Lewis and Clark Essay Assignment: "Standing Outside the Fire"

 

 

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly”

 

~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th US President ( 1961-63 )

 

 

 

Directions: Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a conclusion. Use evidence from the document(s) and media in the body of the essay. When organizing your essay, it is best to devote one paragraph for each document and be sure to identify the document at the beginning of each paragraph. Support your response with relevant facts, examples, and details from the document/media. Also, include “outside” information, examples, and evidence to support your response whenever possible.

 

Task: In the song, Standing Outside the Fire, Garth Brooks sings, “Life is not tried, it is merely survived If you’re standing outside the fire…”  In your essay you will discuss and compare/contrast the meaning of several documents and media as they relate to the topic of healthy risk-taking. The paragraphs below will help to shape and guide the writing of your essay.

 

Read the excerpt from the article “Risk-taking for Tweens: It's Not Always What You Think” and explain the difference between healthy risk-taking and negative risk-taking and how teenagers can learn and benefit from taking healthy risks. You may also discuss a healthy risk you have taken in the past or are planning to take.

 

You must explain the meaning of the quote above by President John F. Kennedy and how it relates to the topic of healthy risk-taking.

 

Also discuss the movie Lewis and Clark; The Journey of the Corps of Discovery and explain what they can teach us about healthy risk-taking. Use our concept words and the Dale Carnegie Principles to help you identify and describe qualities and characteristics of successful risk-takers. Be sure to include and discuss specific examples and scenes from the film to support your answer.

 

You must also discuss the meaning of Garth Brooks’ song Standing Outside the Fire and how it relates to the topic of healthy risk-taking. When discussing the song remember to focus on the lyrics and quote specific lines from the song in your essay. You may also include direct quotes from Garth Brooks’ comments before and at the end the video.  

 

In your conclusion, explain the benefits and importance of healthy risk-taking and why being a healthy risk-taker would be a good rule to add to the Dale Carnegie Principles.

 

 

Risk-taking for Tweens: It's Not Always What You Think

by Janet Lombardi

Raising your hand in class. Standing up for a friend. Trying out for a part in the school play. You might not define these activities as risky, but for tweens and teens, they often are. "Healthy risk-taking is about independence, learning how to make decisions, and being comfortable taking appropriate risks because there's a parental safety net," said Diane Tukman, MSW, and director of Adult Support at GSUSA.

Though risk-taking is often equated with rebellion, there's a difference. Rebellious behavior, or negative risk-taking, includes dangerous activities such as drinking alcohol, using drugs, or running away. Healthy risk-taking tends to have a positive effect on a child's life.

Risk-taking is a normal part of growing up. The challenge for kids and parents is finding a way for teens to assess risk and choose activities and behavior that are constructive.

Boost in Self-Esteem

When Ashley switched schools in 10th grade, she said she wasn't going out for the cheerleading team. "In her old school," said Kathy, Ashley's mom, "she would've been captain of the junior varsity team." With only two spots open on her new school's varsity team and one of them likely to be filled by the captain's sister, Ashley said no to the prospect of trying out. "I was upset that she wasn't going to try because cheerleading was so important to her," said Kathy, "but she felt it wasn't worth the risk." Then Ashley changed her mind and was thrilled when she'd made the team. "It boosted her self-esteem," said Kathy. "We're always telling kids, 'Don't do the risky thing,' " she added, "but it's important to instill in them that if they don't risk, they don't grow."

For 12-year-old Darus, a lesson in risk-taking involved taking public transportation by himself. His mom, Judy, described his first attempt: "He didn't read the sign and ended up taking the train in the wrong direction. When he couldn't reach me by cell phone, he figured it out: He asked the train conductor to point him in the right direction." As a result of Darus' willingness to try, he learned a lesson. "I hope I don't make that mistake again," he said, "but if I do, I'll know what to do."

Diane Tukman's daughter, Molly, 12, recently took a healthy risk when she tried out for the school tennis team instead of sticking to soccer—a sport she knew she was good at. "I wanted to get better at tennis," said Molly. "It was a hard decision. But I made the team and have improved so much!" Molly added, "Now I know if I make a decision, I should go in feeling confident, not like, oh, did I make the wrong decision."

What's the best way parents can help their children with healthy risk-taking? Said Diane, "Life is about risk. It's about letting go, growing, and independence. Kids need to feel there's support. Then they can learn how to take an appropriate risk."

Source: http://www.girlscouts.org/for_adults/parenting/articles/risktaking_for_tweens.asp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standing Outside The Fire
Written by: - Jenny Yates - Garth Brooks

 

 

 

We call them cool
Those hearts that have no scars to show
The ones that never do let go
And risk the tables being turned

We call them fools
Who have to dance within the flame
Who chance the sorrow and the shame
That always comes with getting burned

But you've got to be tough when consumed by desire
'Cause it's not enough just to stand outside the fire

We call them strong
Those who can face this world alone
Who seem to get by on their own
Those who will never take the fall

We call them weak
Who are unable to resist
The slightest chance love might exist
And for that forsake it all

They're so hell-bent on giving ,walking a wire
Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire

Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire

There's this love that is burning
Deep in my soul
Constantly yearning to get out of control
Wanting to fly higher and higher
I can't abide
Standing outside the fire

Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire

Standing outside the fire
Standing outside the fire
Life is not tried, it is merely survived
If you're standing outside the fire

 

 

 

~  7th graders Lewis and Clark / “Standing Outside the Fire” Essays  ~

 

 

 

                   Healthy risk-taking is very important when it comes to making choices. You can’t always play it safe, you have to step out of the box and take a risk. There are a lot of ways to learn about healthy risk-taking like movies, songs, and articles. People are taking everyday risks, you can’t be afraid.

 

                One article is Risk taking for tweens: it’s not always what you think. There are two types of risk-taking, healthy risk-taking and negative risk-taking. Negative risk-taking can involve alcohol and drugs, things that don’t leave a positive effect on teens. Healthy risk-taking brings a positive effect and behaviors that can help teens be constructive and help some kids get their mind off of other things like peer pressure and drugs. There are a lot of ways to show healthy risk-taking like signing up for a school play and sitting at a new table at lunch to meet some new friends. If something doesn’t work out right then just keep trying new things, you will always have to take risks.

 

                President John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This is a really great quote. This means if you try something you could fail at it so many times but if you keep going and try, you can achieve greatness. This quote really relates to the topic of healthy risk-taking because you have to take the risk to be able to achieve. If you don’t, then you won’t get anywhere. You have to keep trying and take the risk and see what will happen.

 

                The movie of Lewis and Clark can really teach you about healthy risk taking because if they had never taken that risk and go over the mountains or if they just stopped and gave up we would never have had America. Just like the Dale Carnegie Principles about to “not criticize, condemn, or complain”. Lewis and Clark never complained even when they were starving they keep their hopes up and tried to get through the tough times. Just like another principle, “become genuinely interested in other people”, they never were mean to any of the Indians they met along the way. They were generous and they lived like them and tried to get to know their culture and their technology.

 

                Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks is a great song that relates to the topic of healthy risk-taking. It relates to this topic because he talks about how you can’t stand around just like other people, you have to make choices and work hard to be great. “Life is not tried it is merely survived, if your standing outside the fire” are some really inspiring words that Garth Brooks sings which means that you have to try in life. Nothing’s going to come to you easily you have to work at it and you have to take risks, its just part of life. If everyone didn’t try to take risks where would we be today in life?

 

        Risk-taking can always help you with any problems, whether it’s singing in front of a crowd, or just standing up to a bully. You have to take the risks if you want to go anywhere in life. You have the choice to control your life and make decisions and risks. If you believe in something you should take the risk and stand up for what’s right, even if that means your standing all alone.       

 

 

 

                Are “those hearts that have no scars to show” that Garth Brooks sings about in his song, Standing Outside The Fire, any healthier than a heart with some scars? Healthy risk taking is about never giving up and always trying to do more. Would you just give up if you couldn’t make it or didn’t meet your goal? I wouldn’t, because I would always try again and never give up. I wouldn’t give up because it lowers your self of esteem. By challenging yourself and setting higher goals, you will improve your self esteem, even if it means getting a scar or two.

 

        Standing Outside The Fire by Garth Brooks is a great song because it tells, and encourages, people to never give up.  Even if you have a special problem you should always try and not give up like the kid in his video. In the video, there is a boy with special abilities that is “wanting to fly higher and higher” and is not “standing outside the fire”. In other words, he is not “merely surviving” because he does not avoid taking a healthy risk.

 

        In the article, Risk-taking for Tweens: It’s Not Always What You Think, it discusses how certain “healthy risk-taking” can raise your self of esteem. You will become more positive when you do certain things. Healthy risk-taking can make you a stronger person and helps you do things you never dreamed you could do. You may not always win, but if you try your hardest, that is what makes you a champion.  It doesn’t mean that you should take risk that can have negative results, like drinking, using drugs or running away.  For myself, I played on the school football team for the first time. Not only was it the first time I played football on a team, I also learned what it was like to play on a team with another school and kids I did not know. I liked the challenge and will play again next year.

