Would you like to be more focused on opportunities and less fearful of risks?

More confident, knowing you’ve stacked the deck in your favor?

More successful?

The way to get what you want may be — and usually is — risky.

Bainbridge-based author Michael J. Smith says that’s a good thing, and, in his latest offering “Thicket of Opportunity: How Smart Risk-Taking Supercharges Personal Success,” illustrates how those willing to utilize the seemingly less safe path will actually come out ahead.

After serving as an officer in the Army, Smith had a career as a scientist and manager in research and development. His experiences in the military and the lab convinced him that risk taking is essential to progress of any kind.

This book comes out of his thinking on the matter.

Smith is the author of two previous novels, “An Owl’s Whisper” and “Cotton and Silk.”

In his latest, Smith discusses the strategies behind smart risk taking and the benefits it can yield.

“In it I aim to tell readers what risk is, explain to them why a strategy of smart risk-taking is such a powerful tool for success and show them how to implement that strategy in their everyday lives,” Smith said.

To that end, Smith said, he designed the simple-to-follow storytelling and instructive exercises in this book to explain what smart risk-taking is and show you how to use it to make good things happen in your life.

Visit www.thewhisperingowl.com to learn more about Smith’s work.