VICTORIA LABALME - RISK FORWARD.

Copyright 2021 by Victoria Labalme

Published in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com

Published in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au

Published in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk

Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover Design: Ashley Zink and Victoria Labalme

Interior Design: Victoria Labalme

Interior Illustrations: Copyright 2021 by Victoria Labalme

Cover and Interior Layout: Bryn Starr Best

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense business advice, only offers information of a general nature to help you in your quest for business success. This book is not designed to be a definitive guide or to take the place of advice from a qualified professional, and there is no guarantee that the methods suggested in this book will be successful, owing to the risk that is involved in business of almost any kind. Thus, neither the publisher nor the author assume liability for any losses that may be sustained by the use of the methods described in this book, and any such liability is hereby expressly disclaimed. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-6180-0

E-book ISBN: 978-1-4019-6181-7

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-4019-6269-2

for my godmother, Elizabeth,

for my family, friends, and clients...

and

most of all

for

YOU

Some people in life know exactly what they want to achieve.

This is a book for the rest of us.

Many of the insights here are collected from my years in the performing arts.

These ideas have helped me in my work and in my life and have also helped thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, and individuals.

I hope you will find value in them too.

You can read the sections of this book in any order and at any pace, and if one part doesnt speak to you, choose another. Focus on those that resonate.

These are doorways in... and doorways out... and will have a different effect on you from year to year. Each time you return, you will discover something new.

Consider this book a touchstone for your souland a playbook in the improvisation of your work and life.

Wherever you see this image,

it means there are extra resources available.

These can be accessed at:

www.RiskForward.com/Resources

They offer stories, videos, journal pages, and how to steps to help you Risk Forward and put these ideas into practiceeither on your own or with others.

However, if youre looking for a step-by-step formula

you wont find it there... or here

because there is no formula outside of you.

You are the formula.

For many years, I suffered under a myth that unless I was clear and had a plan, I could not succeed.

I often made choices that others thought were odd; I seemed to veer off from the path people expected, and I couldnt always explain why except that it seemed right... for me.

When I chose to go out West for college vs. stay back East near home, my mother thought I might be defecting from the family.

When I chose to study theater vs. law, my mother thought I might be defecting from life.

When my classmates signed up for graduate school, I signed up for a 75-day expedition into the Alaskan wilderness.

When all my friends started getting married and having babies, I stayed single. If anyone questioned me, I would simply respond, I skipped my first divorce.

And when everyone seemed to have one clear career pathin medicine, law, or businessI explored a variety of interests in the performing artswriting, acting, comedy, dancing, directing, filmmaking, and mime.

Mime? YES. Mime.

People began to ask, What exactly are you doing? Where is all this going?

The truth was, I didnt know, and because I had no clear answer, I started to feel less thanlike I was falling behind and falling short. I started to wonder, Does everyone else have a map to life? Where was I the day they gave out the maps?

Nonetheless, I kept following what interested me and lit me up even though I wasnt sure where it would lead.

I supported myself by production managing theater events and producing corporate training videos.

Little by little, my performing arts career began to grow. I started acting in commercials; I landed small parts on television; the venues for my one-woman shows got bigger; and the invitations more prestigious.

I was on my way.

Then, early one morning in September 2001, I looked out my kitchen window in lower Manhattan to see a black gash in one of the World Trade Center towers. A trail of smoke drifted horizontally into the blue sky. Moments later, a fireball exploded from the second tower... followed by the slow mushroom cloud implosion of both buildings and the disintegration of life as we knew it.

Two days later, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

With Ground Zero still smoldering outside my window, I tried to process the news that in a few months my mother would be gone.

I found myself in a profound phase of uncertainty, a cloud of not knowing. And I started asking myself the questions so many of us do when our world spirals into crisis:

I took care of my mom. I volunteered at Ground Zero. And I searched for ways to use my arts background to help others.

And then, like a glimmer of light, seemingly out of nowhere, I got a call from an event coordinator who had seen me perform in a comedy club years before.

He explained that he was in charge of the upcoming convention for the National Speakers Association, and he invited me to open the event.

Excited by the possibility that I could contribute, I said, Yes. And so I took a section of my one-woman show and customized it for that specific audience.

Surrendering to this opportunity and heading into the unknown changed the course of my life and career.

That appearance led me to help speakers with their messaging and storytelling skills;