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.

Danielle Lands

At the end of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, I moved to South Florida with my life partner, and started my business, studio No. 11, an architectural design firm. I had been working on the design team of a real estate development firm in New York City, and I was craving inspiration. I wanted to be making design decisions and help people improve the space around them. I took a leap of faith and launched studio No. 11 Read more>>

Tristan Miller

Taking a risk in creative business ownership involves confronting the two fundamental fears that hold many creatives back: the fear of failure and the fear of success. As an artist, putting your work out for scrutiny requires tremendous guts and commitment. Some will love your creations, while others will criticize them. Read more>>

Marley McKenna

I’m a natural risk taker and that’s how I found myself in Salt Lake City, UT over 12 years ago. I moved here from Wisconsin to start a business from scratch, and didn’t know a single person in Utah. Being an entrepreneur at heart, I firmly believe that risks are part and parcel of the lifestyle. With Revive, I took a big chance – working full-time at a demanding corporate job while opening a store during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more>>

Lea Hope Bonzer

The first most significant risk I have ever taken was in my mid-twenties and leaving my parent’s home with just a suitcase, no expectations, and a quest to find the life I wanted to live instead of one assumed. After covid, I have dared to leap into another pursuit of happiness and finally start the journey I have been waiting for a long while and networking on the mission to become an artist. Read more>>

Lauren Elizabeth

As a professional artist, I have learned that you must be willing to take risks to be successful. You must be willing to put yourself out there – put your art out there – for the world to see, and be willing to take in feedback positively, take more risks to evolve and grow as as artist. And that can be an intimidating and scary thought. I say to push those negative thoughts aside…listen to your inner voice, and let your heart and paintbrush guide you. Read more>>

Bridgett Artise

Owning and running a business is a tough decision to make for most. You wonder if you are making the right decision or if it will be successful. I have owned my business for over 20 years and it did not take a lot of contemplation to start it. Upcycling was a hobby for me at first , definitely not something I thought I would turn into a business but something that tapped into something I didn’t know existed. Read more>>

Emauri Singletary

From a young age, I understood that in order to achieve big goals, you have to take even bigger risks. Attempting to make a living pursuing the things I’m passionate about has been the biggest risk of my life so far. My entire life has revolved around being in tough or uncomfortable situations but what many people don’t understand is that it isn’t until you’re close to drowning, that you learn how well you can swim. Read more>>

Lanell Swoope

The biggest risk I’ve taken is moving to New York. I moved here in the beginning of 2021, with only a little bit of money and luckily the job I was working in Cleveland was able to transfer me. That was a good safety net but I wasn’t making enough money to afford living in New York. Basically living check to check, sometimes my account was in the negatives but I didn’t let any of that break me. Read more>>

Chris Taylor

Anytime I let someone hear something new that I have created, or anytime I go on stage to perform the music I written are both constant risks. I risk being judged for my content and on my performance. And while on paper, that may not seem as risky as skydiving, or climbing mountains, or wrestling alligators, the feeling of that risk has often times kept me from sharing my art with people. Read more>>

Jennifer Gilbert

Leaving my corporate Marketing Director job to go out on my own was a huge risk. In September of 2019, I launched my marketing agency, REMIO Group, with a whole lot of hope and determination. We had two toddlers at the time, but I was determined that I could do this and make my dream come true. And I did! I used my professional working relationships & contacts to ask for referrals, and started letting everyone know that I was ready and taking on clients! Read more>>

Samuel Grace

My work with MPLS (imPulse) has always involved risk. Our entire business model has hinged around contemporary choral music tied to non-traditional performance venues. Sometimes our performances incorporate interdisciplinary collaborators: local businesses, artists, and other performers. When we think of a new project, we always ask the question: “where could choral music go where it hasn’t already?” Read more>>

Christoph Stocker

The most important feature an actor can have is incorporating RISK in their work. Taking risks in my choices on stage not only makes me as the actor slightly nervous, excited, and frees me but also gets the audience to the edge of their seats. Will the choice work and be a great one or will I utterly embarrass myself? These moments of risking are often the most interesting to watch because everyone is slightly uncertain of what’s going to happen next and are staying invested. Read more>>

