In the movie Along Came Polly, Ben Stiller's character is an actuary/risk expert who is consumed with worry over all the "What If" scenarios in life. And until Polly came along, his life was inhibited by his attitude of fear. For the movie's benefit Ben Stiller's portrayal is obviously a caricature of what most would associate is the risk/insurance professional's attitude and personality.
But we believe good risk management presents the opportunity to have a completely opposite view of the world. Good attitudes toward managing risk means you get to pursue the ideas and wishes you have in your head without the same worry as if you had no "fall-back" position.
Think of your wildest dream and ask yourself why you aren't living it right now. Now suppose that you could take one of those excuses and wipe it away because you planned for it. Now suppose you took the next excuse and planned for it, too. And suppose you kept repeating that kind of planning until you ran out of excuses. Would you then pursue your dream? Would you then be asking "Why Not" instead of "What If"?
Risk management is the license to DO. We aren't saying that every obstacle can be wiped away easily, but we do strongly believe that many people assume that there are no options available to mitigate the risk and consequence of failure, so they don't even try. Fear of failure is normal and healthy, but if you only dream big and don't live big, you might be missing out.
So we advocate listing the excuses for not doing more of what you want and then let us see if we can help wipe them away with a risk management plan. Maybe we can, maybe we can't, but why not give it a shot? Any caveman can sell you insurance, but only your friend can help you live more happily.
