Price of making a mistake

Sometimes I wonder, how much can the price of making a mistake be?

I have grown up building a flawless, enviable career path for people of my age. While that makes me perhaps the "luckiest" in most people's view, it creates a strange predicament for me. I have been finding it increasingly hard to give myself the permission to make a mistake, to be wrong. Ironically, my success has not made me more confident, but less! (Yes, it has puffed up my ego...but ego is not confidence) What if I were to take one wrong step and throw all that I have built over years of hardwork to the winds?! More and more, I am leaning towards taking the safe route - sticking to titles rather than pursuing less glamorous but interesting projects, judging opportunities by the fame/prestige they bring or doors they open rather than whether they truly make me happy ... in other words, taking the beaten path, the time-tested track record and nothing but copying those who have been successful before. Yes, there is no doubt that following in their footsteps will take me where they are today, but will it ever make me an original? I sincerely doubt it!

My father often told me when I was growing up, "Run a different race." Perhaps, the time has come to take his advice. The race which is different is inevitably risky, one where there is nothing else to trust but yourself. Perhaps, that is the only way to become fearless again.