Skin in the Game

Daily writing prompt

What’s something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail.

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I am not the sort of person who spouts the ” no pain, no gain” philosophy. But I also feel that if I am to be more than a spectator, I need to have some investment in an experience. Otherwise, I may as well watch it on the screen. Being an actual beneficiary of an experience to me means that I have more than a passive involvement in it.
It may not be a mercy to have no cost for failure or to make things fail-proof. After all, sometimes, we can learn as much from failure as we can from success. I recollect a dissertation thesis I once read that showed that many of the earliest industrialists had failed as many as seven times before having great success in business. They learned from their failed ventures.

Let’s consider games as an example. When you first learn a computer or video game, you set the difficulty level to the lowest. As you learn the game’s rules, strategy, and tactics, that lowest level becomes too easy. It offers no challenge and a less-than-satisfying experience.

In the distant past, I had a friend who was a travel agent. After several tours, many of his customers demanded vacation experiences abroad that were more independent than the early experiences where everything was a guided experience.

Sometimes, I like watching an event, travelogue, or other entertainment. But beyond a superficial understanding, I gain little out of a superficial experience. I need more involvement to really profit.