Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Energetic Advantage, the podcast where energy isn't woo, it's your edge. I'm your host, Jessica Cerato. Intuitive strategist, lifelong pattern decoder, lover of numbers, and energetic guide for visionary leaders. Around. Here we go. Energy first, strategy second. Every episode will give you a perspective, a tool, or a timeline shift that helps you lead from your power.
Because the truth is your energy is your most undervalued asset. Until you learn how to use it, get ready. You're about to have the advantage. Let's begin.
Let's talk about risk, baby. Let's talk about you and me. Let's talk about all the G. Okay, listen, if you are lost right about now, and that song reference kinda went over your head, sorry to inform you, you were probably born post 1991. Apologies, salt and Peppa. [00:01:00] But either way, if you got the song or not. I am just so excited you're here because today, quite honestly, is one of the topics that I am most passionate about, which is risk.
So that's what we're talking about today. Buckle up, settle in because things are about to get really good. So let's talk about it. Let's talk about risk. Let's talk about all the things that you say you want. And all the ways that you're not actually going for them. I said what I said, because here's the thing, everyone loves the idea of risk until it's time to actually take one.
And what I see over and over again in clients and conversations, even in myself at times is we think we're playing to win, but actually. We're playing not to lose. And these are two very completely different games, [00:02:00] different energies, different discussions, and therefore different results. And so today, this is one of the concepts that I'm gonna break down for you because this is the key to aligning your risks and getting what you want.
So you know. always reflection first for me. I had this moment not too long ago where I caught myself. I was making a decision. I was calling it this big move, and I was telling myself like I was being bold, but if I was being completely honest, I wasn't actually taking the full risk that I thought I was.
Because I had built in safety nets kind of everywhere. I had a backup plan, I had an exit strategy. It was kind of more of this soft launch energy. Let's just test it. And then that's when I had the realization, it really hit me like, oh, like this is not risk. This is controlled exposure. This is me trying to get the [00:03:00] reward without actually being available for the risk.
And trust me, once you see that either in yourselves, in clients, you know with the people around you, you can't unsee it. So what are we gonna do about it? Let's clean up this relationship with risk so that. Hopefully by the end of this conversation, it will completely shift how you feel about it. So let's first talk about what risk is not.
Okay. So risk is not danger. Risk is not recklessness. Risk is not. Burn your life down and hope for the best, or throw spaghetti at the wall and see what happens. No risk is simply this. Risk is exposure to uncertainty in pursuit of something that you actually want. I'm gonna say that again so you don't have to [00:04:00] rewind.
Risk is this. Risk is exposure to uncertainty in pursuit of something that you actually want. That's it. But here's where I see most people go sideways. Most people define risk by what they could lose. And here's the shift. Leaders define risk by what becomes available. And these are two completely different orientations to life because if your entire relationship to risk is loss based.
Of course you're gonna hesitate. Of course you're gonna stall, of course you're gonna overthink, right? Whereas if our relationship to risk can be based more on availability and opportunities and options, you see how that might motivate you a bit more you're hearing this and being like, Ooh, that's me.
I definitely go to kind of the worst case scenario. I definitely try to figure out like what [00:05:00] I'm risking, like what I could lose. I wanna say this is not entirely your fault. We've been trained into. Right. If you think about the stories we've been fed, the movies we've seen, the books we've read, you know, like hunger games, risk equals survival and scarcity, right?
Like someone has to lose in order for someone to win. even, although I do love this movie, the Wolf of Wall Street, right? Risk equals excess. Chaos kind of is out of control. And so when we kind of see these examples, we internalize this idea that risk is dangerous, that if we go too far, we're gonna lose everything.
That there's always a cost. And listen, you know, sometimes there is, but what is missing from all those stories and the narratives and the things we're talking about is really this. Clean, intentional, aligned risk. This is the kind of risk that expands your life. So let's get [00:06:00] into this because I shared this on social media last week and I got so much back and forth from it and it really hit home for a lot of people.
It hit home for me. Let's talk about these two concepts. Playing not to lose. Versus playing to win. I want you, before I get into this, I want you to just to take a pause and do a little bit of an honest assessment with yourself. Where in your life are you truly playing to win? And where in your life are you maybe hedging a bit and just playing not to lose?
