The Quiet Moment Before You Risk Everything

The Quiet Moment Before You Risk Everything

There’s a quiet moment before every major risk where your life still feels familiar.

You haven’t jumped yet, but you know you’re about to. It’s that edge where fear and excitement overlap. Where everything you’ve built still exists, but something inside you is pulling toward what comes next.

For Simon Gervais, that edge meant walking away from a government job most people would never leave.

He had security. Purpose. A six-figure salary. He worked in counterterrorism for the RCMP, protecting world leaders like Queen Elizabeth II and President Obama. From the outside, it looked like the definition of set for life.

Then he stepped away.

“Until 2014 I was an RCMP officer making a six-digit salary. I really believed in what I was doing. It took me seven years to write my first novel, and when I signed a contract, I had another book due a year later. I told my wife I wanted to try it full-time, and she said absolutely.”

No backup plan. No certainty. Just belief and a willingness to stop ignoring that quiet pull.

Simon’s story eventually led to international success as a thriller author, with his work now featured by major publishers and reviewed by outlets like Publishers Weekly. But none of that existed at the moment he stepped away. All he had was the decision.

That single decision rewrote everything.

The Leap No One Sees

Ryan Steck’s leap looked different, but it felt the same.

For nearly a decade, he was known as The Real Book Spy, a respected voice reviewing thrillers written by the biggest authors in the world. He had credibility, influence, and a reputation that people trusted. But eventually, he couldn’t shake the thought that maybe he was meant to create instead of critique.

“You have your whole life to write your first book and one year to write your second.”

That line marked the shift.

The pressure hit immediately. Expectations were higher. The margin for error was smaller. There was no quiet learning curve anymore.

He did it anyway.

Today, Ryan is not only a bestselling author but also the founder of The Real Book Spy, now a recognized authority in the thriller space. But that identity didn’t protect him from doubt. It amplified it.

That’s the part of risk people never see.

They see the announcement.
The book deal.
The new title.

They don’t see the nights where you wonder if you just made the biggest mistake of your life.

If that tension feels familiar, it’s the same feeling I talk about in What To Do When You Feel Stuck. The discomfort isn’t random. It’s information.

Discipline Over Doubt

Neither Simon nor Ryan relied on motivation. They relied on discipline.

“I’m not lazy. Whatever I need to do to get to my objective, I will do. It doesn’t matter if I’m at the end of a deadline and need to work twenty-hour days. I still push myself to the maximum because I want to succeed in every field I work in.”

That mindset is what makes reinvention possible.

You don’t fake it.
You don’t manifest it.
You earn it quietly.

Ryan’s version of the same truth is simpler, but just as sharp.

“You can always edit bad pages. You just can’t edit blank pages.”

That idea extends far beyond writing. It applies to any risk worth taking. Careers. Relationships. Creative work. Confidence itself.

You don’t need certainty.
You need momentum.

That’s the same principle behind How To Build Confidence When You’ve Never Had It. Confidence doesn’t come before action. It follows it.

Climbing One Mountain, Finding Another

Success doesn’t end the pressure. It just changes it.

“When you’re at the top of the pyramid, it’s a fight to stay there. There are ten thousand people who want your spot. You need to keep doing what you do to the best of your ability.”

That line stuck with me because it applies far beyond publishing.

Every guy who’s chased something meaningful knows this feeling. You hit the milestone you worked toward for years, and almost immediately, the finish line moves.

Ryan described it perfectly.

“It’s like you just climbed Everest and then blinked and you’re back at the bottom. You don’t even get to come down. You just have to climb again.”

That’s the hidden part of success no one warns you about.

Getting there isn’t the hardest part.
Staying aligned is.

If you’ve reached a goal and still feel unsettled afterward, 7 Lessons on Figuring Out Your Career When You Feel Lost in Your 20s speaks directly to that moment.

Why This Story Matters

This isn’t really a story about writing.

It’s about risk.
Reinvention.
And the discipline to keep going when no one’s cheering.

The moment you stop settling for safety, you start living with intention. That’s when confidence changes. It stops being loud. It becomes grounded.

Built on the quiet knowledge that you chose something uncertain and showed up anyway.

And that quiet moment before you risk everything?

That’s not hesitation.

That’s awareness.

FAQ: Risk, Reinvention, and Starting Over

Is it normal to feel scared before making a big career change?
Yes. That fear is part of the process. The moment before a risk often feels uncomfortable because your life still feels familiar.

Do people who take big risks feel certain when they do it?
No. “No backup plan. No certainty.” Most people move forward without guarantees.

What matters more than motivation when starting over?
Discipline. “Whatever I need to do to get to my objective, I will do.” Motivation fades. Discipline carries you through.

Does success make things easier once you get there?
Not really. “When you’re at the top of the pyramid, it’s a fight to stay there.” Pressure doesn’t disappear. It changes.

What if I’m afraid I’ll fail after walking away from stability?
You don’t need to be fearless. “You can always edit bad pages. You just can’t edit blank pages.” Progress comes from starting.