When Bill Treasurer was a high-diver jumping from 100 feet up, he did it even though he was afraid of heights. Now an organizational development consultant, Treasurer thinks more people ought to be taking risks in their jobs and careers.

"The play-it-safe strategy doesn't work in this economy today," he cautions. "When you take risks, you can move forward. If you don't take risks, you won't move ahead."

The Atlanta-based author of "Right Risk," a guide to accepting risk for personal and professional improvement, Treasurer fears many people never reach their career ambitions simply because they are afraid of failure.

"If you think about it, fear is almost woven into our DNA," he says. "Some of the earliest messages we got from our parents - don't touch that, don't talk to strangers - teach us to fear taking risks at an early age. That can stay with people their entire lives."

But, he says, wisely taking risks is a tool we can use to improve our lives, whether it is intellectual, creative, emotional or daredevil risk.

"I think taking risks is the application of courage," Treasurer says. "It's what we need to do to be innovative, and it's what we need in leadership. But most of us spend our lives trying to be sensible, or we're always minimizing or trying to control risks." This can be problematic in our careers.

The pressure of giving a presentation to senior management can be every bit as intimidating as a 100-foot dive, but the accomplishment of doing it can far outweigh the risk involved.

"We take risks in the area where we have the most confidence," he says. "We want people to try new ways of doing things in their jobs, but we have to create an environment in most companies that isn't conducive to that. We need to have companies that recognize smart mistakes and reward those people, so others will take risks."

Treasurer senses that the current national economic malaise will linger longer than it should because companies don't have the courage they need.

"No organization can ever cost-cut their way into growth," he believes. "And growth is what our economy needs. We've seen that it is small business that creates the jobs and stimulates our economy, but not many people have an entrepreneurial spirit at this point. It's just plain easier not to take risks."

Individuals take risks in areas they feel most comfortable. Employers who want innovation and increases in productivity need to learn how to encourage, because it's to their benefit as well.

"I think a lot of people weigh taking risks by asking themselves what it will get them," Treasurer says. "That's the wrong way of looking at it. You shouldn't be thinking about what this will get me, but where it will take me."

Yet, risks that are based on principle, a deep sense of purpose, something you care intensely about and something you choose on your own, are almost always risks you will succeed at.

If nothing else, Treasurer thinks you will feel better about yourself for simply having the courage to challenge the status quo.

Helena Stage doesn't consider herself much of a risk-taker. Yet, for years she was bothered that she wasn't getting professional respect as an accountant, because she was not a CPA.

"I have to say it did bother me," she confides. "Even though I had a lot of experience and worked very hard; without that designation, I felt I was inferior."

Stage, 49, thought she would never have the chance to become a CPA because certification seemed like a closed loop to someone her age. But she decided 18 months ago to close her financial-consulting practice and try to obtain a CPA license.

After studying full time, she took last fall's CPA exam and passed all four parts - an accomplishment shared by only 10 percent of that test group's CPA candidates. She finally earned her CPA license and says it has changed her world.

"I have a real passion for accounting," she declares. "You don't find that very often. Accountants just don't seem to have the passion that an artist or an architect has. But getting the CPA license has really changed my life. I really feel much better about myself personally and professionally."

In the end, isn't that what really matters? In Treasurer's view, the only regrets we have are about the risks we didn't take.