How much of a risk taker are you? Take this online quiz.

“Business is filled with examples of people who have the advantage, but who don’t bet enough money. It’s a powerful lesson from blackjack.”

This from an interview today with Jon Hirschtick, founder of an engineering-software company in Concord, Mass. – and the inspiration behind a new Kevin Spacey movie, “21.”

If there’s a common thread in the most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met it’s this lack of fear.

I believe there’s something in the entrepreneurial genetic makeup that enables certain people to bet big when others hesitate and hold back. And whether it’s blackjack or business, that trait—coupled with perseverance–is often what enables a big payoff.