And you know, a lot of times for us, we have a different type of relationship to risk. In different areas of our life as a parent, as a business owner, it depends. But I want you just to take a moment here to feel into this, to get your baseline. And if you're unsure here, I'm gonna tell you what it looks like.
playing not to lose means needing or wanting a guarantee [00:07:00] waiting for certainty, keeping one foot in and one foot out. Making quote unquote smart decisions that don't actually move anything, but you don't lose it either. You're just trying to keep the score even. Okay? But I want you to think about this.
so March Madness is happening now, right? And I love it. My girlfriends and I go AU, A UFH au Field Hockey. I played field hockey in college. We have this group chat. And everyone was so freaking excited, last night when Yukon beat Duke, and the way they won was total risk. If you haven't seen that game, go watch it.
Or now that I told you who won, maybe it won't be worth it. But anyway, let's just take this basketball game analogy. You're running back and forth, right? And if you're always trying to keep the score, even, you're really focused on playing defense on not letting the other team score. But if you're always focused on defense, right?
If you're always focused on not letting the other team score [00:08:00] or not getting behind, you're also not focused on scoring. And so the, the score just stays tied. But when that happens, what's the reward for a tie? Overtime. What's the reward for a tie after overtime? Double overtime. What's the reward for a tie after three overtimes triple overtime.
Do you see what I'm saying? The game never ends, and if the game never ends and you're running around working so hard, just to make sure that you don't lose. There is going to be a time where you become so exhausted, you literally cannot continue to play the game. And this is what I see happen so much.
Preserving your energy, just trying to keep it tied, just making sure you don't lose. But what you're actually doing is prolonging the energy that you need to exert to keep yourself in the game, and at the end of it. You [00:09:00] lose, not because the other team scored, but simply because you are so exhausted and burnt out that you cannot continue.
and that is not where we wanna play. Playing to win is being willing to try. And here's actually more important than that, being willing to be seen trying. And I know you know what this means? our ego takes a hit. No matter how strong you are here. It's okay if we lose when we're not really trying, right?
Oh, I meant to lose. But if you are really trying, if you are giving it your all, if you are really playing to win and you end up losing, so I really want to nuance this. It's not about being willing to try. It is about being willing to be seen trying. And if you can do that, that is commitment energy. You pick a direction and you [00:10:00] go, and here is what I really want you to hear at this moment.
You cannot win a game that you are subconsciously trying not to lose. You just can't, and again, we have to look at the big picture here because I know a lot of you listening are like, no, no, Jess. Like, I have taken risks before. Yeah, I know. And here's part of the issue, because some of those risks didn't work out for you.
And now you're calling that wisdom. You learn from it, right? And so you're like, now you're a little bit more risk adverse. Like you're not willing to take risks because maybe that risk. Cost you or, you viewed it as like it didn't work. But that is not wisdom. What that actually is, is unprocessed data.
You have risk memory, not risk intelligence. Here's what I mean. Risk memory says, last time I did this, it didn't work. That hurt. I lost money. I look [00:11:00] stupid. Whatever it's, and so now you hesitate. You dilute your decisions. You're trying to control the outcome, right? Whereas risk intelligence says, well, what did that actually teach me?
Was that timing? Was that capacity? Was that identity, was that truly the wrong move? Or was it the wrong version of me making the move? And do you see how that's a completely different conversation and which is why I'm really choosing to talk about it in April because if you've listened to the April energy forecast, it is all about asking questions and this is what I want you to do now, you know, so interesting.
I have to share this because when I was talking about this in my stories Nicole Sherry Hess, you might have heard her earlier on in the podcast, in the episodes. She is a smart cookie, let me tell you. And she messaged me with this really cool concept [00:12:00] about risk avoidant, risk adverse, and risk rewarded in our identity paths.
And it's actually this triangulation that keeps us in kind of this dopamine starved and therefore dopamine seeking loop. Kind of like the drama triangle, you know? And so as long as we are in one of those. Identities. We are essentially stuck in this triangle, but when we step out of it and we realize that we are the one creating our own reality and we really are redefining our belief that risk creates opportunities, everything is gonna change.