 

        John F. Kennedy said, “those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly”. I think this means that people who are willing to take a healthy risk and push themselves will accomplish more than someone who doesn’t take the risk and try.  Even if you fail, you can still learn and be proud of your efforts.

 

        In the movie Lewis and Clark; The Journey of the Crops of Discovery, it shows how they worked to establish a new route across the country for traders to move their goods and expand the thirteen colonies. Lewis and Clark were successful in learning the technology of building dug-out canoes from the Indians. They chose to show respect for the Indians opinions and were friendly, which built a strong interdependence with the Indians and allowed them to trade goods for horses. Lewis and Clark also “praised” the Indians and “showed honest appreciation” by giving the Indians gold peace medals with the face of Thomas Jefferson. These are some examples of how Lewis and Clark were successful in the risk they took and how they worked with others.

 

        Healthy risk-taking can help you live a longer and more successful life. If you don’t take healthy risk, you will not reach your potential and miss out on other opportunities.  Healthy risk-taking should be added to the Dale Carnegie Principles because it encourages you to push yourself in the way you could interact with other people. This is important because we all have to work together whether it is in school, at home or at work.

 

 

 

 

Why do we live? We live to try new things, take risks, and succeed. In the song Standing Outside The Fire, Garth Brooks sang “We call them strong. Those who can face this world alone.” In these lines he tries to tell us we have to choose to take some risks by ourselves.

 

        In life you have to take risks. A 10th grader named Ashley chose not to tryout for the school’s varsity cheerleading squad due to the scarcity of open spots on the team. “Then Ashley changed her mind and was thrilled when she made the team.” It’s important to take risks even if you’re scared because that’s how you learn and grow. When Molly was 12 she decided to play tennis instead of soccer and ended up excelling at it. It’s also important for kids to have a good environment to prosper, grow, and blossom.

 

        When I think of powerful and healthy relationships I think of the amazing motivational speaker Dale Carnegie. He wrote 30 things you should do to have healthy, just relationships, be a leader, and gain cooperation. The most important one to me is, “Show respect for the other person’s opinion. Never tell a person he or she is wrong.” If you can follow his rules you will be a better person.

 

        The intuitive and courageous explorers Lewis and Clark went on an amazing journey to the Pacific Ocean and back traveling only by water and a little bit by land. They lived years before Dale Carnegie, but they followed many of his futuristic principles. They made, “The other person feel important and did it sincerely.” They did this by presenting all the Indian chiefs they met with medals saying they could share the land with them. They limited the unhealthy risks they had to take by waiting out the winters in forts. Also they brought the best technology of that time such as telescopes, powerful guns, and an almost unlimited supply of bullets. 

 

        “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly,” this is a quote form John Kennedy, our 35th president. What he meant by this is you get out of life what you put into it. For example those who choose to study for school succeed and those who don’t crash and burn. John Kennedy had to work hard to get to the White House. He is just one of the many who try and succeed.

 

        One of the most inspiring singers of all time, Garth Brooks, once sang Standing Outside the Fire. In this song he says you need to never give up. He also talks about how if you don’t take chances you will never get anywhere. He says this when he sings, “Standing outside the fire. Life isn’t tried, it is merely survived.” For example I chose not to play pee-wee football when I was in 4th and 5th grades afraid I would not do well, but in 6th grade I did and I had fun and excelled.

 

         Everyone should take healthy risks and follow an important principle, “Smile.” In the Declaration of Independence it says all people have the human right to the pursuit of happiness and in order to do that you must take healthy risks and be the best person you can be to fully enjoy life. Many people have done this and succeeded, so why not you too?

 

 

 

 

Healthy risk-taking, the only type of risk you should ever take. Many tweens today make terrible mistakes that I bet they regret making. For example, starting to smoke. That is one of the most common negative risks most tweens and teens take. I will use documents, media, and a song to help convince tweens today to take healthy risks.

 

        The biggest problem with tweens in school is peer pressure. Your friends tempt you to take negative risks and you get in trouble as a result. A good example of that kind of risk is going to a party. Your friends convinced you to go and it ended up having no supervision and it had beer. Healthy risk-taking is when you decide to try something new or do something different that you usually do. Stand up for a friend; try out for a new sport, there’s millions of opportunities for everyone. Two years ago, I decided to join the softball team and now it’s one of my two main sports. That is an example of healthy risk-taking. A negative risk is when you go to that party and come home and your parents find out you were drinking.  Good habits to get into are think about the situation and think about its positive affect and negative affect, then make the decision you think would be right.

       

Garth Brooks sings a song called Standing outside the Fire. It relates to healthy risk-taking in that it has a verse that says, “They risk the table’s being turned,” which means some people are afraid to take risks, they want to stay the same all their lives, never be different.  “Those who face the world alone, who seem to get by on their own,” is another verse from the song. It means there are some people who take a lot of risks, but there not necessarily healthy risks.  The song talks about people who take healthy risks and people who don’t. This song is inspirational and really makes you think about taking healthy risks rather than negative risks.

 

        “Those who dare fail miserably can achieve greatly,” a quote from John Fitzgerald Kennedy, our 35th president. I think the meaning of this quote is people who have given up, quit, or just don’t what to do anything; they can achieve great things if they just try. Students in school who don’t do homework or pass, can pass. They aren’t stupid or don’t get it, they just don’t want to try, or succeed. Your teachers, your parents, and your friends believe in you and they know you can do it, the only person in the way of you succeeding is yourself.

 

        The last resource I will use is a movie called, Lewis and Clark; the Journey of the Corps of Discovery. It is a movie about Lewis and Clark’s search for a passageway to import goods.  Sadly, the journey failed; there was no easy way to import them. They went across the whole continent just for the U.S.A and for Jefferson, the president at the time. They were bound to make it to the pacific. Two long years across mountains, rivers, and swamps, sometimes battling unfriendly Indian tribes who were against the U.S. But they did meet friendly Indian tribes. In one tribe they picked up an Indian woman, Sacagawea. She agreed to go with them even though she just had a baby. So the baby went with them, for the year long journey. I feel Lewis and Clark really help tweens today with healthy risk-taking. They crossed a whole continent plus Sacagawea crossed with them with an infant on her back. It takes a lot of heart to do that. If a tween can’t even decide to not smoke, try to imagine how Lewis and Clark felt when they said yes to a journey where they might not come back alive.

 

        The benefits and importance of healthy risk-taking are you don’t get in trouble, you do better in school and you’ll have a better future. Think about Lewis and Clark, your future, your health and this essay next time you even dare to do something that isn’t really you. The only person standing in the way of your future is you.

 

 

 

 

        Have you ever had a time where you thought giving up would be the best thing to do? When you think that you should give up remember the past people who have brought history and carrying on without giving up. People from Lewis and Clark to John F. Kennedy are some of the people that have made history by never giving up. It’s important to never give up even if the thing you’re not giving up on won’t be talked about in the future.

 

        In the article Risk-Taking for Tweens: It’s Not Always What You Think we learned about the difference between healthy risk-taking and negative risk-taking. Healthy risk-taking is something that is helpful to you, going out for sports, going to make new friends, and even doing your homework every day is taking a healthy risk. Negative risk-taking is when you are doing something that you don’t want to do or you know will be harmful to you. Also, whenever it won’t benefit you in any way possible, that is negative risk-taking. Things such as drugs, alcohol, stealing, most things that will be caused by peer-pressure. In the article it tells about a girl name Ashley who was a great cheerleader who thought that she wouldn’t make the team because there were only two spots left, she made the choice to try out. This is a great example of how healthy risk-taking comes into action. When I’ve used healthy risk-taking I did the talent show with two of my friends not knowing if I was going to do good or not and in result I placed third and people now know that I love to dance.

 

        In the song Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks the theme is to show healthy risk-taking and never giving up on something that you know you can succeed in. Garth Brooks explains very well in in this song of how risk-taking and not giving up on something you love. In the song the quote that really made me think about healthy risk-taking is “They’re so hell bent on giving, walking on a wire Convinced it’s not living if you stand outside the fire.” When he talks about walking on a wire I knew that he meant it wasn’t going to be easy because it may be easier for others than someone else. Walking on a wire people in the circus can do, but if I were to try it I won’t be able to do it until I keep practicing. I may fail a few times, but if I keep trying I may get great results. Anything that you can set your mind to anyone can do in my opinion.

 

        In the quote that John F. Kennedy spoke, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly” I think that he means setting your mind to achieving as much as someone does to failing, then you are able to achieve greatly. Setting yourself to new heights by making new goals for yourself will really help you achieve in anything that you can put your mind to.

