Source: https://i0.wp.com/www.brightnetwork.co.uk/sites/default/files/hat.jpg
First, thank you @mermaidvampire for inspiring me to post this for your contest. @captaintj, get in on this, red fish!

Sometimes, you need to throw your hat over the wall, then go get it.

I use the mantra anytime I'm confronted with a risky decision. The idea is, find a reason to force yourself to take up the challenge. Throwing your hat over the fence makes you climb the wall to go get it.

I preface with "sometimes" because you have to be prudent about when you do this -- is the gain worth the risk? Is the "juice worth the squeeze?" Can I stand to lose my "hat" if I fail? It's not a thoughtless decision -- just an important, risky, and daunting one.

One example you see a lot is the sports hero who makes a big boast, putting his reputation on the line to will himself to deliver on what he promises.

But the best example I can give of how I use this mantra comes from a big decision about 6 years ago. My wife and I lived in a townhouse, which my wife hated. We had an almost-2-yr-old and wanted more children, which is hard in a small townhouse -- not to mention the house was worth $30,000 USD less than we bought it for due to a HUGE global recession that hit USA very hard. We had no savings and no way to sell the house without destroying our finances.

I had thought about getting into real estate for a few years -- "as soon as I have some money" I told myself, but had always prioritized my family's immediate welfare over some financial venture.

Then friends of ours were moving out of their rental in a great part of town. Their landlord was willing to let us pick up their lease, which was a great deal b/c they'd lived there for so long. AND we'd be in a neighborhood we liked, and close to our friends.

I decided to turn our townhouse into a rental property. It was a tough go at first -- it took a few months to find tenants and I had to lower the rent below the costs of renting the house (i.e., I lost money every month), and then the heater broke down ($5,000 USD to replace).

But six years later, after following some great advice from my mortgage broker and my real estate mentor, I have a profitable real estate portfolio, including that townhouse. Enough that I don't mind risking a small share of my wealth in cryptocurrency -- another "hat" I threw over the wall.

Sometimes, you have to throw your hat over the wall, then go get it.