Choose Possibility: Take Risks and Thrive (Even When You Fail)

The “myth of the single choice,” that one decision can make or break everything, is to blame for people’s fear of taking risks, writes StubHub president Cassidy in her encouraging debut. The pressure to “make the right choice on a straight shot to glory,” she suggests, leaves people stuck in jobs that don’t suit them or on harmful paths, and the way out is to change one’s mindset and become more comfortable with risk. Cassidy’s program for doing so involves taking small risks “early and often,” acknowledging that growth isn’t linear, and embracing setbacks as part of the process. She urges readers to stay open to possibilities and wait for multiple options to appear (rather than jumping at the first available opportunity), stay in “discovery mode,” commit to always learning, and harness FOMO, because it spurs one to action. Cassidy has taken a number of big leaps in her own career, which she covers at too great length sometimes, to the point where the advice can get lost in the autobiography. Still, readers looking to play it a bit less safe will find this a welcome call to do so. (Aug.)