 

        In the highly inspirational story of Lewis and Clark; The Journey of the Corps of Discovery the two explorers, Lewis and Clark explored the world and never gave up even when it was getting hard for them. The explorers sailed through rivers, walked on foot, and climbed over mountains using horses that they had to borrow from the Indians that they became friends with over the long journey. Lewis and Clark had many reasons to give up on the journey, but instead they used healthy risk-taking and kept going with the journey that lasted longer than they thought. Lewis and Clark had Sacagawea with them. Lewis and Clark got the horses that they borrowed from Sacagawea’s brother. Clark was like Sacagawea’s brother because in her tribes’ tradition the brother would raise and educate the sister’s son.  Clark educated and helped raise her son. When Sacagawea finished what she was needed for she had the chance to be dropped off and end her journey, but she decided that she wanted to carry on the journey with Lewis and Clark. Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea never gave up on their journey no matter how hard the times got when they thought that giving up was the best thing would be the best possible thing that they could do.

 

        In conclusion giving up something may be the thing you think would be the best for you today, but giving up won’t give you the results that you want. Lewis, Clark, John F. Kennedy, and Sacagawea never gave up on the things that they wanted, but if they would have just gave up we wouldn’t be talking about them today.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy risk-taking is a very important part of life that everyone goes through. Most people though don’t take that many risks because they fear defeat. You can learn about healthy risk taking from many things such as a document, a song, a movie, or a quote.

 

John F. Kennedy’s quote “those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly” is a great way to learn about risk taking because it is saying that people that are willing to fail miserably can go on to great lengths. This is also a very important quote because it can give hope to someone who doubts themselves about something, and won’t try to fix it. It could help someone take a risk and possibly achieve greatly in it.

 

Garth Brook’s song Standing Outside the Fire is a good confidence booster in the risk taking area because it is telling about people that have no scars to show and how they are “standing outside the fire”. When he says that though, he doesn’t mean to do something insanely stupid, he means to take healthy risks that can benefit you. He is also saying that when you’re standing outside the fire you are only surviving life, not really living it. Like people always say “if you’re having problems you know your in the right place” The part in the song,  “we call them cool the ones that hearts have no scars to show” is saying that the ones that are “perfect” that haven’t seen defeat is because they have been standing outside the fire.

 

The article, Risk taking for tweens it’s not all what you think is a great article because it tells how teens and tweens go about their daily risk-taking.  What is really good about it is that it gives some examples of risk-taking such as the Jr. High girl making the team on the varsity cheer squad. It is a great way to connect with kids that age without making them feel like they have no identity. Most kids in the tween area are very shy when it comes to risk-taking because it is either not worth it or there is no chance it can go over well, which is pretty much only in their minds. Although it is important, it is their choice to take a risk.

 

The Lewis and Clark video was a good way to learn about many things and risk-taking. Lewis, Clark and the rest of the crew were very interdependent. They all pretty much got along which was crucial to the voyage. They took many risks along the way. They split up when they knew there was danger about. They were at many places where they could have gotten off better not taking the risk, but hey, they succeeded. There were so many ways where there risks went as planned, but those few times that they didn’t go as planned hurt the moving of the voyage. The men took risks with Indians who helped them a lot.

 

In conclusion the practice of healthy risk-taking is a very healthy choice for people to make. Some may not like the whole idea, but they will have to take some in their lives. With the world how it is today just doing things in public could be a risk. It’s not a huge step, but it could be the little spark in someone’s life.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy risk-taking is important in life because if you take the risks you will probably be happy with the choice that you made.  Examples of healthy risk-taking can be found in songs, articles, movies, and quotes.  An example of healthy risk-taking is like if you want to try out for a sport, but you are a little afraid to.  Your friends tell you that you should try out and then you decide to.  When the sheet is posted, you go to see if you made the team and you did.  You think back to the day that the tryouts were.  If you hadn’t tried out you would have never made the team.

 

        The article, Healthy Risk-Taking for Tweens, is a good example of healthy risk-taking because it tells tweens to always try something new.  Healthy risk-taking gives tweens the confidence to try new things.  If they hadn’t tried out for the team, they would have never made the team.  The confidence that the tweens has now is probably very high.  I made a healthy risk in sixth grade.  I wasn’t sure if I wanted to join cross country.  I made the risk and to this day I am still glad that I joined the team.

        Garth Brooks wrote a song called, Standing Outside the Fire.  The song explains that if you’re standing outside of the fire, you’re not taking risks.  When Garth said, “Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you’re standing outside the fire,” it made me think that if you don’t take healthy risks, you’re life won’t be interesting.  Also that if no one ever took risks, no one would go on adventures or become dare devils. 

       

President John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”  What he is saying is that if you want to fail, that is your choice and no one can change that.  If you try to achieve, you will do great things through out your life.  Mr. Kennedy’s point was that if you try, great things will happen to you.

 

        In the Lewis and Clark movie, there is a lot of healthy risk-taking shown.  Lewis and Clark made a healthy risk by going on the expedition.  They showed courage because they went on the expedition and never gave up.  It was their choice to go on it and they went.  They had the power to choose  where they went and which way they went.  No matter how tough the times got, they kept going and they never looked back or thought that they couldn’t do it.  Some Dale Carnegie Principles that go with the expedition are they “threw down a challenge”, they ALWAYS “smiled”, and they “never argued”. 

 

        In conclusion, all of those articles have good examples of healthy risk-taking because they show that if you try hard enough you will always succeed.  The point of all this is that if you never give up, you will always be successful.

 

 

 

 

 

Risk-taking is a big part of everyone’s life.  Healthy risk-taking is important because you don’t want to take bad risks.  Things in our lives, such as movies, quotes, documents, and historical happenings, really influence healthy risk-taking.

 

        In the article Risk-taking for Tweens: It’s Not Always What You Think by Janet Lombardi, she talks about kids and how they take risks.  One girl takes a risk by trying out for her school tennis team instead of doing soccer, a sport she knows she’s very good at.  A boy also learns a lesson in risk-taking when he takes the wrong train because he didn’t look at the signs.  “Healthy risk-taking is about independence, learning how to make decisions, and being comfortable taking appropriate risks,” said Diane Tukman, MSW, and director of Adult Support at GSUSA.  That quote was also in Janet’s article about healthy risk-taking.

 

        In the song Standing Outside The Fire by Garth Brooks, he’s talking about how you have to live life to its fullest because you only live once.  “Convinced it’s not living if you stand outside the fire,” and, “Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you’re standing outside the fire,” are two good quotes from that song. It also talks about the “tables being turned” when you take risks. In the music video, it shows a mentally challenged boy trying out for the normal track team instead of the special one. He took a risk, and he ended up falling in his race, but he kept going.

 

        John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” What he means by that is if you can take a risk, but fail, you will achieve because you tried something hard. No one really cares if you failed, and if you make the choice of taking another good, hard risk, you will do great.

 

        In the Lewis & Clark expedition movie, they overcome many challenges. They also had to make hard choices. When they got to a point of the river, there was a fork in it, and they had to travel both sides before deciding which one was the right one to take. They also voted on which one to take. And they respected each others votes, and let York, a slave, vote too. They took other risks too, and they still made it.

 

        In conclusion, knowing how to take healthy risks is very important. You have many choices in life, so make good ones. Also, you can fail, but that doesn’t mean you won’t achieve greatly later on. It’s important to take the path you think is right, to take a risk, to make a choice. Whatever you do, be happy with it, even if you fail, it might help later on.

 

 

 

 

Risk-taking is a choice you make for yourself and it usually is a benefit, and if it doesn’t, you can learn from your mistakes. Lewis and Clark’s expedition was a life changing risk that they chose to take. We can all learn about risk-taking through songs, articles, quotes, and even movies. Also, remember that risk-taking can be positive or negative. Negative and positive can both be ways to learn and make a better life for you.

 

        “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” These words were spoken by 35th president, John F. Kennedy. If you want to achieve, you have to be willing to take that risk, and be willing to accept all the consequences, which may even include failing.

 

Garth Brooks song, Standing Outside the Fire, has lyrics that really relate to the concept of risk-taking. But, the most empowering words are, “Life is not tried it is merely survived, if you’re standing outside of the fire.” This is basically saying that if you don’t try, you’ll never get anywhere and life will not be lived to its fullest. In order to fulfill your life, you have to make those positive risks. In order to do that, you have to follow your heart and trust yourself that you made the right choice. By doing this, you may not know it, but you’re building your self-esteem as an individual.

 

        Decisions, something we all make, whether it’s a healthy or not healthy risk. “Healthy risk-taking is about independence, learning how to make decisions, and being comfortable taking appropriate risks…” This was said by Diane Tukman. Having the power to make these choices can relate to what Janet Lombardi, author of, Risk-Taking for Tweens, is trying to say. Being a tween myself, I can definitely understand what she’s trying to get across. Believe it or not, but us tweens have to face risk-taking everyday. Whether it’s raising our hand, standing up for someone, or even trying out for a school play. We have to be able to be confident in ourselves to let ourselves live life and make sure that the risks we take are both healthy and what we truly want to do. There is a diversity of risks out there, so don’t be afraid, follow your heart and go for it.

