In the game of poker, going “all in” means betting all of your money on the chance that you’ve got the best hand. It’s risky. You could either win big or lose your stake.

While it’s a gutsy move in poker, it’s even gutsier in real life. When you put all of yourself into a something, it’s scary and it makes you question yourself. For example, that vision you have for a book or renovating your house seems like such a daunting task. If you give it your all, what if that’s not enough? When it comes to relationships, it’s the same. If you go all in and love until you’ve given your heart away, what happens if it doesn’t work out? You’d be heartbroken.

Sometimes even the thought of failure is enough to make you hold back. However, you can’t let fear keep you from playing your hand.

Many things that you want in life will require all of you. They will require your full attention and effort. You can’t be partially invested in your raising your family. You can’t devote just a little bit of time towards writing your memoir. You must be all in.

Plus, when you hold back, you’re depriving yourself of what your life could be. You’ll never know how good you could have been or what payoff the fruits of your labor could have produced. It will all be a day dream inside your head.

For a moment, I want you to think about what a particular area of your life would look like if you went all in, if you gave it everything you’ve got – your time, your effort, your patience and your energy. Can’t you see it flourishing? Don’t you see the end result being even more than what you hoped for? When you’ve reached your goal and look back, the hard work will be worth it.

It’s risky to go all in, and I know you’re scared. I am too. We could lose everything. But what we gain in the process will mean so much more.