Brad Rateike: Betting on yourself is riskiest in the public eye

A longtime friend of mine was recently selected for a high-profile professional opportunity. I am incredibly excited for him and believe he will bring a fresh perspective to the role and elevate the profile of the organization, both of which are needed. A mutual friend of ours texted me a note expressing excitement and his pleasant surprise at the announcement. Instinctively, I responded, “Never bet against the guy who bets on himself 100% of time.”

The ’90s remake of the movie “Great Expectations” has a scene where the main character’s uncle is sending him off from their small town to the big city for a life-changing opportunity. The uncle says, “Nothing harder than being given your chance. At least that’s what I hear.”

In many ways, political candidates, the good ones, personify “betting on themselves,” a feeling I am sure many had last month after winning a primary race. They do not have the luxury that a rather anonymous professional services business owner has. They win or they lose. And if they lose, the Monday morning quarterbacks will take to social media and remind them they lost—and why they lost.

Betting on yourself takes different forms. It is not just about confidence. In elementary or middle school, someone tried to teach us the importance of having a good self-image, a point that was then reinforced by our high school health teacher or guidance counselor. No matter how talented these professionals were, their lessons do not make us immune from moments of doubt occasionally. Being able to move past or ignore those moments of doubt defines the real gamblers.

In addition to confidence, people like my friend often demonstrate a combination of self-awareness, ambition, character and a desire to leverage all their assets, physical, mental or otherwise, to achieve a goal. That is not an exact ingredient list, but we can all likely picture someone who fits the mold. The people we are picturing are generally comfortable in their own skin, regardless of their imperfections, because they know we all have imperfections, so why should theirs be judged any more severely?

The term “betting on yourself” is so often attributed to entrepreneurs because the easy way to describe entrepreneurs is to call them risk-takers. For those who view entrepreneurs as a group of people on a high wire without a net, it would be unfair to exclude others from that category. The reach is much broader and includes many in the corporate and government world.

For some entrepreneurs, the stakes are lower because, if their iceberg melts, it rarely makes the news. For example, if my business were to fail, few would ever know because it is not high-profile, and my operations are not public information. I could just “fade to black” and reemerge somewhere else with a good story and another business opportunity or an in-house job.

Restaurateurs are the exact opposite. They make a big investment of capital, they build a menu, and they publicize the grand opening and hope people show up and like what they have to offer. If they fail, which happens often, what is left is usually a sad reminder of a bet that did not come in, though it does not always mean it was foolish.

If my friend is successful, which I believe he will be, you will read about it. If he is not, you will read about that, too. Either way, “Nothing harder than being given your chance. At least that’s what I hear.”•

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Rateike is founder and owner of BAR Communications and served as director of cabinet communications for President Donald Trump. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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