 

        The history related movie, Lewis and Clark, is in memory of explorers Lewis and Clark. They took a positive risk to travel across the U.S. to find the Pacific Ocean, and if they hadn’t taken that risk we would never know there was one. This expedition was full of risk-taking and interdependence. For example, they took the risk to meet other tribes and it benefited because now we know a variety of different customs and cultures. Also, the leaders did not demand orders; they allowed every individual have a vote. This expedition was something we can all learn from. You have to push yourself to the limit and never back down.

 

        If you believe you can do something, go ahead and do it. When you take a risk, you’ll accomplish something, feel good about yourself, or even learn a lesson or two. “Life is about risk. It’s about letting go, growing, and independence. Kids need to feel there’s support. Then they can learn how to take an appropriate risk.” –Diane Tukman.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you ever taken a risk?  Healthy risk-taking is important because you could get better at things you’re not good at.  Healthy risk-taking gives people natural highs because they challenge themselves.  When someone takes a risk it can be fun because they learn new things.  You can meet new people when you try different things.

   

        “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly”   - John F. Kennedy.  This quote is meaningful because it talks about taking risks.  If you don’t take risks your life would be boring, and you would never be surprised.  If you dare to try new things you might achieve just by doing something new, but don’t be disappointed if you don’t make it.  Just keep on trying and you will eventually succeed. 

 

        Risk –taking can boost people’s self-esteem, and it can also improve your confidence.  In the article, they give a 10th grade girl as an example.  She just moved to a new school.  She was a cheerleader at her old school, but was nervous about trying out for the cheer team at her new school.  She thought about it for a bit and decided to try out because she really liked to cheer.  It was a part of her identity.  She took the risk of being disappointed if she didn’t make the team, but she did.

 

        The song Standing Outside the Fire is about not giving up and having determination to do your best.  An example of that is the boy in the music video.  Even though he could have been in the race for special needs athletes he chose to challenge himself and compete in the other race.  The boy decided to “dance within the flame” instead of “standing outside the fire.”

 

        In the movie, Lewis and Clark went out west.  The environment was really challenging, but they never gave up.  They were always working together and agreed with each other.  On their journey they treated everyone as equals.  Even though they had a slave and a woman coming along on their journey, they still let them both vote on important decisions, such as which route to take.  Their interdependence is what made them successful.

 

        Healthy risk-taking is important because it boosts your self-esteem, and it can be fun.  You can also meet interesting, new people.  It’s important to challenge yourself, and try to get the most out of life.  

 

 

 

The topic is important because you should always try you’re hardest, and take risks.  You should always be powerful in your own ways.  “Never give up” on an accomplishment.

 

     The difference between healthy risk-taking and negative risk-taking is that healthy risk-taking affects you in good ways and success.  Negative risk-taking affects you in bad ways and failed or emotional problems.  Teenagers can benefit from healthy risk-taking by learning new things.  Also, like Darus in the Risk-taking for tweens article.  He made a very healthy choice of asking someone for help other than panicking and getting lost.  I have taken a healthy risk when I was getting behind on school work so I asked a parent and I was all caught up with good grades.  Healthy risk-taking is a very good decision.

 

      The quote is saying the ones that are failing could end up achieving greatly, and the way to go is healthy risk-taking.  It relates to healthy risk-taking if you are failing and you take a healthy risk you can end up achieving greatly in life.

 

     The Lewis and Clark journey is explaining healthy risk-taking because it was a huge risk to try to find a water way from the East coast to the West coast.  If they succeeded though if would have been a great achievement.  So always try your best and always take healthy risk chances.  They started out as a powerful unit because they took that risk and it was a good risk to take.  When they were going down the river and it split they didn’t know what way to go.  So they went down one side to see what it looked like.  They ended up going the other way. The right way.  That is an example of healthy risk-taking.  There became a scarcity of food but they never gave up.  If they did they wouldn’t know if the Pacific was real or not or if there was a water way all the way across the country. Always take healthy risk to achieve better things.

 

     The meaning of Garth Brooks song, Standing Out Side the Fire never gave up on your pride and always stretch our horizon.  It relates to risk taking because a MR kid tries out for the regular track team and he finishes last but it is the point of finishing something. “Life is not tried it is merely survived.” is a very strong saying that means you could live life large because you only get one shot.

 

The benefits of healthy risk-taking is that you can find out more things about life. An important rule is become bonded to your surroundings and life lessons.  Healthy risk-taking would be a good rule to add to the Dale Carnegie Principle because it is very powerful and everyone should try healthy risk-taking.

 

 

 

 

Risk-taking for teens.  Risk-taking doesn’t mean jump out of a plane with no parachute and try to land in a pool miles below. Risk-taking is about taking a chance for the better, a healthy way to make yourself more of the person you want to be.  One example for healthy risk-taking is maybe going out for the basketball team, or join a club. Try to get in the school play, little things like that make your options for a career more likely to do what you want. Maybe you want to be a teacher, a sports player, or maybe even some type of an actor. The healthy risks you take now can help you in the future.   One healthy risk I am planning to take is going to get a job over the summer.

 

        The quote by President John F. Kennedy, ”those who dare to fall miserably can achieve greatly”. This quote means those who dare to take a chance even, if you lose and fail, and if you win you will become more confident.  You need to do as much as you can in the time you get take a chance for the better. Live your life to the fullest.

 

        Lewis and Clark were explorers for Thomas Jefferson they traveled the Louisiana Territory looking for a north west passage. They took a chance when the trip got tough and they all decided to keep going, they wanted to take a risk for the better. They started out it took them over a year but the never gave up. They made it all the way there and back with only one member that didn’t come back. They took a risk they went down there and back and it changed history.

 

        The meaning of Garth Brooks song, Standing Outside the Fire is a bout never giving up. Always try your best no matter what the possibilities is, the harder you try the more you will succeed in life. Instead of sitting on the couch watching TV. Go out and take a risk for the better. “Life is not tried it is merely survived if your standing out side the fire”. Garth Brooks said that in his song and it does not mean to jump in a fire, but live your life always having something to do. Don’t just slum around all day as life passes you by. Go out and do things.            

 

 

 

 

You should live life to its fullest because you only live it once. That includes taking healthy risks, and challenging yourself to things that you may not think you are capable of. Don’t plan your life out, just live it day by day not knowing what is going to happen. That is when most of your most memorable memories are made. People can learn about risk-taking from movies, songs, quotes, and even poems.

      In the song, Standing Outside the Fire, by Garth Brooks, he says, “ Life is not tried it is merely survived, if your standing outside the fire.” This means that if you are standing outside the fire you are not living life like you should be. By standing inside the fire you are taking smart, healthy risks and living your life to its fullest. That doesn’t mean that you should go jump in a fire, it is just a way of saying that taking risks is a good thing. By taking smart healthy risks you can become wiser about certain things and experience so much more. Always think before you perform a risk because one unhealthy risk, one decision, could change your life. 

      In the Lewis and Clark expedition movie they encounter many things where they have to be smart risk-takers. One thing they encountered was the cold weather. They took a risk because they could have just turned around and gone back. They believed and were confident in themselves and they kept on going to complete the task they were given. One quality you have to be a healthy risk taker is bravery. You have to have bravery because in order to risk something you have to be confident in what you are doing and have bravery in yourself that you will successfully accomplish that risk. Another time they are risk-takers is when they were traveling and came across a bear. They had interdependence and power and they fought off the bear for their safety. That is a huge risk to take because they could have seriously gotten hurt or even killed. Again, they obtained bravery and confidence and they were able to accomplish that risk successfully. Some Dale Carnegie rules Lewis and Clark used to accomplish their journey was throwing down a challenge, working together, and being a leader. Those two brave and courageous men listened to each other, worked together as interdependence, were kind and caring to each other and other people with them, and most importantly, they were smart and confident risk takers.

      John F. Kennedy once said, “ Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This quote means that those who try new things and take risks can achieve and have a successful life. If you try new things and live life day-by-day and not planned you will live your life to its fullest and not to it’s dullest. He is mainly saying that it is okay to fall or stumble or fail while trying something new and by failing you can achieve greatly by learning right and wrong things.

      According to Dr. Ponton’s article many adolescents are unhealthy risk takers because their brain is still young and cannot process the consequences of unhealthy risk-taking. Parents can help their children become smarter and healthier risk takers by putting energy and a positive attitude into healthier activities. To be a healthy risk taker, your brain has to stop and think about the consequences of risk-taking before they take the risk.

      If I had a chance to add to the Dale Carnegie principles and rules I would add being a healthy risk taker. Being a healthy risk taker can take you so far in life and teach you a lot. Taking healthy risks can bring your confidence level up and help you achieve great things in life. It can help you become a better person because you will want to try new and better things that will make you successful. An example of that is going to a job interview. That is a healthy risk and by interviewing for that certain job you will become more successful. Risk-taking is what you should do to become a more genuine person and also a smarter and a more successful person too.

