Allison Maslan, CEO, Allison Maslan International, Inc.

Keep your head down. Do the job you know you’re good at and collect your paycheck. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t risk failure. Most of us have some form of inner voice that has spoken these words to us at one point or another over the course of our professional lives. And there is some truth there; it is certainly less risky to do what you know and color within the lines… but will you ever be satisfied with that kind of life? Will you ever reach your professional potential and maximize your earning power if your entire focus is on staying near the safety of familiar shores? In a word, no.