Tony Robbins says the #1 human need is certainty, but do you know what the second need is? It’s uncertainty. This tug of war between the competing needs of safety and risk are at the heart of so many dilemmas we face in life and for most folks the goal isn’t to eliminate risk – rather it’s to understand this core human need. In our view, the best way to understand or learn is through stories and so we’ve asked some very talented entrepreneurs and creatives to tell us the stories behind some of the risks they’ve taken.

Suzanne Stewart

As an artist who loves experimenting with new techniques and painting on various surfaces, taking risks is a crucial part of my creative journey. Last year, I applied for a grant to paint my largest mural yet, which was a significant step towards achieving my goal of painting murals. Although it was intimidating to apply for a grant, I decided to go for it because I wanted to beautify my Chicago neighborhood and broaden my sources of income as a full-time artist. Read more>>

Micah Gleason

When I started to seriously pursue conducting, I had absolutely no idea if I was any good at it. In college, I’d studied voice performance and music education, and had been thrown in to conduct a few times in choral settings (which was the world I lived in as a singer!), largely educational ones. I had really enjoyed those experiences, and, I had always loved orchestral music and opera, but got my start in music too late to really seriously pursue playing an instrument professionally. Read more>>

Eric Cox

Turning down $150k for SIGN UP! Brand In 2011, I entered the healthcare industry. I got my start in hospice care but made the switch to working with adults who had problems with alcohol and other drugs in 2013. From 2013 to 2022, I worked my way up through the ranks, first assisting individuals seeking treatment and members of support groups, and later supervising the department responsible for training all staff members at nine sites across eight states. Read more>>

Tracy Adams

I started my practice after a season of immense burnout. I had been at a group practice where I was required to see too many clients in order to earn a decent living. This put me on the fast track to burnout resulting in me quitting my current job so that I could take care for my mental and physical health. I took some time to really try to figure out what I wanted to do next and to be completely honest, that meant I questioned if I even wanted to pursue a career in mental health at all. Read more>>

Swagila

Just getting started, was one of the biggest risks I’ve taken. I think with anything a lot of people, including myself, are scared to get started because we’re in a time where it seems like everyone is putting out great content, music, ideas, etc., and putting yourself in the mix can feel like being a small fish in a huge pond. It can be extremely intimidating. We are also in an age where success seems overnight and other people being at this high level so fast can hinder new creatives into self-diminishing our confidence to even step our foot through the door. Read more>>

Christine M Bright

When the COVID Pandemic came, I was looking for a rental property to buy. The excitement of owning the building I would live in was intoxicating! But, as the pandemic progressed, I was advised by my Real estate agent not to purchase a rental. It was sound advice, yet I was disappointed. A few months later, I had the opportunity to work with Fairway Mortgage and advise parents on navigating working remotely and virtual learning. During this time, friends encouraged me to become a parenting coach. Parenting Game went from an idea to an LLC. Read more>>

LATANYA MIDDLETON

One of the most significant risks I’ve taken in my life was leaving my corporate job after eight years to pursue entrepreneurship. Although I have a degree in business management, I never really saw myself as a full-time entrepreneur. However, after becoming a Notary, and realizing that it was something I could turn into a full time gig, I decided to take a chance on myself. Read more>>

Jenny Morant

My sister-in-law, Brianna Morant, and I had started our team Oak Street Group 2 yrs prior. We were thriving and doing exceptionally well. Brianna had been in real estate for several years prior and I was relatively new. It was February 2015. I had a 4 week old at home, and was feeling so overwhelmed and stretched thin trying to keep up with all of my buyers and being a new Mom. Brianna had been challenging me to hire a showing specialist. For those of you not in real estate this is a position not very common. Read more>>

Lino Martinez, PSY.D.

In taking risks in my life, I had to face fears and let go of them. I had to take risks with over 40 surgeries in 10 years to save my life. I had to take risks, dropping my career as a doctor in Clinical Psychology, to become a full-time podcaster/ producer and author. All risks that I have taken have been redirections towards my soul’s true calling to connect humanity. There was also a big risk changing my gender from female to male at age 34. That risk was losing friends and family. Read more>>

Hannah Miner

As an artist, it can be very difficult to fulfill your creative practice into a career. A lot of risks are taken. I’ve seen some artists who work a part-time job to help pay for the bills while they’re also selling their art as their primary source of income. I’ve seen artists who work full-time jobs and use their creative practice as a side income. I’ve seen artists who have taken the hugest risk of leaving their job to fulfill their life as an artist. All of these creative routes are beneficial in their own ways, depending on the person taking the path. Personally, I’ve been on all of these paths at one point or another in my life. Read more>>

 

Stephon Camp

Well, to start I’m the founder of Luminary Comity INC, Nonprofit Dinner Theatre Arts organization, brings awareness to youth issues in the community through theatre, food, design, and arts within a multipurpose space that comes alive. Developing youth artists of tomorrow. We started our unofficial journey back in 2013 as a dream job of mines in officially launched in 2021. Read more>>

Dimple Desai

From a young age, I understood that taking risks required confidence and careful consideration. I watched my father take many business risks, and one thing was clear – they were always calculated. He meticulously analyzed the pros and cons of each decision, and even when things didn’t go as planned, it was never due to a lack of preparation. Read more>>

Dr. Aly Savala

SO, as humans we are typically risk-adverse; we do not like to make changes to our day to day lives especially when it could result in feeling like we failed or made a mistake. I am no exception to this norm. I always knew that I wanted more for my life than working for someone else’s company but I wasn’t sure exactly how I would get there. Read more>>

Liz Malone

Buying my bakery. I was pastry chef at a hotel at the time, I’ve worked in my fair share of kitchens and bakeries, but this place was especially toxic. My boyfriend, Kevin, was fed up with me coming home upset constantly, told me to find a space for myself, and we would make it work. I looked for a space to build a bakery, but the thought of the time and money it would take to build a kitchen and storefront was incredibly daunting, and I was working a lot of hours and commuting to Madison. Read more>>

Brooke Mattingly

I was 18 years old, a freshmen at University of Miami, my dream school. Feeling unfulfilled in the loads of work and feeling as if I was missing out on life, I took a risk and left my university to pursue my dreams of traveling and becoming a travel blogger. I moved back home to Richmond, VA and got a nanny job to make some money to use to travel. The first trip I took was a solo trip. This was a risk in itself. Read more>>

Christine D.

