Many of us pretend to understand risk and think we are fully prepared for it. Wrong. Most of us are hoping that since our parents did not face risk, we will not face risk.

Let us look at some of the risk which we pretend will not happen to us, because so far it has not happened to us (OMG what a complicated statement, and how foolish!).

1. I know 3 people who lost their lives in the July 2004 deluge in Mumbai: perfectly normal guys who would have LAUGHED on 22nd of July if I had told them that they could DROWN in the middle of MUMBAI. Of course there were many, many others whom I did not know who died or lost substantially in that deluge. Obviously none of them was even REMOTELY prepared for it. Neither are we.

2. Building crash in Andheri: A few days ago a building (30 years old) came down like a pack of cards…awesome that nobody lost their lives. In the midst of Mumbai, a fully occupied building just fell down because the contractor who was carrying on the repairs was not skilled enough to do it. Maybe even he did not know that he was not qualified.

We will pretend ‘it has not happened to me EVER’ till it actually happens?

3. Husband and Wife working in the same industry (even worse same company): Can you imagine what happens when a H and W work in the same company earn fabulously, but commit every rupee to real estate purchase (one own house, one to be let out on rent, one in another city….).

When the industry slows down, the annual increases do not happen, the kid wants a change in school – from ordinary to INTERNATIONAL, …..what do you do?

Learn the advantages of being prepared for …….the ‘black swan’ . None of the risks that I have mentioned here is a BLACK SWAN.

A black swan is when the threat which stuns you when it hits you….YOU CANNOT BE PREPARED….nobody knew that a Tsunami was till it hit….