So before I tell you how to do this. And don't worry, we're getting there. I wanna show you what this actually looks like when it works. So just a few real life examples of people you're actually going to know. You know, it's funny, I had so many client stories and I just felt that maybe taking people who you've seen, in more of like a, a real world context might be more helpful. So, Sarah Blakely. Spanx, [00:13:00] she had $5,000 in savings. That's it. She had no background in fashion, no connections, no roadmap, and she just decides like, dude, this is the idea that I'm going all in on. She invests her entire savings into this concept.
She was cold calling manufacturers. She was getting ignored, she was getting rejected over and over and over again. But here's the important part. She didn't take the risk once. She didn't make one call and then go, Hmm, not working. Let me pull back. She stayed in it. She held the decision. She kept moving.
And, you know, so much I could do a whole episode on this, as an aside, I'm gonna do more case studies moving forward because she has a very specific risk profile. So all of you listening, you have a unique risk profile that when you can really know it and embody it, you will make better choices because you're using risk from your uniqueness, not anybody else's.
So. She kept moving. And of course, now Spanx is a a billion dollar company. [00:14:00] Here's what I want you to see here, though, for that, it wasn't the idea that made it work. It was her relationship to the risk. She didn't need proof first. She became the proof. Okay? Now another example is Oprah Winfrey. She has completely different risk profile than Sarah Blakely, number one, and.
This is about reframing failure. So, you know, early on in her career, she gets fired from a TDV job and the feedback was like she was unfit for television, right? Imagine hearing that, like you are just not cut out for this, and this is where most people might stop. They go, okay, that didn't work. I guess it isn't for me.
But what actually happened that failure did not mean she wasn't meant for television. It meant that she wasn't meant for that version of television. So she recalibrated, she found a format that actually matched her energy and her voice and her way of connecting. [00:15:00] And that's what. built what we know now, right?
So was it really a failed risk or was it a redirect into alignment? Two completely different things. Last one, Reese Witherspoon. She is coded for identity led risk, and. at one point in her career she looked around and realized like the roles that she was being offered didn't reflect the kind of stories that she wanted to tell.
So here's the choice, this is where I really want you to hear it. Remember the definition of risk that I shared with you in the very beginning. Risk is exposure to uncertainty. In pursuit of something you actually want. So she wanted to tell stories she wanted to tell, so she needed to expose herself to uncertainty in order to get that.
So she took a risk. She used her own money. She started producing, she backstories that no one else was prioritizing. And that's not desperation. [00:16:00] That's not saying, oh, like I hope this will work. That is like ownership. She was like, I see something that doesn't exist yet. I want it, and so I'm willing to create it.
And now, hello. Her production company, like she's not just getting better roles, she's built an entire ecosystem around this. So if you just zoom out quickly and look at all three. Of these examples, different personalities, different paths, different, you know, risk analysis, but it is the same pattern. They did not wait for certainty and they didn't just take one risk, have it not instantly pay off and quit.
They stayed in the energy of risk long enough for it to work. And I think this is also one of the problems. That we face with risk is when we take a step and we expect the payoff to be linear. We take a step and it doesn't immediately pay off, and we make it mean, well, this isn't working. But what if that first risk isn't the [00:17:00] payoff?
What if that first risk is the positioning? What if it's the thing that moves you into the room? That helps you come into the identity or the level where the real opportunity actually exists. So the question isn't, did it work right away? The question is, did I stay with it long enough for it to become something?
Because here's another thing that, I hate to break it to you, but risk isn't one move, it's a relationship. If you just think about that game of risk, it's not over in one move. It's time over time, like bringing your relationship with risk and making a lot of different moves. You have a lot of different turns in that game to do different things.
And so it's not saying you're going full out every single move, but it is your relationship with risk that becomes the most important. So if we were to look at risk very strategically and energetically, [00:18:00] here's what I want you to start thinking about. I'm gonna ask you some questions here and I want you just to feel into these answers.
Number one, what am I actually available for? Not what makes sense on paper, not what feels safe, what am I actually available for? Because if you are not available for the outcome, you will sabotage the path, And so I see this happen a lot where, you know, to use this generic example where I want to be successful or I want to grow my business.
Well, are you actually available to that? Because if you know that you don't want your life to change, and it will, you will sabotage it. Number two. What is the true risk here? Not this dramatic one that your brain is making up. Thank you, brain. But the real one is the risk visibility. Is it money? Is it being seen at a new level?