Eleven years ago, I was given a four show contract to perform Harriet Tubman Herself around the tri-state area. On the 28th of April 2023, in the basement of the B.M.E Church in St. Catherine’s, Ontario. I performed for the 728th time. What truly makes this performance so special is the fact that back in 1857, this is the church where Harriet sought refuge and prayed. Formerly named the A. M. E Church. African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was renamed the British Episcopal Church. B. M. E Read more>>

Joseph Safari

The first risk in my life is when I decided to be self dependent at the underage to work. I was 14 or 15 and away from my family in the middle of the desert for 3 years to support myself and family. I got a job at a large company that works on the extraction of oil and gas resources. Read more>>

This is a Moment Podcast

Choosing to launch our podcast, This is a Moment, was a risk in itself. It can be difficult to stand out in the podcast space when you don’t already have a large following, but we were passionate about creating something we felt was missing. There is a vulnerability in putting your work out for everyone to see when you’re unsure if anyone will connect with it, let alone listen to it, and you’re opening yourself to critique. This is a passion project for us, and it can be risky and full of hard work, but it is worth it! Read more>>

Ella Oliveras

A risk I’ve taken is putting my authentic self out there when starting out in the music industry. Whether or not people like me for who I am. But I know it’s important to be honest and yourself so that your audience can relate to you. Read more>>

Wendi Giuliano

I have taken many risks in life, some bigger than others, a few that stand out and make me the person I am today. In 2001 I packed up some clothes and personal items into my new-to-me Jeep and drove from Minnesota to Massachusetts with no job or place to live. I did have some connections and a few months later I had both the job and place to live. Read more>>

Lydia K. Smith

When I was just 14 years old, my mom had a side hustle selling Tupperware to make ends meet. She needed flyers to promote her business, and I had access to a desktop publisher CD-ROM, so I created her very first flyer. Little did I know that would be the beginning of my journey as an entrepreneur. Read more>>

Tyra Gardner

There are times in life that may require us to step out on faith and take risks. As a business owner, the initial leap into entrepreneurship can cause fear of the unknown due to financial areas- “guaranteed” paycheck from 9-5 at someone else’s company. I have always had the entrepreneurial gene and working for others was my comfort zone until it became uncomfortable. Read more>>

Stephanie Bolden

Though I’m not a formally trained chef, my love for cooking stems from the holidays spent with my family, where I learned by watching my grandparents and aunts in the kitchen. I’ve always had a love of being around people and I found that I’ve always had a spirit of service. I started cooking for family and friends and I started to notice the joy it brought me cooking for others. Read more>>

Lana Stewart

I started out with a website only and no physical location. When I added my business to google, I noticed that people were asking for directions. I thought to myself, shoot, I need to get a shop. All the retail locations near me (in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) were way to expensive to lease. Luckily, I found a small outdoor marketplace with a reasonable rent amount that I could afford to get started. Read more>>

Steve Hartman

The idea to start WoodGrain Brewing Co. came in 2013, a time when there was only one nanobrewery in the back of a downtown beer bar. There was a brewpub that had closed in the early 2000s, and since then, no one had taken the leap to start up a dedicated brewery and taproom. We traveled to surrounding communities in the region and became friends with brewery owners and brewers so we could learn more about how to pull this off and what their experience had been. Read more>>

Deborah Kruger

The biggest risk I have ever taken was to move to another country in order to pursue my artwork. Although I still have a studio in Durham, NC, my production studio is based in Chapala, Mexico. It has been hard to be far from old friends and family and learn a new language, but it has been worth it to be able to create large-scale work with a team of Mexican assistants. I learned that moving outside of my comfort zone was essential to achieving my creative vision. Read more>> 

siddhesh Pandey

A very relatable question for me, Risks are an inseparable part of our lives even if it’s informed or comes to you as a surprise, the word ‘Risk’ just brings the sense of fear and caution to me. As a Director and Photographer originating from India I had a life changing experience during the covid times in 2020 when I started documenting the people representing a large group around the world who wake up and choose to work in anonymous risks in their job for daily survival. Read more>>

David Murillo

Starting a business is never easy, but it can be incredibly daunting when you’ve spent years with a secure income. For me, starting Modern Beard Co. was a big step that required a lot of courage and determination. The backstory to my decision to start this business goes back to my frustration with the lack of quality all-natural grooming products for men on the market. I realized there was a gap in the market, and I wanted to create products that would address the needs of modern men. Read more>>

Tamira Samuel

While I’ve taken many risks both in my personal and professional life, last year I took a major risk to attract, recruit, and select talent to The Urban Leaders Fellowship national flagship program by reactivating over three years of declined candidates and inviting them back to snap interview to ULF. As many organizations, companies, and businesses have been faced with hiring shortages, revenue and funding shifts, this proved no different for me and ULF. Read more>>