You’re working hard, things are going well, piece by piece you’ve built a life you are proud of, you’ve overcome obstacles and challenges, beat the odds and then you find yourself at the center of an unexpected dilemma – do you risk it all to keep growing? What if growing means leaving the job you worked so hard to get or the industry you worked so hard to break into? How we approach risk often has a huge bearing on our journey and so we’ve asked some of the brightest folks we know to share stories of risks they’ve taken.

Rebelle

The most significant leap I’ve taken was venturing to the USA to pursue my musical education and carve out a path as an artist. I firmly believe that chasing your dreams is the most fulfilling endeavor, making it the best risk worth taking. Initially, the idea seemed far-fetched—I lacked the financial means to relocate across the world, navigate the complexities of American education, and adapt to a new culture. Read more>>

Jai Bhatt

I have put my last savings in buying internet to do work as in freelancer to be on my own. Before that I have job experience of around 7-10 years in Market Research Field and was doing quite well but I always wanted to something of my own, even if was small. Read more>>

Sharla Brown

I left my career as a teacher/educator for media in 2017. Primarily my new job was to create educational resources for a website. But, I knew that I wanted to create content for media. But I also knew I needed more experience before anyone would consider me to create content for media. I could not shoot or edit, but knew that I desired to do so. I asked a director/producer for help and learned how to use Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop. Read more>>

Van VerHoeven

At the end of 2022 I was working for a Home Improvement and remodeling company full time while running my recording studio part time on nights and weekends. Unfortunately right after Christmas I lost my job with the construction company and I had choice to make, do I go apply for a new job somewhere and hate what I do or bet on myself and see if I can go full time with my production company. Read more>>

Khing Ceaze

Starting my business and leaving my job behind was a pretty big risk because it took away that underlying safety net. Instead of having a steady income, now i have a priority to get up and push my brand and services in hopes of gaining new customers. There is a sense of freedom, but everyday is not always a good day so finding that motivation every morning is definitely a challenge. Read more>>

Tina Carzon

I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to pursue being a full-time artist, even right now. I tend to doubt myself a lot and that’s just part of being a creative, in general. As we all know it, it’s hard to financially make it as an artist and musician but mentally, I am in a good place because I’m doing what I’m passionate about. Read more>>

Camilla Boston

I was homeschooled for the entirety of my life up until college, so preparations for my college career were entirely in my own hands. Read more>>

Liz Painter

Going on two years ago I received a phone call. A call requesting my support in launching an accessible retail space for local businesses in Cleveland, Ohio. I had recently been promoted to a Marketing Director role at a well known non-profit and public space and working at home with my about 10 month old child (yep, pandemic baby). From the outside it was the perfect scenario. Read more>>

Blake Jones

I think for me, the biggest risk I have taken with this career is making the choice to pursue it full time. I went to school for photography and graduated in 2013. There were a ton of amazing people that I was in school with but no one was doing this after school which kind of detoured me from diving in head first. Read more>>

Stephen Perez

Within the entertainment industry, you are taking risks in most if not all decisions you make. Nothing is guaranteed in this line of work and you are constantly riding the line of playing it safe and staying stagnant, or being bold and taking risks to further grow and excel. One of these risks I took was my decision to leave my home town in Australia and move to Los Angeles, to further grow my career in the entertainment industry. Read more>>

Maximilian Seed

Without taking a risk, I would not have the current opportunities, lifestyle or friends that I have now. Everything I have achieved, and focusing on achieving, have all come from the risk taken of moving out of my home town. I was 18 and freshly graduated from high-school, I packed up my things and moved out to then pursue the impossible. Becoming an actor and creative in the entertainment industry. Read more>>

Steve Shriver

Risk taking: Physical Risk vs Psychological Risk Read more>>

Laurie Labie

In 2016 I took a huge risk in moving myself and my daughter from Chicago to Grand Rapids in hopes of starting a business. After a lot of grueling work Enriched Living’s first home was licensed by the State of Michigan as an Adult Foster Care (AFC) home in February 2017. My brother Jeff and I were the only employees. Our very first resident required a lot of hands-on care. When she first moved in she was mute. Read more>>

Cassandra Sparks

Cassandra Sparks, LLC is centered around the idea of living boldly and living authentically. Living boldly can often be interpreted as taking risks. One thing I have learned about living boldly is that there is no such thing as too big or too small of a bold move. Every bold choice matters and gets us closer on the path to living our most authentic lives. Read more>>

Sam Peters

In the world of entrepreneurship, risk-taking is often considered a necessary ingredient for success. For Chef Sam Peters and his wife Joyce, the journey of launching Patter Fam Foods and The Pastor’s Pantry Cooking School was not just a leap of faith but a series of bold risks that defined the path to their current success. In 2013, the fate of Patter Fam Sauces, the gourmet sauce line owned by Sam and Joyce, took an unexpected turn when the ability to manufacture their products was lost. Read more>>

Jeremy Brunan

I had been in sales most of my life, but always had an entrepreneur spirit. Wanted to get in to collector car industry somehow, but didn’t know how or what capacity. A mutual friend of AJ’s (founder of Garage Kept Motors owner) introduced us two. After obtaining a used car license, I partnered with AJ in August of 2016 when we had 17 cars. Read more>>

Jenna Zaffino

I had built up a Pilates landmark over the period of 10 years in Chicago. It was THE place to go for teacher training and high-level Pilates. We had an amazing team, fantastic clients and though the overhead was steep, we were making it work. The business was stable and it was time for my husband and I to begin to build our family. Read more>>

Tiffany (Bendelow) Berry

Last summer, I decided to quit my steady job as an epidemiologist of 12 years, to pursue my passion and love for music and its incredible uses to serve others. Read more>>

