More on Risk/Reward or Maybe Just Jumping

I got thinking that my post on Risk/Reward may have given you the impression that being an entrepreneur is about being reckless. Nothing could be further from the truth; an entrepreneur is anything but reckless. One more story and then I'll get off this topic.
The background in my blog header picture is Granite Falls just North of Priest Lake Idaho, one of my favorite places in the world. When I was in college my friends and I used to hike around Granite Falls from time to time. On one of our hikes we climbed up above the main falls and found a smaller water fall that emptied into a small pool about 25' in diameter. That pool spilled over into another pool of about the same size, which emptied into a large pond that fed the main falls. There was access to a cliff ledge about 50' above the upper pool. I had a strong urge to jump from the ledge into the pool, but before I did I had to do a little research. I climbed into the pool and dove down to check the depth and look for any rocks that could be a hazard after I entered the water from the cliff. The depth was fine and there were no hazards in the water. After completing my research I knew the only concerns would be to over jump and hit the rock wall on the far side of the pool, or to under jump and hit the rocks on the cliff I was jumping from. I figured I could do it, so I climbed up to the ledge and jumped. I hit the water pretty close to center pool never even touching bottom. As I came up the current washed me down into the smaller pool below. It was quite a rush. After that, every time we went to Granite Falls we had to go to the upper pool so I could demonstrate the jump to others. Strange thing is, even after my demonstration on how safe it was, I couldn't get anyone else to make the jump. To this day I don't know of anyone that's made that jump except for me, and I've done it dozens of times. Here's the thing. I did my research and accessed the risks before I jumped, just the same as I would with a business venture. In the end I jumped, my friends did not. Now, anyone with any kind of a head on their shoulders can access risks, it's usually the ability to jump that separates the entrepreneurs from the rest of the world.