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.

Emily Boone

Where to start… I’ve always been risk averse… Quitting jobs/moving on from jobs that were not conducive to my growth tends to be difficult due to my fear of failure Read more>>

Marie Pizano

Taking a risk and rising up to the occasion has been my theme. Building my life and company on truth & integrity in a world full of “no’s”, untruths and toxic programming. Read more>>

Dena Halim

A big risk that I have taken in my life is definitely when I decided to open up my own business and having to build it from the ground up, especially with it being a new thing to me it was hard because I had to learn all the ins and the outs of the business world as well as perfecting my craft, to keep the business going And make it successful. Read more>>

Aly (Aly-Slay) Campbell

I have taken a lot of risks in my personal and professional journey, and I’ve never liked the idea of just remaining comfortable or part of the status quo. Read more>>

Amber Ayers

Have you ever been in a point of your life where you question everything?when the only thing you can think of is how to change for the better,or when life throws so much at you at one time you feel hopeless and out of options,I’ve been there. Read more>>

Kim Williams

When my daughter was two or three years old, I ended the relationship with her dad and one year later – made the decision to relocate from Mississippi to Texas in order to rebuild as I was living check-to-check. Read more>>

Yvonne Liao

The biggest risk I have taken in my life was to leave Singapore to follow my passion to study fashion in the United States in 2011. I was in my late 20s where it felt like I had it all – I was at the height of my teaching career where I was earning a stable income and poised for promotion. Read more>>

Paula Corriah

A risk that I have taken is dropping out of college. When I was 18, fresh out of high school, I was supposed to attend post-secondary to achieve a higher education to become a social worker. Read more>>

Jesseca Ynez Simmons

Finding your voice can be taking a risk. One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken revolves around my thesis film in graduate school called EMERALD ICE (2016). Read more>>

Chrystal Stone

In late 2021, I was working as an executive assistant while pursuing an acting career in New York City. I had also dipped my toe in to the sports media world and I was feeling a strong pull to journey into that field as well. Read more>>

Laura “Lulu” Reich

About 9 years ago I worked a very technology based job in advertising, and I’d never been so depressed in my life. I had worked in fashion representing designers for over 10 years, and was excited to try something new. Read more>>

Sherry Mandujano

What did my parents do right? / Taking a risk. Sorry, I couldn’t just pick one, but these have been the most defining topics of my life. The old adage of “with great risk comes great reward” must be imprinted somewhere in the soul of all risk takers like my parents. Read more>>

Kendra Altemeyer

I have been working in the Event and Hospitality Industry since graduating with a Degree in Resort and Hospitality from Florida Gulf Coast University. Read more>>

Lauren Toyota

I think starting a business and an online brand was the biggest risk. I dedicated myself full-time to hot for food—which at that time was a blog and an Instagram account— in 2014 because I got laid off from my job as a television host at a broadcast company. Read more>>

Emily Ann Zisko

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the concept of “taking a leap of faith” and how that manifests in my life as an interdisciplinary artist. Read more>>

Kim Andrews

I quit a very comfy, well paid, 6 weeks of vacation time job. I could walk to work and I worked 4 days a week. Everyone kept telling me that i was crazy, but I knew I could no longer stay there. Read more>>

John Vaughan

After graduating with my BFA in Acting from the University of Greensboro, North Carolina in 1985, I moved to Los Angeles three months later. Read more>>

Julia Lyons

My career, in general, is a huge risk in itself. Few people are willing to take the risk of pursuing music full-time and jumping into an unfamiliar music world. Read more>>

Sally Spickard

In 2013, I was living in my hometown of St. Louis, MO, working a corporate desk job for Enterprise Fleet Management. I didn’t mind my job; Read more>>

Chrissy Stewart

As a photographer and business owner of Studio 95 Photography, I have embraced various risks in my creative pursuit to capture compelling moments. Read more>>

Mariah Zingarelli

Owning a business is indeed a risk-taking endeavor that requires a leap of faith and a willingness to embrace uncertainty. It involves stepping away from the security of a regular paycheck and venturing into uncharted territory where you must build everything from scratch. Read more>>

Julie Simon

I was a professional dancer / college student in San Francisco. This was in the early 1990s. I went to Paris on vacation and took a dance class. Read more>>

Dusk Raps

Everyone who decides to make a real effort to make a living from their creative endeavours is deciding to take a risk. This is the turning point. You change from a hobbyist who creates at their leisure, to a dedicated professional who is clocking in to work. Read more>>

Stephanie Sato

The last two and a half years have been full of twists and turns. I took a medical leave from my job as an attorney due to severe burnout. Read more>>

Pooja Venkatachalam Kumar

Growing up in the vibrant, tropical town of Tirupati in South India, art was my first love. However, in a society where academic achievements, particularly in sciences and engineering, are highly valued, pursuing art as more than just a hobby seemed like a distant dream. Read more>>

Sheila Abigail

Since I was 10 years old I knew my purpose in life was to create & sew. I taught myself how to make bags & dresses out of curtains and would throw fashion shows for my family to model the garments that were stitched together by hand. Read more>>

Kaheem Luckoo

I took a risk by starting my YouTube channel without having a direct path of what to do and how to do it. I started off my channel by doing videos with my aunt who has always supported me throughout my journey Read more>>

Dan Dennis

Back in 2009, I was deep into radio – running a morning show, a big name on air, and all that jazz. But my heart was also in audio production, and I had my own home studio. Read more>>

Fvmous Will

Launching a clothing line involves taking calculated risks to achieve success in a competitive industry. From designing unique garments to investing in production and marketing, every decision carries an element of uncertainty. Read more>>

Joe Richichi

I took the risk after I had invested 2 years of college education in arts and media, to delve into math and science, using the other side of my brain to pursue 8 more years to become a doctor. Read more>>

Marisa Petroro

I’ve encountered numerous opportunities to take risks throughout my life, ranging from monumental decisions to seemingly inconsequential choices. Read more>>

Karbis Sarafyan

I took a lot of risks over the years. I think taking risks is a big part of growth especially in this field. Starting from signing up to film school (New York Film Academy) fresh out of high school to interning as a PA for several productions and purchasing camera equipment when I can barely afford it just so I get the opportunity to work on any film project even if it was for free. Read more>>

Jennifer Cutinella

Starting My Business Was The Biggest Risk I’ve taken..When Covid hit, I was about to become an empty nester, I lost my corporate job, and spent months doing some soul searching and figuring out what I really WANTED to do. Read more>>

Nikki Allison

I started out making jewelry for the store I worked at at that time. I noticed that my designs were selling fairly quickly, and I decided after I left that store that I wanted to sell my designs myself. Read more>>

Brian. (BP) Pilling

Biggest risk I’ve taken was quit my profession to fulfill my dreams as a music recording studio owner. I left without a plan but a goal to achieve something that my heart felt was necessary. Read more>>