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Changing careers is inherently risky, and the transition from a stable position to an entrepreneurial venture is especially hazardous. For those determined to ditch the 9 to 5 and start a business in a field they're passionate about, there are ways to make the move more of a calculated risk than a blind leap.
"All of us have the psychological attitudes and behaviors and capacity to set goals and attain them," says Stephen Goldbart, clinical psychologist and co-author of Affluence Intelligence: Earn More, Worry Less, and Live a Happy and Balanced Life. However, he says, most people "don't have a really good method to implement their plan."