 

 

Healthy risk-taking is very important because if you don’t take risks you won’t achieve anything. People that take risks in life will get to do a lot more than people that don’t take risks. It is good to take risks but not to take unhealthy risks. We can learn about risk taking by watching videos, quotes and articles. Healthy risks can be setting goals and achieving them. 

      In Garth Brooks’ Standing Outside the Fire he says, “ The best competition is the competition in your-self.” The story of the music video is that just because someone has Down Syndrome doesn’t mean you can’t compete against people that don’t have Down Syndrome. Healthy risk-taking is what the boy in the music video did, he was strong enough to not care about what people think of him. He doesn’t care that he is different he still wants to compete. The boy with Down Syndrome wants to be on the track team and he won’t let anyone tell him he can’t. He fell down, but his dad kept saying, “Come on get back up,” so he got right back up and finished the race. In Garth Brooks’ song he keeps repeating, “ Life is not tried it is merely survived if you’re standing outside the fire.” The fire is not really a fire it is the goal we are aiming for. We can learn by listening to quotes.

      In the movie Lewis and Clark they use interdependence or teamwork by not just having one person make the plans and ideas. Sometimes they voted to make the decisions. Lewis and Clark even let the slave York, who was black vote. If they didn’t treat York equally he probably would have ran away. Lewis and Clark didn’t go across the United States because they were forced, they had the choice to go across the U.S. During their journey they had a very scarce amount of food when they weren’t with a Native American tribe. They got so desperate because of the scarcity they ate dogs and horses. Lewis and Clark had a very dangerous journey, they had to go through very dangerous tribes. Lewis at one point had to shoot a Native American because he tried stealing Lewis’s gun. Thomas Jefferson sent medals so Lewis and Clark could give them to the tribes. Lewis and Clark and the Native Americans started using interdependence by the Native Americans teaching Lewis and Clark to hunt and Lewis and Clark giving them medals and also trading. Lewis and Clark took very healthy risk-taking. Lewis and Clark used Dale Carnegie rules because they were interested in other people such as tribes. Also, they threw down a challenge because they asked people to help them cross the continent and make a map. Only healthy risk-takers will have the courage to join Lewis and Clark.

      President Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This quote is important because if you never fail then you probably haven’t taken a risk. You can learn from failing because when you fail you try harder so you will achieve. John Fitzgerald Kennedy probably was a very healthy risk-taker. Everyone should take healthy risks to achieve.

      In the risk-taking article the two different types of risk-taking are healthy risk-taking and unhealthy risk-taking. Healthy risk-taking can consist of sports, volunteering, art classes, and acting in school plays. Unhealthy risk-taking can consist of sexual activity, stealing, and being in a gang. If you are an unhealthy risk taker you have a higher risk of killing yourself or even putting you at a risk of killing someone else. Parents are role models because teenagers watch and imitate their parents. If a parent smokes or drinks heavily most likely their kid will do it to. Parents should tell their kids that failing is not the end of the world. Lynn E. Ponton said that parents can encourage your pre-adolescent to make healthier choices than you may have made.

      Being a healthy risk-taker should be a rule of Dale Carnegie because to be successful you have to take healthy risks. To be a healthy risk taker you need to follow some of Dale Carnegie rule’s such as smile and be a good listener. Lewis and Clark were very good listeners. Dale Carnegie was a very healthy risk-taker because all of these rules are healthy.

 

 

All around the world people are risk-takers. Some people take healthy risks and some people take the wrong turn and go down a dark alley. But, even though some have made one or two mistakes they can still choose to get right back out. The movie Lewis and Clark showed a lot of risks they took in order to reach the Pacific. But, also in that movie, even though they went through some hard times they still stuck together. People also write about risks whether they are healthy or unhealthy. Garth Brooks wrote a song about taking risks and he really emphasized the meaning of risks.    

      

John F. Kennedy once said, “ Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” He was the 35th president of our great United States and he meant well by that quote. What he meant by that quote was those who dare to take the risk of failing and being embarrassed have already proved that they have achieved the impossible. So if you try something that you know you are going to fail, you have already proved that you can do any thing even if you fail. Say you move to a new school and there are soccer try-outs and you know you want to try out because you love soccer, but you’re afraid that you might not be good enough. So you talk to you friend and get her advice. She tells you to try out and not to worry about what others think because you’ll never know until you try. So on the day of the try-outs is when you decide that you are going out for the team. After school you go to the field and show them what you got. And it turns out that you make it. But, you would’ve never known that unless you took that risk in trying out.

      

In the article The Romance of Risk by Lynn E. Ponton she talks about why teenagers make the decisions they do. Their brain is not as fully developed as an adult’s so the decisions they make are not thought through. People around the world are working to help teens decide what the difference is between healthy and unhealthy risks. Parents play a big part in adolescence and preadolescence. Parents can help by keeping their children occupied on healthy extracurricular activity such as sports, plays, volunteering, and/or art classes. If kids are more involved in healthy activities they tend not to think about the unhealthy risks that their friends or someone they know is doing. Some negative risks are smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs, reckless driving, stealing, and/or running away. All of these decisions healthy or unhealthy start in the teen years. Parents are role models for their kids. Whatever parents do their kids will follow. So don’t set a bad example for your kids that you don’t want them to follow.

      

The movie Lewis and Clark the Corps of Discovery showed a lot of risk-taking and team work. Even though they went through hard times they stuck together. They used the Dale Carnegie’s rules a lot throughout the journey. It was very important to their journey to stick together and you can’t do that if you’re all the time fighting or arguing. Throughout that journey Lewis had a depression problem, but he didn’t let that get in the way of the task at hand. They also let the women and the slave York vote. That was very unusual because that was before a law was passed to let women and slaves vote. They never criticized or blamed the people around them. It was really great and useful in the expedition.

 

      The song Standing Outside the Fire had a very deep meaning in risk-taking. It really expressed what it means to take an unhealthy or healthy risk. The best line in the song is “Life is not tried it’s merely survived.” Garth Brooks explains that some people take the unhealthy risk and cause damage to their life or others around them. That’s really sad to see. His lyrics really have a deep meaning to them. You just have to think and process the deeper meaning.   

      

Dale Carnegie’s rules take a big part in the article, movie, song lyrics, and the quote. All around the world in movies, quotes, songs, and articles. It’s your choice to take the right or the wrong choice. Just remember either way they have consequences good or bad. You always have a choice. Just think about the outcome.

 

 

 

        This is an essay about risk-taking, and how people take healthy risks to get far in life. People use teamwork to help each other take healthy-risks. People can learn about risk-taking from this essay. 

      In the movie, Lewis and Clark took risks to create a map for the United States. Lewis and Clark, and other members took a risk to shoot any black bears that came near them without the bear killing them, and there were several bears. Lewis and Clark had survived for about two years on their journey. Lewis and Clark were by themselves for most of the time but they also had met other tribes too. When Lewis and Clark came upon other tribes and black bears they gave honest and sincere appreciation and had been leaders to help the tribe get through the black bears and them still being alive. 

      In the song the words “Standing Outside the Fire” means that you have to take healthy risks to get anywhere in life. Also this song means that when we encourage people to take risks we can also help them get them somewhere in life. In the music video of Standing Outside the Fire there was a boy with Down Syndrome who had taken a risk to run track. That boy had fallen during the race and then got right back up. He took a healthy risk on doing something he enjoyed just like everybody else can take a healthy risk and do something that they enjoy. For example, the lyric “ life is not tried it’s merely survived, when your standing outside the fire” means that don’t sit their and watch, go for your goal and succeed at what you want to do in your life.

      The quote by President Kennedy, “ Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly” means that when you fail to get back up and try again, not to stop when you aren’t or don’t do as good as others. For example, say that you just started a business and you were not getting much money off the products. You wouldn’t just sit back and let the business fail you would create more products. So when you fail don’t give up keep trying until you get what you want to go for. Our parents are important because they teach us how to take healthy risks and they help us through when we have taken an unhealthy risk and because they give us good examples, this is why our parents are important.

      The article about risk-taking by Lynn E. Ponton is about telling kids about healthy risk-taking and unhealthy risk-taking. Dr. Ponton tells some healthy risk-taking tasks in which are playing sports or volunteering in school projects. Also contributing to doing chores around the house often. Dr. Ponton also tells some negative healthy risks to. Such as drinking alcohol, smoking, abusing or using drugs, and running away. Theses are all examples of things that people should not use. When you are about to take a risk, take a healthy risk, not an unhealthy risk.

      People should use Dale Carnegie principles because the people might take a lot more healthy risks other than unhealthy risks. Dale Carnegie’s principles are good to keep friends and keep yourself and others happy. If everybody used the Dale Carnegie principles then everybody might get along, not as well as some others get along, but at least they’ll get along. High schools should especially use Dale Carnegie principle because there is so much drama in high schools. A lot between girls is over boys and a lot between boys is over girls. See that’s why we should have Dale Carnegie principles because then people could strengthen relationships. Also being a healthy risk taker is a good role because then when people need something in life then they can take a chance on something or everything to succeed, just like I am taking a risk to write this essay to try and get a magnificent grade.

