What Can Go Wrong? Imagining Worst- Case Scenarios...
Let’s talk about your real life now. Yours and your family’s...and the “other kind” of gambling that people do. This other kind of gambling is more than just about “How much?” It’s also about “What if?” “What if?” is a game that involves imagining worst-case scenarios. Hardly a pleasant thought, but how can you know what you’re gambling if you don’t consider all the risks? Could something happen today that would cause you to lose your house? Maybe. It happens to people every day. Could something happen tomorrow that would rob you of your ability to make a living? Possibly. It happens to people every day. For some of our readers, the answers to the two previous questions are either “No” or “Almost certainly not.” But how do you know? Let’s play “What if?” This could happen...You’re driving your car. You lose your concentration on the road and go through an intersection, not seeing that the light has turned red. Could happen to anybody. Unfortunately, as you go through the intersection, you encounter another car that is proceeding across your path because the light for this vehicle is green. You broadside the other car. Later, you find out that the driver or a passenger (it doesn’t matter which) is a famous person who has been seriously hurt. This famous person makes millions and millions of dollars a year, and because of this accident, this person will not be able to earn that living, at least for a while.
This person has suffered an economic loss and also probably will endure pain and suffering because of his or her injuries, the recovery period and the inability to work. So this person sues you. How much can he or she get from you? Everything you have. This could happen...Look at this example another way. Say you are the one hit by something proceeding through a red light. Say you are unable to work for months, even years. What kind of a hardship would this cause you and your family? What could you lose? For some, the unfortunate answer is . . . Everything you have. Do you like to gamble?
Let’s talk about your real life now. Yours and your family’s...and the “other kind” of gambling that people do. This other kind of gambling is more than just about “How much?” It’s also about “What if?” “What if?” is a game that involves imagining worst-case scenarios. Hardly a pleasant thought, but how can you know what you’re gambling if you don’t consider all the risks? Could something happen today that would cause you to lose your house? Maybe. It happens to people every day. Could something happen tomorrow that would rob you of your ability to make a living? Possibly. It happens to people every day. For some of our readers, the answers to the two previous questions are either “No” or “Almost certainly not.” But how do you know? Let’s play “What if?” This could happen...You’re driving your car. You lose your concentration on the road and go through an intersection, not seeing that the light has turned red. Could happen to anybody. Unfortunately, as you go through the intersection, you encounter another car that is proceeding across your path because the light for this vehicle is green. You broadside the other car. Later, you find out that the driver or a passenger (it doesn’t matter which) is a famous person who has been seriously hurt. This famous person makes millions and millions of dollars a year, and because of this accident, this person will not be able to earn that living, at least for a while. 
This person has suffered an economic loss and also probably will endure pain and suffering because of his or her injuries, the recovery period and the inability to work. So this person sues you. How much can he or she get from you? Everything you have. This could happen...Look at this example another way. Say you are the one hit by something proceeding through a red light. Say you are unable to work for months, even years. What kind of a hardship would this cause you and your family? What could you lose? For some, the unfortunate answer is . . . Everything you have. Do you like to gamble?
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