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.

Felix van Kann

I think one of the biggest risks I’ve taken was moving to the US for college. I was born and raised in Germany where I played competitive tennis growing up. I was fortunate enough to receive a tennis scholarship here in LA after high school, but it also meant moving to another continent with a constant 9-hour time difference to my friends and family which was not an easy outlook for me as I’m very close to these people. Read more>>

Kate Truhlar

My Grandfather and I were very close growing up. He was the kind of guy you just wanted to be around. Whether it was his WWII stories, or whatever lesson he was teaching you, he had a way of commanding an audience, and as a young girl I was totally captivated by him. Read more>>

Beth Bassil

I think the biggest “risk” was leaving the security of my full-time position to branch out on my own with freelance work. I was making good money, had benefits, a work culture, mentors – there was a lot I would be leaving behind if I made this shift. I knew I wanted to have more creative freedom and to be able to decide for myself which brands I would be working on. Read more>>

Moses Sun

A big risk that I am taking this year is that my wife and I have decided to live as digital nomads for about 6 months.  As a working guitarist/composer, it was important for me to stay in town and be relevant — keeping in touch with colleagues, going to songwriting sessions, actively seeking performance work, etc. — this is how I’ve been able to live and work as a full-time musician in LA. Read more>>

Caroline Cotto

I left my country in search of beauty, love and truth. I left to find my freedom in the cafes of Paris where Rimbaud ran madly writing his poetry and Picasso painted the sky with doves. In high school, I read ‘A Moveable Feast’ where Hemingway recounts his time in Paris. I felt a kinship to him and like other writers, I desired a life elsewhere.  Read more>>

Jorge Almodovar

I have always been a person that felt like I was outside of the box looking in, when ever I had a regular job. I was a very creative person and always came up with new ideas. This eventually got me in trouble at the workplace because it seem like I was trying to change the system in place but that was not the case I was trying to make the system better. But Eventually I learned that I needed to let the system be. Read more>>

Smirk Tv

Going down the path of entertainment can be very challenging and risky. I’ve put a lot of friendships and relationships on hold to chase after my goals. Whether it’s picking up last minute to go live with some strangers in LA that I’ve never met (shoutout Ish and Con!). Or throwing my first comedy show with no prior experience to booking anything. Read more>>

Josh Taylor

As we all know life is about taking risks! It’s a funny thing to narrow down to just one example but here we go. My dream since I was a teenager was to move out to California and live the lifestyle that comes with it. A lot of people share this dreams and they flock to Los Angeles to give it a shot. With this dream I ended up finally moving to Los Angeles at the age of 28. I personally have never been a big fan of Wisconsin winters so I planned to finally move in October 2019. Read more>>

Tatiana Herrera

When I think about my life as a whole I can’t just identify one specific risk I’ve take because I can name several risks that define my journey as a person and as a creative. I’ve taken risks to pursue my passions and my truest self ever since I can remember. From quitting jobs that deprived me of my true essence or undervalued me, to pursuing creative opportunities that may or may not be profitable for me. Read more>>

Marisol Corona

The biggest risk I’ve taken as a tattoo artist would definitely have to be when I decided to go solo instead of choosing to work at another tattoo shop. Having most of my clientele based in LA County, moving to Orange County was really risky for me. Having to take on a lot more responsibility and a lot more bills without being sure of how booked and busy I was going to be, Read more>>

Tiffany Bishop

A risk we have has been valuing our worth and taking the initiative to step out on our own. We specialize in black women’s mental health, and often we have to give a disclaimer of why we hold space for black women and couples. A constant struggle is proving why black women deserve priority in their mental wellness. Our practice addresses challenges and provides a safe place for black individuals who are not often held with open ears. Read more>>

Jason Walker

In 2020, I took over ownership of an adult foster care home or group home. There were many challenges that I experienced that I was not prepared for ranging from getting to know staff and residents, to getting licensed with county and state and ensuring we meet the standards required. This process required me to trust in the process that was in place and see where I could improve upon it. Read more>>

Margeaux Jordan

My life has been a series of bold and daring risks in regard to my career. I may not be the type of gal to go skydiving or scale El Capitan, but I am always taking calculated risks in my field as a professional entertainer, screenwriter, actor, dancer, producer, and director. Read more>>

Blake Streicher

Honestly, risks are unavoidable when pursuing an artist career in music. The one that stands out most in my mind, is taking side jobs that I’m overqualified for or don’t pay a lot, due to the flexibility. Flexibility with scheduling in my side-income sources has always been my biggest priority, so I can continue to focus on building my artist project. Read more>>