Morris Sally

I wanted to bring something new to Greenville, and the Upstate of SC, in the form of HipHop. I saw a Beat Cypher online in Atlanta, called Controllerise, that showed me how to do it. I actually seen Controllerise in person in Asheville NC and Atlanta GA. Their events and performances really sparked me to do the same thing in SC, but I had no stage equipment, not even a drum machine. I only had the name of the event…The SCLofi TakeOver Beat Cypher. Read more>>

Dylan Garcia

Last November, I was offered an opportunity to go cover Latin Grammy Week with a media team. The offer also came with an opportunity to perform at an artist showcase. I took the risk and headed out to Vegas with people I barely knew and got to work. As work, I mean listening and paying attention to the vibes of the artists who were at the Latin Grammys because there were many nominated artists who came to our media suite. Read more>>

Mike Nixon

Early in my adulthood, I discovered that it would be difficult to experience any kind of fulfillment without taking risks. Up until that point, I had let fear hold me back – the fear of failure, rejection, and everything else. Granted, there were things that happened in my life that contributed to me being that way. When I visualized the person I wanted to be, I didn’t see anything holding him back. So, I decided to take steps to create the adventure-filled life that I wanted. Read more>>

Brittany Purcell

Taking a risk… When I started this business in 2017, it was mostly decals and shirts. I had very little experience with woodworking. In mid 2019 God had different plans for me and my future.  I found myself wanting to do more and learn woodworking to apply my stencils to.  At this point I was only working with pine wood from the local hardware store. I did not start working with any specialty wood until 2021. This was the turning point for my woodworking career. Read more>>

Erykah Townsend

Authentically being myself was one of the most significate risks I’ve ever taken. Although it may sound cliché, it holds a significant meaning for me and has impacted other areas of my life. I’ve always felt like an outsider in many settings, even as a pre-teen. I used to feel uneasy about my personality, interests, and way of living. However, when I entered high school, I decided to embrace who I truly am and stopped caring about what other people thought of me. Read more>>

Sarah Springer

I started my career with insurance in 2019 as a corporate agent. The biggest risk I have taken is leaving behind a 2 million dollar book to open my agency and start from zero. One of the reason insurance is lucrative is because you receive residual income every time a previous client renews their insurance. My renewals alone were around $80,000 annually, so it was terrifying to lose that and completely start over when I launched my agency in 2022. I really just had to bet on myself and know that business ownership was the path I needed to take because it would be worth it in the long run. Read more>>

Alexis Spanevello

It may seem like the obvious answer in an interview like this, but the creation and cultivation of my company Metanoia has been by far the biggest risk – and reward – I have ever taken and experienced in my life. The word Metanoia speaks to the transformation or metamorphosis of one’s mind, perspective, and/or way of life. I first learned of this word in my youth and continued to carry it’s inspiration with me into adulthood. Read more>>

Eric Clarke

Ten years ago I was hired to create some illustrations on a music video for the band Mini Mansions on Capitol Records. When the director hired me, he asked if I had animation experience, and of course I said “Yes!”, but the reality was that I had zero experience with animation. I completely lied and decided I was going to figure it out on my own. Read more>>

Josi Garfield

On paper, I’m a big risk taker. I grew up in a small town in Utah and moved 2,000 miles away from home to attend college at George Mason University in northern Virginia. A lot of people told me how brave I was to do that all by myself and go so far away. Courage, bravery, nervousness or doubt were never emotions I felt when making the decision or making the move. Read more>>

Michael Bouson

After 40 years of toggling back and forth between the entertainment business and the foodservice business, my partner, Joe Correll and I took a leap of faith, left Los Angeles, sold our investment property that was intended to fund our retirement some day, and purchased the derelict Ohio Theatre in Lima, Ohio. I did have a couple of Ohio connections, I graduated with a Theatre Degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio many many years ago, and my 89 year old father lives in Akron, Ohio. Read more>>

Summer Wilson

You know, everyday is a risk. Every moment we are in poses some sort of risk. Whether that risk be failure, injury, or excitement. Most of my life I’ve maneuvered through minutes, days, and years believing there was more. Despite the gut wrenching feeling of that possibility of things not turning out. I understand now, that most “risks” we take are purposefully placed in our paths for growth tailored to our individualized experiences. Read more>>

