Karl Wallenda lived on top of the world. The aerialist thrilled crowds with his daring stunts on the high wire before that fateful day in 1978 when his show ended. Wallenda plunged 75 feet to his death before an audience of thousands in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

What happened? His widow explained that Karl had never been one to know fear. Self-confidence marked his style until he started worrying. Little details of safety preoccupied his mind. He checked and double-checked the tightrope to make certain that everything was secure. This was a different Karl. For the first time, instead of putting his energies into walking the wire, he concentrated on not falling. From then on Wallenda became an accident just waiting to happen. It was inevitable that he fall, or so his widow felt years after the accident.

Motivational speakers and managers now call this the Wallenda factor. Beware of being so afraid of failure that you dwell on the negatives. If so, you will succeed only in the ultimate negative, which is nothing. Life is a risk we must take. Be careful in a prudent sort of way, but don’t be paralyzed by a fear of failure. In Jesus Christ we can be positive and progress on!