Hey, everyone it’s Alexander Seery, founder of Shifts to Success, helping police officers break out, make the change, and live their lives.

Today, I want to help you reframe risk, in the hope that it helps you pursue things that you may want for your life, with more tenacity. Let me start off by asking you a question. A bit of a deep question. Are you willing to die for your job as a police officer? Seriously, are you willing to risk everything for your job, because if you’re not, then a reality check may be needed. You see, your chances are dramatically increased, as a police officer, due to the nature of the job of either getting seriously injured, or being killed.

And you may say, “Yeah, but Alex, anyone could die at any moment.” And you’re right. I for one, could get hit by a bus tomorrow. But as I’ve mentioned, your chances, being a police officer, are seriously increased because you just put yourself in harm’s way, because that’s your job. That’s the nature of it. More than 4,000 police officers have been killed in the line of duty since 1792, which is a phenomenal amount. However, the risk of being seriously injured or killed is just one element of risk, In life. And as a police officer, you signed up knowing that there is a risk of the worst happening.

My question to you would be, if you are already aware of your increased chances of dying or being seriously injured in the job, what else can life threaten you with? If you’re willing to risk life itself, pursuing a life to live, of your dreams as a successful entrepreneur and becoming your own boss. You should laugh in the face of that risk. Having a job as a police officer, you can expect to have some surprises along the way. However, there’s still a bit of a fixed routine of going to work and dealing with the same old issues, whatever offence they may be. Going through the same hole issue for the duration of your life, when you aren’t truly happy in doing so, is a living death. Going through life, playing it small or remaining in your comfort zone is like a living corpse, like a zombie, mindlessly drifting day in, day out toward the ultimate ending for us all anyway, which is death.

Think about it, you’re not taking any risk to live a life of your dreams, to ultimately die anyway! It makes no sense to me. The minute you are born, shit got risky for you, because that’s when you started to die. The clock started to tick, and it all became very risky. You see, falling in love is risky. Marriage is risky. Having children is risky. Investing your money is risky. Business is risky, but the ultimate risk the law is not living a life you truly want, because I’m sorry to say, I believe that we only get one chance at this thing called life and if you believe otherwise, that’s great, but I truly believe we don’t and time is something you’ll never get back.

While I was on duty, when I was a detention officer for Notts Police, I was engaged in a conversation with an ex-colleague. She was so fixed in her mindset about risk, that she became very bitter and negative about it. Now, at the time I had just started my business. I was full of enthusiasm and excitement, as you do. She said to me, “Alex, don’t you think what you’re doing is risky?” I paused for a minute. I was shocked, because this particular colleague always moaned about her job constantly, all the time each shift. She would say things like, “Oh, my annual leave hasn’t been accepted again. They’re always changing policy. They’re such a bad employer.”

To me, she was just playing victim. So anyways, I replied to her and said, “Look, I can fail at so many things in life. So I may as well take a chance on something I enjoy doing, instead of working in a job until I’m an old man, and it’s too late.” Now, she didn’t reply back and instead walked off. I think the point came across to her, but unfortunately, in her mind, she thought it was just too late. In order for you to have a sense of fulfilment in your life, you’re going to have to get out of your comfort zone and take risks and once you do, you will expand your whole life, and get more out of it!

I just truly hope that you understand that if you want a life of your dreams, you’re gonna have to take an element of risk, a calculated risk. There is one thing that will happen in your life that you will die with, if you do not take risks to build a life that you truly want for yourself and your family. That one thing is regret. Recently, a young friend of mine passed away in her mid 20s of cancer. I used to work with her for three years, and she was one of the most caring, kind, considerate people, and funny people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. Even though we weren’t extremely close, she was the first person that died who I knew well enough, other than family. This made me realise, which is pretty obvious, but it brings home the point that we can’t control when death will come for us. It can come at anytime. I’m not saying that she died with regret, but I am saying that if I were to die right now, if I were to get hit by a bus, I would definitely die with regret.

I know that if I don’t jump and take risks in my life, then I’m going to live a life full of regret. Regret is an awful thing to experience, especially when you can’t do anything about it. I don’t wish it upon anyone. Don’t look back on your life and wishing you had more time, because it will never happen. So utilise the time you have now to ensure you do not live a life with regret. Regret weighs tonnes, and commitment only weighs ounces. Every successful person has jumped, and if you want to become successful, so do you. Your parachute may not open right away, and that is completely normal, but eventually it will and when it does, your life will never be the same again.

Remember, nothing great was ever achieved in comfort zones. I believe you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. So take a risk on your own abilities change your life in a remarkable way. I hope this video has served you well, and if you’re a police officer thinking about going into business one day, then I would encourage you to go and take the police officer’s scorecard quiz by clicking the link in the description. Thanks for watching, and If you like this video, give me a thumbs up, and don’t forget to hit subscribe. See you next time!