Kelly Jean

I’ve never been afraid to make mistakes, so I’ve always dabbled in different things. I never really had a sense of purpose and I really didn’t have a direction in life. I was happy but lacked fulfillment. I had read in a book that a way to find happiness is to do things that you did as a child. I thought a lot about what that would be for me. It took years to figure it out, but it all came back to spending time with my grandmother in the garden. Read more>>

Eric Seaburg

Taking a risk Read more>>

Stephanie Moore

In the bustling city of Birmingham, Alabama, the year 2020 marked a significant chapter in my journey as I stepped into my first post-graduate marketing role at a local agency. The excitement was palpable, having honed my skills through internships, apprenticeships, and the growth of my online brainchild, Freelancer Magazine, during my college years. As an Account Manager, I delved into the diverse realms of media, apparel, transportation, technology, and more, crafting social and content strategies that resonated with clients. Read more>>

McKenzie Siemion

My background as a nurse practitioner was primarily urgent care. In 2020, I was working for a local, large hospital system doing 12 hour shifts treating mostly common colds. Once covid hit we were completely overrun with patients, but ultimately we were offering very little in terms of treatments. This caused me to look at the healthcare system differently. At that point I wanted to learn more. Read more>>

Amelia Delgado

About taking a risk: Nearly 2 years ago I decided to take a leap of faith and walk away from my longtime job of 22+ years and finally pursue my dream of owning and operating my very own food truck! knew it was a risk that I may regret later! Because I didn’t know what the future held but I had been praying about it for years but never allowed myself the chance to see it through! Read more>>

Jo Delgado

Before the pandemic hit in March 2020, my daily grind involved a soul-crushing commute from Redondo Beach to Pasadena, all for my role as a Sr. Video Editor at this boutique creative agency. Picture this—1.5 hours each way, every single day. It felt like a relentless assault on my spirit, and I knew I couldn’t keep it up. Then, when the world ground to a halt in March, and remote work became the norm, I thought, “Finally, some relief from that hell commute!” Little did I know, the universe had a different plan for me. Read more>>

Wei heng Hsu

Being a designer is already taking so much risks, I see designers as problem solver, but unlike the math problems which they may just have one absolute answer, there’s no such a right or wrong answers when doing design. It’s like jumping into an ocean of colors where ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ don’t really exist. Different designers have their own perspective, all these answers we provide all depends on how we perceive the problem. Read more>>

Jessie Berkshires

Throughout my journey, I’ve embraced risk as the driving force behind my career. Starting in music education, I pivoted to psychology and Recreation Therapy my junior year of undergrad because I feared not being able to get a job after graduation. I then had decade-long career as a therapist. The birth of my daughter triggered a desire for creative change, leading me to an online software design degree and a 5 year stint in the tech industry. Read more>>

Dena Rupp

First off, I do believe that life itself is a risk just by waking up every day and making choices. But the most life-changing risks are the ones you take outside of your comfort zone. The ones that scare you, make you feel uncomfortable and make you question everything. It’s a must for personal growth and I highly suggest you try it sometime. Read more>>

Micah Cash

The first two decades of my artistic life revolved around painting – using it to communicate, to process my experiences, and to encapsulate complicated narratives and emotions onto paper or canvas. I didn’t want to do anything else. Yet, in 2013, I was making reference photographs for a series of new paintings, and was at a loss as to how I could incorporate what I was experiencing through the painting process. Read more>>

Akleema Ali

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation. It is a technique that is based on tuning in to the universal life energy that is around us to promote healing and well being. Reflecting on this question, it seems I would have taken many risks on this path with Reiki. In the Caribbean, based on the cultural and religious belief systems of individuals, Reiki is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. Read more>>

James Pakootas

Risks? Take ’em. Read more>>

Darell Brown

Starting a business is always a risk of its own. There are so many things that could go wrong, that don’t mean that it will go wrong. You have to be prepared, losing money is always the big risk. Will you get that money back, who knows it all depends on you. When I decided to start Brown Boi Productions, LLC it was really to have fun making comedy with my family and friends by sharing visuals. Read more>>

Sarah Fudge

My story is all about risk, reward and not looking back. Read more>>

VerShawn Gray

Oh, boy! Where do I start? This journey has definitely been one for the books. When I step back and look at where I started to where I am right now, I can honestly say it took a village of folks to open Southern Dish 101. What I thought was rejection, when I was literally pushed out the door at a prior job, was clearly God’s redirection. I left that job not knowing what I would do next, but an army of friends surrounded me with pray. My children motivated me, and encouraged me to step out on faith and chase my wildest dream. Read more>>

De’Ja McKnabb

Choosing to be an actress was the most significant risk I’ve ever taken. Initially, I was supposed to take the pre-med education track. I had always wanted to be a doctor, and my parents had high hopes for me to ensure a comfortable life. My father could see it earlier when I focused less on academics and more on performing arts. Read more>>

Space

When I first decided to move to LA to study performing arts, a lot of people in my life would tell me how brave they thought I was for taking such a risk and/or they wished they could do something like that, but at the end of the day they prioritized a more secure, financially safer career. Which is completely valid! To be honest I’ve never even really considered myself much of a risk taker—I’m generally the type to be logically analyzing situations and then usually playing it on the safer side that I think has the higher chance of an ideal outcome. Read more>>

Andrea Miranda González

“The initial small risks I embarked upon gradually evolved over time, transforming into significant and life-altering decisions for me. Read more>>

Anna East

When I was 19, I moved to Japan to work for and perform with Tokyo Disneyland. This, to me, was an easy but huge risk. I was moving to a place I knew little about, leaving my family home, and risking losing my connections and years of entertainment work I had built in LA. Friends of mine who were in a similar position in the acting/dancing world have gone on to do very cool things within the Film & TV world. Read more>>