Very often “brilliance” is really just a risk that turned out well.  If a situation ends badly does that mean pursuing that avenue was foolish?  After coaching people for more than a decade, this is my two cents on the subject.  The difference between a calculated risk and foolishness is that a risk is something that you feel you must do in order to be true to yourself.  It is not always easy to determine, but this is a very different inquiry from evaluating what is objectively the best, smartest, or most sensible choice.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that robbing a bank is not something that anyone does to be true to themselves.