You're listening to How to Be a Better Human.

I'm your host, Chris Duffy.

This January on the podcast, we've been thinking about different ways to bring more laughter and humor into our lives,

inspired by my new book, Humor Me, which is out now.

And this week, we're going to talk about taking creative risks.

Now, risk-taking is a big part of finding the funny, but it's also a really

big part of coming up with any sort of new interesting idea or innovation, or also just

succeeding in business or as an artist or just living a life that's not totally boring and

predictable. If you want to do any of those things, you need to get comfortable with some

level of risk.

The problem is taking risks is so uncomfortable.

I hate risks.

I wish I could just be safe and secure and cozy all the time instead.

But as today's guest, the designer Ben Swire is going to tell us that's not a long-term solution.

That's not something that you actually want when you think about the consequences.

Here's a clip from his new book, Safe Danger, about how creative risks can lead to deeper connection,

innovation, and a lot more fun in our lives.

Before we begin, I need to risk telling you something. It may sound like exactly the wrong thing

for the author of a book about

creative activities to admit, but it's the truth, and I think it's important to be honest about it.

I would never have gone to one of my own workshops. Not voluntarily. I am an introvert's introvert,

and have never been one for big group activities.

...