Risk-Taking Secrets from World Record Skydiver Jim McCormick

" Everything we do during the course of any given day is a risk because we don't know the outcome until it's been completed."This week on Delay the Decay, I interview risk expert and world-record skydiver Jim McCormick, founder of the Research Institute for Risk Intelligence and author of The Power of Risk, about intelligent risk-taking, leadership, and mortality. We discuss understanding one’s changing “risk quotient,” balancing teams with complementary risk profiles, and how commitments like family affect decisions. Jim shares lessons from skydiving—passion, preparation, delegation, redundancy (main and reserve chutes), and “no plan survives first contact”—including the year-plus planning behind a 400-person record jump. He advocates a “culture of permission” for innovation and recommends bolstering competence to take constructive risks.00:00 Meet Jim McCormick03:16 What Risk Really Means06:47 Know Your Risk Quotient08:48 Natural vs Adapted Risk10:32 Building Balanced Teams12:36 Founders and Commitments17:02 Excessive Caution Costs20:24 The Gift of Mortality25:08 Skydiving Lessons on Fear27:09 Why Some Compete30:09 Find Your Natural Gifts32:01 Inside the 400 Jump Record40:22 Leadership Lessons from Skydiving44:02 Reserve Chute Backup Plans48:36 Building a Risk Culture51:57 One Courageous Step This Week55:19 Keep Improving and Stay Persistent57:45 Direction Not Perfection FarewellThank you Jim McCormick for being a guest on Delay the Decay! Find him on social media:- Jim on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmccormick- Jim's Website: https://www.risks-institute.com/- Find Jim's book: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Risk-Successful-Step-Step/dp/1735617415Delay the Decay is a podcast for unashamedly ambitious people who want to live healthier, lead better and love deeper by prioritizing what’s really important in life.- Follow us on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/delay-the-decay-with-dan-harty/id1839656855 - Follow us on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/14SGNmzOWOzJOLjnev66TF?si=5b7d810ecc244c77 - Find our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DelaytheDecayPodcast - Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/delay_the_decay/ - Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Delay-the-Decay/61577725301458/ - Website: www.delaythedecay.com *** New episodes every Monday! ***Dan Harty is a coach, entrepreneur, and former pastor, who helps people build resilience in body, mind and spirit by emphasizing faith, fitness, and fighting the natural decay with daily habits rooted in biblical truths. Find Dan on social media: - Dan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dharty123/ - Dan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanHarty/ - Dan’s Guides: www.danhartyguides.com Like, subscribe or follow if you enjoyed today’s episode!