Is it outgrowing your current identity? Call it what it's, and number three, [00:19:00] this is a big one. What is the bigger risk of not doing this? Most people never ask this question because if they did, I guarantee you they would take more risks because they're so focused on what could go wrong. They never zoom out far enough to see what staying the same is actually costing them.
And remember we talked about this, staying the same means the game is tied. You cannot, well, you can do whatever you want, but imagine playing that same game of basketball for your entire life, just being so exhausted and it's like, well, yeah, nothing's gonna change, but nothing's gonna change and you're never gonna get a break.
So it is costing you something by staying tied. What is that? Question number four? Am I resourced for this version of me? And I don't mean just skills like are you able to do it? I mean, support environment, people around you, capacity, nervous [00:20:00] system, because I see a lot of people trying to take big risks with small support systems and then wonder why it feels so hard.
Well, of course it does. Number five, is this a body? Yes. Or is it a negotiated Yes. You know, as much as we say we're afraid of risk, I actually believe that most people are not afraid of risk. They are afraid of the identity required to hold. The outcome of the risk. Because if we take the risk and it succeeds, shit, now we're stuck with it.
Now we won the game, and when we win the game. What happens next? I was kind of gonna leave it here, and I'm gonna tie more tangible things that you could do to really work with this. But it really hit me so hard that I can't have this conversation of risk without bringing it through the lens of abundance.
Let me tell you that abundance is not just money, abundance [00:21:00] is health, wealth, time connection, right? We in abundance, I have an eight section pie that we use to determine our abundance, right? And our abundance is directly tied to our relationship with risk and not just how much risk you take.
No. But what kind of risk you are taking. So, you know, over risking, jumping, leaping, saying yes to everything, burning yourself out, right? Of course, under risking, waiting, perfecting, holding back. And a lot of times you're taking risks, but just at the wrong time, and then making it mean something about you or the risk.
It's just that you're not working with your own risk profile. So there is, you know, these different sides of risk. We have empowered risk, of course, and disempowered risk. And empowered risk is intentional. It's resource aligned. You're willing to hold the outcome. And this [00:22:00] disempowered risk is reactive.
It's emotional, trying to prove something, hoping that it works. You know, empowered risk builds wealth, right? And so, by knowing your own unique risk code, your risk analysis to figure out your own style, you're gonna be able to see, aha, this is perhaps why what I tried before didn't quite work.
This is what I learned, and this is how I can become confident to take the risk that I really wanna take now. And you know, this is why this matters so much because the energy that we're in in April it amplifies commitment, right? What are you actually going for? Are you willing to back that with your decisions?
Because in this month specifically, we don't get to say we want something big and then approach it with half energy, And again, I wanna be clear here. This isn't saying we need to go all in on everything, but we need to be willing [00:23:00] to have exposure to uncertainty in pursuit of something that we actually want. And going back to this, a specific part of abundance, which I'm even hesitating to talk about, uh, but it's money.
And you can have a really great relationship with risk, and where I sometimes see it falling apart is with money. People will risk their time no problem. Like I see people will spend months on something that may or may not work. Uh, their, with their energy pouring into clients content ideas, they'll even risk their identity pivoting, changing, evolving.
But that moment where money enters the conversation, I just feel like everything tightens for them. They freeze, they hesitate, they need more proof, they need more validation, they need more certainty. And suddenly that same person who was quote unquote all in is negotiating with themselves over a number.
If this sounds like you, if you found [00:24:00] yourself all in until it came to the money, until it, until it came to put your money where your mouth is, until it came to swipe your credit card, until it came to the, actually the monetary investment, I want you to hear this.
You are not afraid of risk. It is just that money is the place where your real beliefs get exposed because you are conflating money with safety, with power, with freedom, with worth, with control, with identity, right? So when you risk money, air quotes, you are not just risking money. You are risking what money represents to you.
You know, time sometimes feels renewable, like I'll get that back. Energy feels flexible, but money, if you are tying money to something else, like I said, safety, power, freedom, whatever. And you view money as being finite, [00:25:00] trackable, visible, measurable, leaving your account. Now there's proof, blah, blah, blah.
Right? And. Allow this money to create evidence. Again, you might not be afraid of losing money, but you are afraid of what losing money would mean about you. Right. If this doesn't work, what does this say about me? Was I irresponsible? Was I stupid? Did I make the wrong call? Can I trust myself? So instead of taking these empowered clean risks with money, people do one of two things.
