Book excerpt: THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER and #1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER Risky Is the New Safe is a different kind of book for a different kind of thinking—a thought-provoking manifesto for risk takers. It will challenge you to think laterally, question premises, and be a contrarian. Disruptive technology, accelerating speed of change and economic upheaval are changing the game. The same tired, old conventional thinking won’t get you to success today. Risky Is the New Safe will change the way you look at everything! You’ll view challenges—and the corresponding opportunities they provide—in entirely new and exciting ways. You’ll recognize powerful new gateways to creating wealth. In this mind-bending book you’ll discover: How mavericks like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Mark Cuban think differently—and what you can learn from them; The six-month online course that could allow you to earn more than a Ph.D.; How social media changes branding and marketing forever, and what that means for you; What happens when holo-suites and virtual-reality sex come about, and how you need to prepare; The new religion of ideas: How to become an “idea generator” and declare as a free agent; and, What will cause the Euro, precious metals, and oceanfront real estate to collapse—and how that can make you rich!