 

  

 

Healthy risk-taking is important. If you don’t take healthy risks then you probably haven’t lived life to the fullest, you have to try sports and activities. I think healthy risks are important to take in life. You can learn about healthy risk-taking from songs, movies, articles, and quotes.

      Lewis and Clark were people who took risks. They had to make a map across the United States so that people could travel into unknown lands and for President Jefferson. It was their choice to take this healthy risk and travel with their diverse team. They had a slave, a woman who was a Native American, a baby, and many men. Lewis and Clark used teamwork to help them on their journey. They had many challenges, like the Rocky Mountains and the Great Falls and yet they kept going on. They were lucky because even the slave, York stayed. York could’ve left and ran away for good because they were out in the open and no one could have stopped him, but he didn’t. He didn’t because they treated him fairly and they were always kind to him, I also think he stayed because he was loyal. Plus, almost all the Indian tribes they met they were friendly too. They used Dale Carnegie rules, they made the other people feel important and then they stayed and showed respect back, like they would trade with them. Another rule they used was beginning in a friendly way; they would always greet the Indian people in a good way so they knew they wouldn’t hurt them.

      In the music video Standing Outside the Fire the child takes a healthy risk and runs in a race. Although he falls, he gets back up and finishes the race. The boy and his mom think the race is a good idea but the dad doesn’t think so. When the boy falls the dad helps him get back up and finish the race.

      In the song it says, “Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you are standing outside the fire.” The fire is like a risk, a chance, a struggle and you haven’t tried life until you jump in. The song says, “who have to dance within the flame,” this means that people are taking risks. The song is talking about laughing and making fun of people who take risks…but they are really the winners for trying.

      In the article by Dr. Ponton, she writes that there are two types of risks, healthy and unhealthy. Healthy risk-taking behaviors almost always tend to have a positive impact on a young life. Some healthy risks are sports, art classes, and doing activities in school. Unhealthy risk-taking has a bad influence on young life. Unhealthy risks are stealing, drug use, and running away. In addition to talking to children about risk-taking, parents are role models so parents should be good role models and not take any unhealthy risks.

      President Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This means that people who take risks, like trying out for a sport, but you don’t make the team, you will still achieve something, because you tried. I think Kennedy said this because it is true, at least you are making the healthy choice to take the healthy risk and you gain experience and confidence from your efforts.

      If you are a healthy risk-taker then you will probably make more friends and have more fun, this is what should be added to the Dale Carnegie Rules for relationships. If you don’t take risks then you probably haven’t lived life to the fullest. Healthy risk taking is important.

 

 

 

 

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” No truer words wherever spoken. This was said by John Kennedy, the 35th US president (1961-1963). I think this means don’t think about great failure because that will help you achieve greatness. People can learn from songs, movies, and other places.

     

 Lewis and Clark both achieved greatness. They achieved greatness by not giving up, even when the going gets tough. When they got to the mountains they didn’t turn back just because the mountains were bigger than they ever saw. They were kind, caring, and friendly to all of the Indians and people they met. They show interdependence in their expedition and they even brought Clark’s slave York. They treated everyone equal… they even treated York like he wasn’t a slave and that was their choice to take a chance and treat everyone the same. They used Dale Carnegie rules. For example one of the rules they showed respect for everyone’s opinions, and that made them successful risk takers and made them friends.

      

I listened to a song, Standing Outside The Fire by Garth Brooks. The song was really written by Jenny Yates. The song means take healthy risks not harmful ones. The fire can mean different things for example the flame could mean risk-taking for someone. For example a healthy risk would be to play basketball but not staying in a spot you know you would make, but trying a new spot. And an unhealthy risk would be to do drugs or bad things. Garth said “The greatest competition in life is competition with yourself.” That kind of means put yourself to the test… take a chance and go for what you believe or try in life and take some chances.

      

The next topic is from the Risk-Taking article. Did you know that 11-year-old brains are not fully developed and not yet ready to process the consequences of risk-taking the way the adult brain does? Parents are important because they give you guidelines and they made most of the mistakes kids make and they can help their child (children) accomplish what they needed help with. The 2 types of risk talking are healthy risk-taking and unhealthy risk-taking. The first lyric of the song is “ We call them cool.” I think “them” is risk takers, and “we” are non-risk takers. I mean a lot of people think risk takers are so cool because they like to take risks. Did you know healthy risk-taking acts positively on the impact of a child’s, teenager’s, and even adult’s lives. But unhealthy risk-taking acts negatively on children’s, teenager’s and adult’s life? Some examples of healthy risk-taking are sports, running for school office, and even making new friends. Some examples are running away, smoking, and drug uses are VERY negative risks.

      

Being a healthy risk-taker is very important because it can make you very happy in life. It also is important because it will make you very satisfied with your choices. Another Dale Carnegie rule should be live life to the fullest and be a healthy risk taker!

 

 

To move on in life you need to take healthy risks. Risks are good things to take, but if you don’t take risks in life you are more likely to go nowhere in life. You could learn this from articles, movies, songs and quotes.

A good quote that Garth Brooks said is “ the greatest competition is the competition within yourself.” This means that you have to push yourself and take on challenges and compete with your self. The song Standing Outside the Fire is trying to say that you can overcome challenges and that these challenges are healthy risks you can take. Also, that if people try to tell you that you can’t do something don’t listen to them you can do anything that you want. Like the kid in the music video that had Down Syndrome wanted to sign up for the regular Olympics but his dad wanted him to sign up for the Special Olympics because he thought he would get hurt or embarrassed but the kid didn’t listen and signed up for the Olympics, so he worked hard to get fit for it. When he fell while he was running he didn’t stop and his dad told him to keep going and cheered him on. Something else that Garth said was “ if you are standing outside the fire life isn’t tried just merely survived” he means if you aren’t taking risks you are just surviving.

John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly”. By this he means that you have to take big risks in life in order to move on. He is also saying that if you sometimes fail you will also achieve greatly and move on in life. So he is saying that you shouldn’t be afraid of failing and that if you end up failing it will eventually help you.

In the Lewis & Clark movie they take risks to succeed on their journey. For this journey Thomas Jefferson told them to find a northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean and they knew nothing about that side of the United States and he also told them to write a journal and everything they saw. Some risks they took were that they went on this mission when they knew nothing about the western side of North America. They had to go through mountains, waterfalls, rivers and deserts. These were major risks because they didn’t know they were going to run into any of these things so when they turned a corner they didn’t know what to expect. They had to use teamwork and had to be nice to each other. Like when they were at the Pacific Ocean and fall was over and winter was coming they used a team vote to decide what they were going to do. Also they had to use teamwork to get over the mountains, which was hard. Something else that they did was they were nice to Sacagawea because if they didn’t she might have stayed with other Indians or ran away from the people. And York who was Clark’s slave. They treated him like he wasn’t a slave on the expedition because if they didn’t he definitely would have ran away. These things were all Dale Carnegie rules, which helped them stay alive because if they hadn’t been nice to the Indians they would’ve been outnumbered right away and most likely killed.

The article is mostly saying that when most kids are 11 years old their brain cannot process the consequences of risk taking. Also that when young kids take risks they are usually not goods risks like drinking, smoking, doing drugs, reckless driving, running away and gang activity. But healthy risk-taking can have a good outcome like sports, volunteering, art classes, acting in school plays, traveling, running for school office and contributing to your family or community. Sometimes the 11-year-old brain can imitate their parent’s actions like if their parents smoke or drink they have a high chance that they will also do the same thing. Parents can also help with this though, they can work with their kids and tell them that those kinds of things are not something to do and teach them the positive and negative effects of doing bad things.

In conclusion, in life there is no way that you will do great things without taking risk and that all the paragraphs in the essay can help you with this like the music video, the Lewis & Clark movie, and John F. Kennedy’s quote. Healthy risk-taking can help you in life by giving you a greater chance of succeeding. This also relates to Dale Carnegie because it is the same thing, it gives you better skills in life.

 

    

 

Everyone should take healthy risks. If you don’t take any healthy risk then you’re not living. Don’t just do what you know you can do, try new things. You can learn about risk-taking from movies, songs, and even quotes. 

      Garth Brooks once said, “The greatest competition is to compete with your self.” He is saying that each of us should try our hardest and take healthy risks to continue to better ourselves. In his song Standing Outside The Fire he talks about how people who don’t try to do things and don’t get hurt are cool because they don’t cry. People call those who take risk and get hurt fools but they are actually the ones who live life and are stronger than those who are called “cool.” It is also about challenging yourself and pushing yourself to meet your challenges. He also said, “Put yourself to the test and don’t play it safe.”

