People who are frightened of risk — all risk, risk as such — are missing the point of life. The only thing that gives accomplishment meaning is the fact that you might not have accomplished it, yet you did. Without the possibility of risk or loss, gain and achievement have no meaning. You can wish for a world in which there are only guarantees all you want, but such a world not only does not exist; it’s inconceivable. It’s impossible to divorce the notion of gain from the reality of risk. To do so isn’t merely a foolish wish. It’s a contradiction on its face, kind of like a “square circle.”