Juquawn Henderson

One of the biggest risks I have been taking is putting out music left and right. The reason I say that is because it costs hundreds of dollars to get it mixed and mastered and also releasing the music with the beats that I pay for. Yet, i have no investment and no guidance but my self as my manager and my own label that I am creating to get everything established. Read more>>

Dr. Rebecca Johnson Osei, ABPP

Fresh from graduate school I started working at an in-patient forensic hospital. What that means is that I worked with people who had committed a crime and were then found incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness. Most of these folks suffered from severe, long-term mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia and had never been properly treated, While some people had committed serious crimes, such as murder, many of them had committed what we commonly refer to as “mental health crimes.” Read more>>

Mary Katherine Mason

During covid I lost my 13 year corporate career in hospitality design, construction and procurement. I was the sole provider for my family and I had to continue to support them. I had bills pay, mortgage, electricity, you name it. My career was gone in an instant. My now ex husband wasn’t working and I knew I had to be the one to make us survive. Read more>>

Samantha Moody

Risks are always fun, and I say this because if you’re serious about your craft and your brand you’ll find yourself taking a whole lot of risks. I started my business Mid Pandemic and too done that was a perfect time to start a business but it was very risky for many reasons. 1 being (who do you know will purchase) 2. How can you really be marketable online? Before Covid, we sold things the old school way, Read more>>

Kwajelanne Stevens

I’ve always been the girl who dared to dare. I believe beyond discipline and creativity one cannot progress without taking any risk. The first risk I ever took was putting my self out there as a digital content creator and then coming out and branding my self as an artist. I remember my first time creating an Instagram reel or a tiktok and thinking “I’m so nervous”! Read more>>

Bram Strookman

Last year I was on the brink of quitting my field hockey club, KC field hockey. The time commitment – reward ratio wasn’t working and after covid19 we really had to start back from scratch. I’ve decided to give it one more go and see how this year would play out. We just finished our Spring session with over 125 kids participating! In the past we’ve had 30-40 kids. We will continue to offer camps and league throughout the year with our Summer camp 2023 starting May30th. Read more>>

Destinie Lynn

The first, and maybe biggest, risk I’ve taken is choosing to walk away from academia to pursue a music career. It felt like walking away from a sure thing (that I happened to be good at) and jumping into a black abyss of uncertainty, haha. There’s no path laid out in front of you, there’s not a certain order of actions to take. It’s pretty much, pick your own adventure and hope for the best. But you have to be 100% committed, you have to be ten toes down, or the risk isn’t really worth taking. Read more>>

Sixteen Bullets

Sixteen Bullets takes the risk to speak truth through our music. We take the risk in combining genres in our sound. We take the risk of being outside the box of how a rock band is defined. The rewards for these risks so far, major radio air play on Rock 100.5FM (Atlanta) and a growing reception from live show auciences. Read more>>

Elisa Ellis

Two years ago we were about to be empty nesters and decided we were ready for a new adventure. It was a decision we talked about for years but talking about a move and actually taking a leap of faith are two different things. We looked at six different states and various cities and we came to the conclusion that we needed to be in a suburb close to a big city. I wanted to restart my business in a new city so I needed to be close to potential clients and stores. Read more>>

Jayla Asare

As a very careful and calculated Virgo, taking risks has never been my forte. But I knew if I wanted to pursue my dream career and dream life, I had to do things differently. In December 2022, I quit my full-time job in the medical field to pursue entertainment. The journey hasn’t been easy, and I’ve questioned my decision many times, but I don’t regret taking that leap of faith at all. Read more>>

Dee Bowden

My risk was taking the journey to write my book Collect the Cash. Several years ago I was on a radio show and I shared the following story. About fifteen years ago, I worked for a small IT firm outside of Boston, where I am originally from. They hired me as a part-time collections specialist. They had $8 million worth of sales on their books but not in the bank. Every time I tell that part, I must pause because that is a lot of money. Read more>>

Fernando (Specs) Carlin

I think a lot of people get so scared of taking a risk or just going for it, that they talk themselves out of doing anything at all. Risk is inevitable. Anything you do involves risk. New job? There’s a risk you won’t like it. New car? There’s a risk you lose a tire on the way home. Risk exists the very moment we step out of our homes, so why say that your dreams are too risky to even try? There is NEVER. a good time to start anything, you will most likely fail. Read more>>

Crystal Winfield

The biggest risk I have ever taken is going into business for myself and solely depending on the business(es) I created to take care of myself and my family. Life is an adventure, and I have learned to embrace risks and chase my dreams. I opened ASW Staffing, a staffing agency, connecting talented individuals with opportunities. Read more>>

