The trouble with most people is that they quit before they start.

Around the world, Walmart associates feel more comfortable taking risk. They're launching minimum viable products to test and learn from. These have enough function to satisfy early adopters, whose feedback informs future design.

There just aren't that many opportunities in the world that are that big, and for a company like Walmart that needs to move the needle in a big way, you have to take some big bets, but if you're going to take that much risk, the reward has to match up.

Look around at things that just aren't getting done. Maybe there's a project you could tackle. Maybe there's an issue that always gets back-burnered for other priorities. Challenge yourself to take on those difficult assignments. They're learning opportunities, and you have a chance to change something for the better.

Volunteer for something extra, volunteer for something hard. One of the reasons that I got the opportunities that I got was that I would raise my hand when my boss was out of town and he or she was visiting stores or something, and someone needed to pinch hit and go to a meeting, I would go, and if I knew the answer to the question that came up, I'd share it, if I didn't, I'd say, "I don't know, but I'll find out fast and get back to you." I then put myself in an environment where I became a low risk promotion because people had already seen me do the job.

Progress is not inevitable. It's up to us to create it.