Name: Choose Possibility
ISBN: 9780358525707

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy

A fresh new approach to taking risks in one's career, with specific advice on how to persevere when one's decisions aren't working out, along with key insights on how to turn mistakes into successes

Seek Change, Take Risk, and Thrive (Even When You Fail)

Choose Possibility

matej yangwao

** spoiler alert **
           Book starts good about spreading risks between small and big risks and avoid taking bug decisions. Thus taking iterative risks over time and compounding.

Bit self-growth sauce inside.
It's full of obvious risk taking facts and a bit of stoicism that I detected.
Some risk taking doesn't yield returns immediately and multiple over time till you notice return.

I guess fair book about risk taking and placing small bets. Whenever you found your momentum of wins and opening new possibilities, you are raising possibilities for others as well.

Short chapter tells you about evaluating past risk and choices you've made and how you can weigh in into future choices.


>However, if we want to experience growth and success, we must try new things and take on challenges.

>Risk-taking is all about being discrete, monumental, and taking downright crazy actions that can’t easily be reversed.

>There are a lot of uncertainties surrounding risk-taking, and any choice we make might not work out as we desire.

>Hence, the power in risk-taking lies in combining many small and big decisions over time to produce impacts that inform our future choices.

>instead of thinking about implementing a big decision that will lead to our breakthrough, we focus on consistently taking small or big risks that will help us pursue our goals. We begin to see that every choice we make is a key to unlocking the next possibility.

>It’s okay to fail when you take risks because it helps you learn valuable lessons that eventually lead to growth.

>Having choices in life is a privilege, and if we’re fortunate enough to have them, we should exercise them.

>Our biggest risk is inaction because when we do nothing, we miss an opportunity to learn and grow.

>The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it but what they become by it.

>Taking risks will help you build confidence and develop new skills.

>We should always give our best shot at every opportunity. The idea is to chase multiple goals on different fronts rather than calculating risks and meticulously hatching a scheme on one plan alone, pursuing multiple opportunities in parallel.

>Prioritize your relationships with others because they play a significant role in your growth and will be the connections you’ll need later in life.

>As you attempt to take career risks, always remember that the people around you influence your success, not what you decide to focus on.

>Don’t think that being passionate about your job will make you reach the peak of your career quickly. Rather, focus more on the individuals who will journey with you on the path.

>Don’t strive to predict or control everything, including the future, rather seek opportunities to learn and contribute.

>Research has shown that humans have a biological and emotional need to be in control of their destinies.

>We can shape our future through our choices and how we respond to opportunities that present themselves to us, but that’s as much as we can do. There are other external factors like the environment, and those factors don’t stay static.

>The secret to success is choosing the next possibility and learning from the current one.

>Most decisions we make may not yield results immediately, but they may resolve in our favor over time and with multiple moves.

>The differences between impactful and ineffective people are not their personality types or intelligence; it’s about their approaches to execution. People who seek to make an impact prefer to take smaller risks to make them more successful and continuously achieve the expected result.

>We must continually identify our previous failures to build capacity and make better choices.

>Put progress over perfection: perfection is a myth. Rather than seeking perfection, start executing your plans. You will get more data and information during execution

>Be a truth-teller or truth-seeker: you must master how to speak frankly about your thoughts and seek to know the truth by getting candid reviews and feedback.

>We must see the possibilities, take risks in different capacities, and build momentum with every win. It is important to note that some things will be out of our control. In such instances, we should focus on what we can control.

>Regardless of how prepared and analytical we are about a particular risk, it is still possible to encounter setbacks. In such instances, it is vital to mirror the positives and watch for the opportunity to emerge from that situation.

>If our fear of missing out on opportunities (FOMO) exceeds our fear of failure (FOF) in exploring new things, we’ll act. But if not, we won’t take any action.

>We must believe that things are possible for us all the time because we believe in a possibility for ourselves, we create possibilities for others.

Nick Gracilla

Cassidy's insight: an interesting career isn't a linear path, made in a single, momentus decision. It is, from her experience, at best an ongoing experiment, a set of measured risks, with steps forwards and backwards throughout. So, here, she focuses on learning how to take those risks, by introducing a sensible method of facing fears (financial, ego), assessing strengths, goals, and values, and understanding the power of your social network and the forces of the market, which function as both tailwinds and headwinds at different times. This is a good and critical antidote book to the "define your goal, work towards it" approach of career advice, and is especially useful for multitalented people facing intense career pressure. 

Having said that, this is also a book from one of the champions of Silicon Valley. Expect lots (and lots) of brand drops, big name drops, and very long twists and turns in Cassidy's own career, not all of which were "successful" but which, on retrospect, put her in a position to assess and take the next risk. I could have done with less of the drama and more of the framework, but it was interesting to see it in action in her own life.

Choose Possibility Seek Change, Take Risk, and Thrive (Even When You Fail)

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