HexComix

Our entire company exists because we took a risk, both as a group and as individuals. Lisa had been working as a professional illustrator and Lynly had a background in IT and had just moved to LA. It was New Year’s Eve 2014 and, having been friends for years, Lynly was encouraging Lisa to find the next level for her art—being that it was and is amazing. Read more>>

Orit Reuben

I am an impressionist pastel painter and paint landscapes, mostly outdoors, as well as figures from life. I love painting in pastel because it’s a combination of drawing and painting. Maneuvering a stick of pure pigment without the aid of a brush allows me the control I desire in the painting process. I also love oil painting but for now, I choose to focus solely on pastels because I believe I must focus on a single medium to do it well. Read more>>

Michael Dobbs

When we started Offroad Addiction we had to put everything on the line to do so. We have no backers or banks, we literally but our lives on the line to make our dream come true. Everything the company makes goes into growing the company and this keeps that risk going, because there is one thing we have learned about this industry and it is if your not moving forward your going out of business. The great part of us growing on our own is we have no one to answer to but our customer and ourselves. Read more>>

Dj Thouwow

Every Calculated move is a risk. No matter how thought out it is, But for me I find the most rewards in life came from taking a risk. Whether it’s a person , an idea , a business, or a a new job opportunity. I feel like my belief system is so strong, not only in confidence but in my own abilities it just makes the risk,less of a risk, and more of a task that with long enough effort can be obtained. I took a risk learning how to record myself, having to think about the embarrassment I would face from my peers. Read more>>

Daniel Komforti

Amidst the cacophony of doubts and uncertainties, I chose to take the risk and open my own physical therapy practice because I believed in the transformative power of healing and the impact it could have on people’s lives. I yearned to create a nurturing environment where I could provide personalized care, empower individuals to regain their strength, and contribute to the well-being of my community. Read more>>

Chantal Preston

After I graduating High School I decided instead of going off to college to find my career I wanted to pursue a music career. For me taking music lessons to learn the craft, playing in bars in front of real people taught me how to perform and listening to successful women in music since I was 15 years old that inspired me to write my own songs. I never wanted to go to college after high school because the way that worked for me to learn the best was this idea of going out and just doing it. Read more>>

Mike Brown

I have been taking risk all my life. Last year was probably my biggest risk at this stage in my journey of really having to trust myself. I was a full time elementary school educator, but I didn’t feel passionate about it anymore. I have always been one foot in and one foot out as an artist. Relying on a job as a “back up” plan but something in me would never let me find comfort in a job. I quit last year and it has been a deep dive into the unknown. Read more>>

Jessie Green

I never considered that I would or could do anything better then this. (Not to say I can’t) However I remember sitting down one day and deciding this was it, this was what I was good at. When you think of work and life, you want a relationship between getting by and loving what you do well enough to do it everyday. I knew that is what I’ve always wanted. I recently took the dive into being a freelance artist, its been a learning curve and I appreciate every moment. Read more>>

Wenti Wu

The biggest risk I took was that I left my family, my career, my beloved, and my everything to this country. It was the first time I came to the US in 2018. I could never forget how excited and scared I first landed. I was like a baby learning everything from scratch in an adult’s body. The gap between my environment and my experience takes me on a rollercoaster all the time. Read more>>

Bria Woo

The biggest risk that I decided to take was betting on myself and putting myself out there for the world to receive. A lot of entrepreneurs and creators never take the leap of faith needed for that next level because of doubt and fear. I didn’t start with a lot of followers and a huge support system so I had to build community and be transparent about my journey. Read more>>

Fox Indigo

I would say since I was a child I’ve always been a risk taker. From jumping into the deep-end of the pool at 9, and swimming the length without ever-taking a lesson; to passing my driving license test without ever driving a car. There have been numerous times throughout my life’s journey where risk played an intricate role in my development as an independent thinker and free-spirit. Read more>>

Josmar Lopez

When I was starting my construction services business, I started to offering our services to small companies, because I knew that I did not have the capacity to offer our services to big companies, I did not have enough workers, nor the necessary equipment, nor the capital, however I started to notice that construction was slowing down and small businesses were not requiring our services as much as usual, Read more>>

Paragraph Taylor

The biggest risk I’ve taken in my personal and professional life was a decade ago this fall, moving from Dallas TX to Vallejo CA. I’d written what would become the first ManifestiV record in Dallas while playing live guitar with a nü-metal band called Adakain, and that album manifested the exact opposite of everything I was doing live. I’d left a band called Secret Of Boris that I’d started in Dallas, and I felt auxiliary to what was happening in Adakain, so my ties to Texas were more loose than they’d ever been. Read more>>