Get Uncomfortable Nobody ever became a success sitting still in the cushy confines of the same ol', same ol'.

I got sidetracked from my main business several years ago when Istarted working to syndicate a radio program with a world-renownedcomedian. I risked a lot of my own hard-earned money-andfailed. However, the knowledge I gained from that experience andthe contacts I made eventually helped me start my own radioprogram, which led to my TV program, which gave me greatervisibility and credibility. You get the point: No pain, nogain.

The world is full of great, albeit risky, opportunities. If weget complacent and try to take the "safe" route all thetime, we lose chances. Taking a risk means jumping out of thecomfort zone, adapting to changing situations and going beyond thenorm. Here are four ways to do that:

1. Shoot for the big deals. Go after the large accountsyou don't think you can get. Aim for the bigcontacts-presidents, CEOs and key players who can leverageyour efforts. Going for the big deal is like planting bamboo: Itremains underground for four years, then suddenly breaks throughthe earth and grows more than a foot in one day. The next day, itgrows another foot, and the next day, one more. In 100 days, theplant will grow as much as 100 feet.

Your "big deal" may not happen overnight (it may takeyears of nurturing to come to fruition), but once that accountstarts sprouting, you'll reap the rewards. And although you mayhave to risk putting time, energy and money into it, eventuallyyou'll get a great return.

2. Go outside your world. Whenever you take time awayfrom running and growing your business, you take a risk. However,using that time wisely can return a great deal of value. Onevaluable risk is taking time to look at other industries. Study howmanagement works in different fields and how other products aresold. Learn how to apply other industry successes to your ownbusiness. Studying what's going on outside your world can giveyou a unique viewpoint that will differentiate you from thecompetition.

3. Invest in people even when you think you can't affordit. A few years ago, a study looked at companies with the mostsuccessful sales forces. What's the common trait shared bythose businesses? Even when business (or the economy) was bad, theydoubled their training budgets. At the most critical times, thosecompanies risked spending more for a greater payback.

Rick Yoswein, president of Alpha Business Machine Corp., anauthorized dealer of Ricoh copiers, printers and network solutionsin New York City, knows all about risk, which he defines as "amatter of looking beyond what you have, seeing where you want togo, evaluating what it's going to take to get there and thendoing a risk-to-reward ratio." That means asking yourself ifit's worth doing all the things necessary to reach your goals.Adds Yoswein, who recently invested about $300,000 to renovate andadd office space, "You have to keep up with changing times andtechnologies."

4. Dare to be wrong. Carl Hamilton, author of Absolut: Biography of a Bottle (Texere)and a columnist for one of Sweden's largest newspapers, says,"When Absolut introduced its vodka to the U.S., it broke allthe rules. [Company executives] wanted Americans to drink vodkafrom Sweden. They came up with a clear bottle, and everyone said,'That's wrong; you can't see [it]. Put it on the shelfand you can see a bottle of Smirnoff right throughit-magnified.'"

But Absolut succeeded in taking a new and original approach. Thelesson? When you challenge the conventional, you risk being definedas "the guy who's doing it wrong." But if you trulybelieve in what you're doing, you have to take that risk.

We have to make difficult decisions-we have to risk beingwrong. We risk money, energy and time. We sacrifice one goal toachieve another. But risks can be calculated so they pay off moretimes than not. When you lose sight of risk, you lose sight ofopportunity. Erica Jong once said, "The truth is, if youdon't risk anything, you risk even more."