      In the movie Lewis and Clark they take very big healthy risks. They traveled to the unknown and everyday experienced something new. It is not like they asked President Jefferson what dangers they would encounter, they just prepared for the danger, risk and the task. This is a great example of healthy risk-taking. Lewis and Clark did not say that when it got tough they would give up, turn around and go back instead they were ready for the challenges and kept pushing forward. Their adventuresome spirit helped them to push through healthy risks. They were determined and continued to challenge themselves with healthy risks. If they had not taken these risks we probably would not have moved west. Another healthy risk they took was to work as a team. They learned to be interdependent with each other and because of this interdependence they probably could have overcome anything. In the movie there was a wide array of diversity amongst the people who traveled with Lewis and Clark. There was a slave, men, and there was even a woman who went on the trip with them all taking healthy risks. It was an even greater healthy risk for the woman with her baby but at that time they always traveled with their family unlike today where they would have told her to stay back to help ensure the safety of her child and herself. Lewis and Clark had no choice on this expedition, there was no way around some of the risks they had to take. Lewis and Clark are very good examples of Dale Carnegie’s rules because they treated all of the Indian tribes with respect and did not criticize them.

      The quote “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” Spoken by John F. Kennedy speaks to us about the reality of those who take healthy risks despite the chance of failure. They are the one’s who are most likely to have the greatest accomplishments. People who accept failure when they have tried their hardest are the same people who are able to achieve their goals because they are prepared for the risks. Those who dare to fail take a big risk but it is a healthy one because if you work your hardest, even if you are unsure of what you can accomplish, you will be risking growth and success, both healthy risks. I believe in this quote with all my heart. It is one of the truest statements in the world.

      So is there a difference between healthy risk and unhealthy risk? There is truly a difference A healthy risk is something that will have a positive effect on you. Examples of healthy risk include volunteering, becoming involved in your community, sports and school activities. An unhealthy risk is a risk that has a negative affect. For more information read the article by Dr. Ponton Some examples of unhealthy risks are drinking, drugs, and stealing. 

        Parents and other adult role models play an important part in a youth’s decisions to take healthy or unhealthy risks because they guide the youth through their beliefs, the example they set, and the information they provide youth with. Just remember that you have a choice as to whether you take healthy or unhealthy risks, ultimately it is up to you! Remember to take healthy risks. If you don’t you will never truly experience life. Don’t take unhealthy risks they could change your life forever. Sometimes unhealthy risks may lead you to never have the chance to take a healthy risk. You do not want to make the choice to take an unhealthy risk that ends your life or restricts you from ever making another choice, a better choice.

      If you examine Dale Carnegie’s principles you will find that the song, movie, quote and the article each support them in some way.  When putting together the music video for, Standing Outside the Fire, the team worked together even with the unexpected effects from the earthquake, they still did it. In the movie, Lewis and Clark are examples when they treated each other equally and respected the Indians and their culture. In the article we see the principles such as adults serving as role models and being a good listener. The quote tells us to try healthy risks another part of Dale Carnegie’s principles.

 

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I listened to quotes, the song “Standing Outside the Fire,” watched a movie and read an article and now I am ready to tell you about the Lewis and Clark expedition. We learned that risk-taking is great. It is great only if you take good risks. If you take a good risk and you try to do your hardest. If you take bad risks, that is really terrible because you can cause your own death or possibly cause some else to die. The song and the movie all relate to each other by two words; risk-taking. There is a difference between taking risks because there is healthy risk-taking and there is non–healthy risk-taking. Lewis and Clark took a healthy risk. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Clark to see if he would make the map across the United States. That is where it all started. Here is all the information on Lewis and Clark’s great, healthy risk about the adventure.

      “On February 28, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson won approval from Congress for a visionary project, an endeavor that would become one of America’s greatest stories of adventure.” He wanted Clark to make a map to cross the United States so other travelers could follow. Clark wrote a letter to Lewis wondering if he wanted to go along on the journey. Lewis wrote back and he would go with Clark on the expedition. The movie is about taking risks and Lewis and Clark took a lot of risks. Lewis and Clark had to make a lot of choices when they were making the map to cross the United States. They made this map for Thomas Jefferson. This map will help Thomas and all the other citizens when they want travel. Sacagawea helped Lewis and Clark get horses and get over the mountains. She also helped them talk to her Sho-shone tribe to help them get the horses. Lewis also stabbed a Black Foot Indian because they were fighting and Lewis won by killing the Black Foot. “Lewis lacked the higher education and wealth of Jefferson’s peers.” At the end of the movie Lewis ended up killing himself because he had depression. They used Dale Carnegie’s rules by not complaining about the team and the other tribe. One of the rules that they used was begin in a friendly way. They used that because they always start by talking not complaining to the other tribe or the other people. That is the way that they got around in life on the journey. That was a poor choice for Lewis to make because he killed himself over something he could possibly over come. They had no medicine back then so that he couldn’t use medicine to over come his depression.

      A very important line in the Garth Brooks song is,” Life is not tried it is merely survived if you are standing outside the fire.” ” This line means you take risks and you may crash and burn, but get up and try it again. The song Standing Outside the Fire relates to healthy risk-taking. Just like in the music video for the song a Down Syndrome kid made a choice about joining track because that is what he wanted to do. His mom supported him but his dad thought he shouldn’t do it. His dad was being negative because the kid could do it but the father didn’t want him to. The father didn’t want him to do track because the father was embarrassed over his Down Syndrome kid doing a non- special education sport. He ends up tripping and falling but he gets right back up again. The kid was using interdependence because his mom helped him train for the track meet race. That is what healthy risk-taking is all about. This is what Garth Brooks said, ”The best competition is the competition in yourself.” That is a healthy risk also good advice to take. “Put yourself to the test and don’t, play it safe hang out there.” This means challenge yourself and take healthy risks not the unhealthy risks. “Don’t give up. First if you don’t succeed try and try again.” Mr. Chase quoted that and everyone can learn a lot from that quote. I think that Garth Brooks was trying to say that in the song Standing Outside the Fire.

      Lewis and Clark took a healthy risk and so did the kid on Standing Outside the Fire music video. I think they were good people and that they should have inspired others to do the same. That map will get a lot of use and a lot of traveling might happen. The people should take risks and always be safe.

      The quote that John Fitzgerald Kennedy said was,” Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.” This means that those who fail achieve greatly because they try but they tried but they may not have succeed. This is a great quote because it is easy for someone to understand and others can achieve greatly from the quote just by understanding. He is also trying to say even when you don’t succeed you still are doing the right thing because you tried your best. If you try you can succeed but only in one way, trying your hardest.

      The article is about an 11-year old brain that has not fully developed yet. It is not yet ready to accept the concept of risk taking. This kid is learning by the mistakes that he makes. They can still take risks but they can’t understand the concept for the reason for taking the risks that they did. Some kids may make mistakes and may take the wrong risks but if they live from the wrong mistake they will and can learn from the mistake. Don’t let anyone follow you in the risk, unless you are very sure it is a good risk. If it is a bad risk then you let yourself and the other person into a tough risk that they might not survive from.

      At the end of the movie they completed the map and they gave it to Thomas Jefferson. Lewis ended up killing himself because of depression. If he was living now he could be treated with medicine and care. If I could travel back in time I would take him a doctor and a counselor. I would also take Lewis and Clark some food and drinks so that they don’t get hungry or dehydrated. If you could travel back in time what would you take to him and Clark? Would you care enough to bring more people so that they can experience the expedition along with Lewis and Clark?

 

Risk-Taking makes every aspect of life interesting.  Taking risks can be positive or it can lead to consequences if you’re not careful.  It is important to take risks every now and then because it can give you the power to do just about anything, you can leap and hope to god you can fly.  You go in not knowing what’s going to happen and come out knowing that what you did was worth it.  You can accomplish so much by taking risks by doing things that you won’t regret and even if you do, still feel that everything happens for a reason.  You can learn about risk-taking from songs, quotes, movies and even yourself and other people.  You have the choice to take risks and the ability to succeed. 

 

        The song Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks, is a great example of risk-taking. It shows that taking risks make people think twice about doing something that could hurt them or make people think their crazy, but in the end they’ll feel better about themselves.  They won’t care what anyone else said because people will take it back when they realize that they have succeeded and they proved they could do it.  The line “we call them fools, who have to dance within the flame, who chance the sorrow and the shame, that always comes with getting burned” really means that people make fun of those who take dangerous risks but it usually works out.  They may be crazy but if they just believe in themselves enough then they can achieve greatness.  Just like the kid in the music video for Standing Outside the Fire, he took a great risk by signing up for something that made many people believe that he couldn’t do it because he was mentally challenged.  That just goes to show you that it doesn’t matter who you are, it’s knowing in your heart that you can make it.  Even though he got hurt, and he was starting to think he couldn’t do it, he got right back up off the ground and he pulled it off.

