Life, by definition, is a risk. I believe that as people we tend to lean towards one of two extremes. Either we have a risk addiction, living in constant anticipation, or we have a strong risk aversion, trembling at the mere thought of leaving our safe havens. Most of my life I tended to take risks all the time. Risk taking is part of my spirit and I have always loved trying new things and experimenting with my life. One of the biggest risks I took was applying to Olympic Steel. Olympic Steel is a steel processor with significant production operations here in the United States. Now you may be wondering why anyone would want to work in the steel industry? I wanted to take a risk and step out of my comfort zone of working at Verizon and go straight into a corporate environment. Olympic Steel has been recognized as one of the best places to work. In fact, they have distinguished themselves as one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in the United States and are multi-year winners of the Northeast Ohio North Coast 99 Award for Excellence in Attraction, Motivation and Retention top performing employees. To apply to Olympic Steel, candidates must have a Bachelor's degree, sales, business, manufacturing experience, 1-3 years of steel industry sales experience, preferably excellent oral and written communication skills, as well as high energy and strong math skills. When an Inside Sales Representative position was advertised and the requirements, I immediately doubted whether I could get the job and told myself I would never even be lucky enough to get an interview without a bachelor's degree . That’s when I decided to take a huge risk. I still applied for the position and included in my application...... middle of paper ......g my work done with excellence and my integration into Olympic Steel. As a result, I was recently promoted to Director of Inside Sales at Olympic Steel. In conclusion, it was Maxwell Maltz who said: "Often the difference between a successful man and a failure lies not in the best abilities or the best ideas, but in the courage to bet on his idea, to take a calculated risk and act. Over time, many people have tried to put into words what exactly risk is and what it means to them. I firmly believe that risk-taking is essential to the success of any high-stakes goal. Of course, risks can be destructive, but extreme caution is perhaps even more futile because it leads to inaction and a failure to seize an opportunity. When you play too safe, everyone takes the biggest risk of their life. Time is the only wealth given to us.