Falling a hundred feet onto a hard surface can likely kill you. But falling five feet twenty times, even in short succession, isn’t likely to do more than give you a few bruises.
You can’t truly prevent falls in your life. But you can usually shorten them.
Everything you care about, diversify. Did you know that some large companies have a rule that no more than a handful of their senior executives are allowed to be on the same flight? Even though flying is extremely safe, the rule exists so that no disaster can take out the whole company.
If you have a collection of antique books, it’s a good idea not to store them all in the same place. It’s a great idea not to get all your money from one source. It’s a good idea to have more than one friend you can confide in.
The ceiling can leak and get water on one bookshelf. You can lose one job. One friend can move away. These are sad things, but they don’t have to be hundred-foot disasters.
A short fall won’t hurt you. And it’s easier to get back up.
The Opportunity Machine 