 

        Parents have a strong role in helping their child take risks.  They teach you to be friends with life and not be afraid of trying new things.  If you spend your whole life worrying about what’s going to happen tomorrow then you’ll never know what may happen today.  Parents are taking risks everyday, the adult brain is more developed and ready for the consequences that may lie ahead due to negative risk-taking.  The brain of a 12 year old on the other hand, is not fully developed and may not be able to handle consequences that are from the bad choices they may make.  Positive risk-taking has an enormous impact on a young life.  Have your child get involved in a sport, let them volunteer, participate in school plays, and allow them to hang out with friends.  Those are some healthy and positive examples of risk-taking.  All those things can help prevent negative things like drinking alcohol at a young age, smoking, running away, or stealing.  Keep yourself and those around you healthy by taking positive risks.

 

        The quote “Those who dare to fail miserably, can achieve greatly” by John F. Kennedy, is an amazing quote that also has a lot to do with risk-taking.  This quote means that those who go the extra mile, and who take huge risks, and fly without wings will not always make it, but they will always be the ones who go down in history.  People will remember the ones who took those amazing risks, even if they don’t succeed the first time they try, try again, and when its all said and done at least they know they took the risk and worked that much harder to reach their goal.  Nobody’s perfect but imperfection is the key to an interesting life, because if everyone was perfect and everyone succeeded the first time, everything would be boring and no one would dare try new things.  There would be no change in the world, everyday would be the same as the last.

 

        Risk-taking is shown a lot in movies.  The Lewis and Clark; Journey of the Corps of Discovery expedition was an outstanding film of the historic Lewis and Clark team who took risks that could have killed them and yet they made it.  They went in with nothing planned at all and through their journey they came across many new things and objects, animals and people.  Lewis and Clark came to one point during the expedition where they thought it was over for them, there was great depression and confusion between Lewis and Clark, but they fought with everything they had and made it all the way.  This movie is a great thing to look back on when your not sure how to make a choice or if you think you “can’t do” something, just think about what these men did and how these outstanding explorers took all these challenging risks.  Everyone back at home including Thomas Jefferson all thought they would die and not make it, but Jefferson believed in them.  He knew that they would make it back with the map they made and everything would be ok, and they did.

 

        As we get older things get more and more complicated everyday.  We have to trust in ourselves and other people to get through the challenges that come with life.  The one thing that has really inspired me to take risks and really has shown me how scary and exciting life can be is the movie Invincible based on a true story of the life of Vince Papale.  This movie showed me that you can’t let the people that never believed in you from the start get you down.  You have to trust the ones who were always there by your side.  Vince takes the risk of trying out for the Philadelphia Eagles football team.  He starts out pretty sure of himself and thinking it was going to be easy but when he was done he thought that everyone else was right he was a failure. But all of those people who didn’t believe in him including his wife, who left him because she thought he was a failure, were in for a surprise.  Their own Vince Papale became the Philadelphia Eagles rookie and at first everyone hated him on the team, but he stuck it out and proved he could make it to the big time.  He showed everyone that he was a winner and that he could live his dream.  Taking risks won’t ruin that moment in your life where you think you have made a bad decision, it can only improve it.  Risk-taking is just the part of life that makes everything work out for the best.

 

                         

                                                                                                            Vince Papale in “Invincible”                               President J. F Kennedy

 

            

The Glorious Journey of Lewis and Clark along with

Garth Brooks for “Standing Outside the Fire”

 

Risk-taking makes everything interesting. It makes life better. It helps you excel in life. It gives you more choices in life. Positive risk-taking is a powerful decision making process. It takes you far and to many places unimaginable. It drives you to conquer your biggest fears. It is what keeps you going. You can travel many lengths. The best risks are all within yourself. You can do about anything with risks, even if it’s not what you were hoping for. Just looking around you, you can learn a lot about risks in songs, quotes, watching movies, and even in history. Just look at articles in the newspaper. Think about it. It Martin Luther King Jr. never spoke his “I Have a Dream” speech, than African Americans may have never been freed from slavery.

A fantastic example of risk-taking would be Lewis and Clark. Lewis and Clark were very powerful people. They went out west where no one had gone before, except for the Indian tribes. Lewis and Clark became best friends with the Mandan tribe. They traded supplies and goods with each other. They also helped provide a shelter for them. The Mandan Indians taught them ways to survive in the mountains. They also taught them to build their own canoe out of a hollow tree. Lewis and Clark took the risk of their lives. There was a time on their journey where their food was so scarce, that they had to kill one of their own colts just to be able to eat. Lewis had depression and at times it was shown when he didn’t write in his journal. The trip also made it better for him, because his mind was really set on this expedition, instead of all his worries. Lewis and Clark were amazing. The two of them worked interdependently and did their best to survive and complete their mission. They survived awful weather, unknown animals, scarcity of food, and illnesses. To get all the way to the Pacific and back without any way of actually knowing where they are going is unimaginable. The hope and happiness they felt when getting back safely must have been relief for them. Clark, even brought one of his slaves along, and treated him equally as a white man. Also Sacagawea was treated like one of them. She had much empathy for them and helped them out. They even allowed her to come with them when she was very pregnant. Clark was like a brother to her, and he taught her son many things. Lewis and Clark found a way to go to the Pacific and back. The risk that they faced, was life changing for each of them. It changed the world from then, to how we know it now!

The Romance of Risk: Why teenagers do the things they do, is an article by Lynn E. Ponton, M.D. The article talks about positive and negative risk-taking that teens tend to take, and how adults and peers can help us to make the right decisions to prevent us from making the wrong ones. Adults may not like talking about their past decisions, but we can also learn from them. While our brain is still growing, we need guidance to figure out what is a healthy risk and what is an unhealthy risk to us.

John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably, can achieve greatly.” To me, this quote means that people who aren’t afraid to take risks, and are ready and prepared to fail, can win and go farther than those who are too scared to take the risks. I think this statement is very true and people who have enough confidence to take that risk, can actually be an achiever.

That quote leads me to a song by Garth Brooks, called Standing Outside the Fire.  This song talks about how life is not tried, we just live it. Most of us just stand outside of all the risks, instead of taking them and getting involved. Garth sings, “Life is not tried, it is merely survived when you’re standing outside the fire.” Those lyrics are the ones that really mean the most to me. The video for this song is about a mentally disabled teen that takes the risk of signing up for the “regular” track team. At an important meet, he races others. He trips and falls, and even though in great pain, he gets up and keeps going. He does cross the finish line and achieves his own personal goal.

Risk-taking gives you the thrill of life. It may even nurture your needs. The biggest risk I have ever taken was turning my life over to God. He helps me through the roughest risks. He knows what outcome is best for me. Positive and healthy risk-taking has better outcomes for what comes after!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


                Taking a risk can be positive, whether it be riding a bike for the first time or exploring the vast new Louisiana Purchase.  If Lewis and Clark had not chosen to take the risk to explore the new territory, the world would perhaps be ruled differently than it is today.  Lewis and Clark accomplished what seemed to be the impossible by taking a positive risk.  By taking positive risks anything can happen.  You can learn about positive risks anywhere, for example in the music video Standing Outside the Fire, the Lewis and Clark video, and even from books and quotes.

 

        Standing Outside the Fire, a song by Garth Brook, includes a video about a child with Down Syndrome who takes a risk and succeeds.  In the movie-video Garth says, “Don’t play it safe,” meaning life is not fun or fulfilling without any risks. Also Garth sings,” Life is not tried, it is merely survived if your standing outside the fire.” He means you have to choose to take risks and you can’t succeed without taking risks.  Also you will not feel fulfilled or satisfied if you never jump into the fire, take a risk, and try something new. 

 

        In the video, Lewis and Clark; The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Lewis, Clark, and their crew took big risks in order to make a map of the new land.  The risk included making friends with Indians, fighting wild animals, and almost freezing in the harsh environment and almost starving to death.  They also had a scarcity of food and were once forced to eat candle wax.  By taking a positive risk and using interdependence they crossed the Rocky Mountains and they were able to achieve what they set out to do.  If they hadn’t taken the risk to keep going who knows what would have happened? 

 

        President John F. Kennedy once said, “Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve great.”  President Kennedy is trying to get the point across that if you take a risk, even if you fail, you can learn something and it could change your life.  Also taking a positive risk and failing is a lot better than taking no risks at all.  The failure is if you don’t try at all.

 

        A document from the book “The Romance of Risks” states, “Healthy risk-taking behaviors tend to have a positive impact on young life.”  For example, if someone took a risk and tried out for a sport, whether or not they made the team it was a worthwhile, positive risk.  Parents have the power to teach kids about risk-taking, and play a major role.  Parents need to be role models and to help their children determine if a risk is positive, like trying out for a play, or negative, like smoking.

 

         Risk-taking is a needed experience in life.  Daring to take a chance or daring to be different, no matter what the outcome, helps us grow and learn.  There is a diversity of situations in life when we can take the risk.  For example if someone can’t decide whether or not they should apply for a job, they should apply because it is a positive risk.  Even if they do not get the job they will feel good about trying.  Attempting to learn a new skill, like skiing, may seem scary at first, but imagine how thrilling it would feel to make it down the mountain, even if you fell a few times.  Positive risks are everywhere and they are worth taking.

 


 

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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