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The Critical Difference Between a Gamble and a Calculated Risk!

By Charles Goodwin

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Life so often appears a paradox at every level. The universe is both chaotic and yet *ordered*. You have your own
*predetermined destiny*, yet you also have free will. If truth and love is total, where lies untruth and hate? If God is all
encompassing, where lies the proverbial devil? A paradox indeed! Life may well even appear a gamble, yet gambling will
lead you to failure.

From the outset let us define a gamble: A gamble is when the outcome is left to pure chance.

Note that all forms of legalized gambling are understandably not left to pure chance. The fact that the house always has the
edge to pay their taxes and overheads and to afford themselves a more than healthy profit, creates the situation where they
are not gambling but taking a calculated risk. When you use their services, you are *not* gambling but paying dearly for the
privilege of being a recipient of their calculated risk.

A calculated risk is exactly what the words state. The risks associated with the contemplated action have been calculated.
For example, when you drive your car to work or fly in a commercial airliner, you are taking a calculated risk. You are not
gambling. You have accurately calculated that the risks are negligible. Going to a casino to win money rather than to be
entertained is also a calculated risk. However, the risks are substantial. The odds are intentionally stacked against you
mathematically.

When you make a purchasing decision in your wealth creation program there will always be a calculated risk. Make sure
that this risk factor is minimized as close to zero as possible. Always do your homework first. Remember: Fools rush in
where angels fear to tread.

Never ever gamble on the outcome. If you leave the outcome to pure chance, you are by default accepting the victim
role in life.

Enthusiasm may lead to impulsive and rash decisions that prove to be a sheer gamble. Ego can also get in the way of your
better judgment, especially when success follows success follows success. After a while it seems you can do no wrong and
then all of a sudden, bang! You are bought down to earth with a thud. You had forgotten the cardinal rule - take calculated
risks when the odds are clearly in your favor, but never gamble.

There is an old Indian saying that translates: After success (or victory), your turban becomes tight and restricts the blood
flow to your brain. Your ego insists on being right. It hates to be wrong. Even when all the logical evidence says *NO*,
your ego will say *YES*, by all means go for it." Beware when your hat begins to feel tight!

You cannot avoid calculated risks - but fortunately, you have the freedom to calculate the risk factor.

So, the main difference between a gamble and a calculated risk is the element of freedom to make a decision. In a gamble,
you are allowing yourself to be the victim. In a calculated risk, you remain the master of your own destiny!