the Risk to Succeed guidelines are invaluable.

Be a student of timeless wisdom and couple that wisdom with consistent, practical application. Risk to Succeed!

THE FOUNDATION: WHERE IT BEGINS

Your will establishes your reality. A will-driven reality will be
even greater than the dream within which it was conceived.

Career success starts with the right foundation.

We live at a time of instant everything.

The immediate accessibility of information and products has great value, yet instant availability and the absence of process may confuse us and give us the sense that all good things are easily and quickly attained.

As is obvious to mostwhen it comes to the long lasting, defining things in life, there is no instant anything. In fact, the opposite is true. The noteworthy things in life: fulfillment, a good marriage, happy and successful children, and an enriching career, demand an ever growing, creative and intense commitmentoftentimes beyond what we imagine we are capable of giving.

Time, patience, perseverance, more time, new found energy, creativity, and strength, drawn from what we want and hope for, must all be brought to bear to earn lifes real trophies.

Commitment is the starting point and the fuel that enables us to build and grow. It is the facilitator of all facilitators.

Make a commitment: If you like what you read on the following pages, work to make it yours.

I often hear people say things such as: I do it all for my children, or My focus is to reach a certain point in my career where I can retire and commit all of my efforts to the wellbeing of those around me, and Isnt that what lifes about?