Barbara Coleman

Taking a leap of faith, I made the difficult decision to leave a job that brought me immense joy, all in pursuit of dedicating more time to my passion for painting and personal growth as an artist. I had been teaching fundamental design and drawing courses at the Architecture Department of the University of New Mexico (UNM), and it was a role I truly cherished. However, life presented me with a significant loss when my mother passed away from breast cancer after a grueling nine-year battle. Read more>>

Erica Muller

I think by nature, when you take a path that’s a little less traveled there’s always going to be risk involved. And I think everyone is so individual that when you are presented with risk, the way you’re inclined to handle it is always going to be different than someone else. I’ve really learned that every time I have allowed myself to fully dive into something that has a lot of risk involved, that’s usually where I have found the most success. Read more>>

Donna Lewis

“Be sure that your latter is on the right building”. I always knew my purpose was to organize and create, since I was a young girl. I remember, gathering friends in my neighborhood to choreograph dances to the Cheetah Girls and later compose vocal arrangements in my high school gospel choir. With this, I always had a unique fondness for academia. I loved challenging the status quo, while organizing peers to take action on important issues. Read more>>

Kevin Moore

It was a huge risk to establish Courage Medicine as a practice. Providing harm reduction treatment and sexual health services is an unpopular healthcare services. As a new non-profit that started February of 2020, COVID lockdown provided the first huge problem. Many others came soon after. Through it all, the Courage Medicine team kept working and focusing on individual care. Courage Medicine became recognized as a Center of Excellence for Opioid Use Disorder in October of 2020. Read more>>

Lauren Petriella

Taking risks has been an integral part of my journey as an entrepreneur, and there’s one particular risk that stands out—the decision to expand Coco Babez’s product line and introduce a new range of facial skincare products. At the time, Coco Babez was primarily known for our handcrafted sugar scrubs , which were well-received by our customers. However, I recognized an opportunity to address the growing demand for comprehensive facial skincare solutions. Despite the uncertainties that came with venturing into the facial skincare market, I believed in my vision and the potential to fill a gap in the industry. Read more>>

Adrianna Eve

Far too often, it is difficult to find a creative space that is both welcoming and safe for marginalized dancers. This is because dance culture can be so limiting in its consideration of who can (and cannot) dance. Read more>>

Jared Karp

Having graduated from college with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I had a very safe, conformist, comfortable life mapped out ahead me. My first job out of school put me on a slow pathway to guaranteed success and stability and I really ran with it. I was in the medical device field, doing mechanical product design and working on products that genuinely were saving people’s lives. Read more>>

dennis doyle

50 years old. Successful in a profitable career. Three children in college. The stories of a perfect life race thru my mind. You know, “beautiful home, white picket fence ,loving wife,2.4 children”. It took me all of those 50 years to understand that was a fable. The house has a mortgage, the kids leave home and the loving wife has other interests…… Read more>>

Amber Jenkins

I’ve always been the cause of friction and anxiety amongst my family, I’ve always lived and went against ‘The Grain’. I’m from the South, South Carolina to be exact, it’s very traditional. That would be the best way to describe it, traditional. There is a blueprint that is readily prepared and passed down through Generations, if you do not follow it more than likely you’re the problem. We’re raised to stick to a certain script and if you detour you better be prepared to take your detoured route alone. Read more>>

Heather Mellott

When starting Adoption Finder, it was a risk. We had little to no funding, but had a mission and vision we were following. I was given the inspiration one day while working at my desk. I had a vision a women with her husband crying because they couldn’t get pregnant – it was another negative pregnancy test. Then I saw a woman who was crying because of a positive pregnancy test and she was scared. Read more>>

Josephine Gutierrez

I was asked to be an Ambassador for an organization that was slowly finding it’s way into nature and communities in 2015, Latinooutdoors.org. I had no clue what that would entail, but I did know, I had to say yes! I was working on building a personal blog on staying fit, while having fun. I had already partnered with REI for a campaign and in the process of doing so, rediscovered my love of nature. Read more>>