Rolling the dice can mean a lot of things. It can mean taking a chance or making a bet. It’s even a ridiculous dance move that you definitely shouldn’t overdo on the dance floor.

On January 10, 49 BCE, over 2000 years ago, Julius Caesar rolled the dice and crossed the Rubicon River from Gaul into Italy, effectively declaring war on his home state. He’s said to have stated ‘Alea jacta est,’ as he crossed, which means ‘The die is cast.’ He was taking a chance, a huge one, on whether or not he would succeed in overthrowing the Senate. Sure enough, his bet paid off. I mean, it did for five years until he was stabbed to death by the Senate in front of a statue of his deceased daughter’s ex-husband, but that’s beside the point.

He took a chance.

Have you taken a chance recently? Was it a little chance, like taking an alternate route home that you think might be faster than your usual way? Or did you try something different at your favorite restaurant?

Maybe it was something major. Maybe you took a chance on a project at work, trying something new that your bosses may or may not like. Or did you make an actual bet and lose a big hunk of change?

When you take a chance, no matter how big or how small, you succeed or fail. Sometimes it hurts; it hurts bad. It hurts so bad you wish you’d never taken that chance in the first place. But sometimes your bet pays off. You do something different and you win big. Maybe not ‘taking over an entire empire’ big, but big enough to make all of the losses worth while.

It’s better than wondering what would’ve happened had you not gone for it. It’s better than sticking with the status quo or doing something that you’re not entirely proud of.

So take a chance today. Take a chance every day.

Some bald rich guy who wore his belt weird 2000 years ago took a chance and shaped the way the next two millennia would play out.

So take a chance. You never know what impact it will have.