They avoid it completely, or they grip it so tightly that it can't move again. And when money can't move. you don't lose it, but it also doesn't grow. You're just tied and you get really, really tired trying to keep it at even Steven, your entire life. So all of this to say there is gonna be a part two to this episode coming next week, which is all about money, [00:26:00] which is all about abundance.
And you know, listen, I resisted this hard. In all of the responses I got about what I should bring into the podcast, money abundance is one of the top picks for a lot of people. But if you've been around here a while, you know me, you know that I have absolutely zero emotion when it comes to money. You know, money's a resource.
That's it. And so sometimes it feels a bit boring for me to talk about, but I'm willing to put that boredom aside to help you because I guarantee what you hear about money in relationship to your risk It's gonna change how you think about it. So come back next episode. And you know, as a kind of segue into that episode.
this whole concept around risk and money and abundance is why I built Abundance codes the way I did. So abundance Code is a program I have over 50 people have gone through it, and it's not just about making more [00:27:00] money, but you will after going through the program. It is really about understanding how you are designed.
To receive it, hold it, circulate it, grow it. You know, again, these different risk profiles, some of you are meant to move money quickly. Some of you are meant to build it slowly, strategically. Some of you are meant to leverage it. Some of you are meant to stabilize it. if you don't understand your relationship with money, you're either gonna under risk it or overprotect it.
And then it's like you wonder why things aren't expanding. So. Again, these are how these two kind of concepts are tied. I've already said like you don't have a risk problem. You have a relationship with risk problem, right? You don't have a money problem. You have a relationship with money problem, and that relationship determines.
What you're willing to invest, what you're willing to risk, what you're willing to receive. And so come back next episode and where we talk all about abundance. Because the [00:28:00] goal here is not to force risk, but to really become the version of ourselves that can hold it. So coming back here, this is what I really want you to leave with.
Where are you still playing not to lose? Where are you hedging? Where are you calling something a risk when it's actually just a very well controlled version of one? And here's I think the best question of all, which is, what decision would the version of you who wants to win actually make here? The one who actually gets what she wants.
If you are feeling this strongly, if you know there's something that you've been circling, something you're ready to go all in on I want to share with you something brand new that I'm offering just for a limited time here, just for when these episodes air. It's called a risk breakthrough activation.
I'm gonna help you identify [00:29:00] your edge. And give you a risk analysis and a plan on actually how to move the needle to get what it is you want. This is a one-on-one, so it is a unique code to you. You fill out a form, I look at your chart, I examine the opportunities, and I send you back a custom unique, specific to you strategy that is going to.
Talk about and tell you exactly your next move, so it's very clear while also at the same time give you an idea about this relationship to risk and how you can start to play with it a little bit more. And if you're more of a self-paced person, go grab abundance codes. Yes, it is all about abundance, but specifically in there are a lot of things about risk, including that risk analysis, which I know helped a lot of people as.
They went through it. So how are you feeling? How are you feeling after listening to [00:30:00] this about your relationship with risk? Let me know. Message me on Instagram. Tell me all the things. I feel like I wanna end with salt and pepper again, but I will not, uh, expose you to my singing. I will say this.
Risk is a beautiful opportunity to trust yourself, to show up for yourself, and to expand the possibilities. The this world for the version of you who was ready to go all in, I love risk and I take a lot of them. And I am committed to helping you find the ones that feel most aligned for you and that are gonna bring you the most return because I want what you want.
I always laugh people always ask me , Jess, , what do you want? , What do you want me to do? And my answer is always this, I want what you [00:31:00] want. And when you work with me, I am committed to help you get there. All right. Stay tuned for part two. I'm bringing in all my secrets from Wall Street as well as the things that I've learned along the way.
Until then, keep asking questions, keep taking risks. Oh yeah, and if you need help deciding what risks feel aligned with the energy, you can also play with a calendar. Your first month is free. You can grab it in the show notes. All right everyone, I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
Outro: Thanks for being here inside The Energetic Advantage. If today's episode open something for you, share it, tag it, or send to the person who popped into your mind. And remember, energy first strategy second. Your advantage has always been in you. Now it's time to lead with it. See you next time.
