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.
Heather Busch
When I was first starting to fully immerse myself in my love for makeup, I would ask all of my friends to come over and let me do their makeup to practice. They were such good sports! I had no idea what I was doing, and I would just play with makeup for hours learning and practicing new techniques. As time went on, my best friend said to me “You know Heather, you should really apply for a job at MAC, you would be so amazing!” I felt that I was no where near good enough, It had been something I always dreamt of achieving, working at that MAC counter, but felt I would never be at that level. Read more>>
Pamela Benitez
One of the riskiest thing’s I’ve felt I’ve ever done was believe in myself the way others already did. It sound’s like a super cliche answer but when you grow up with the constant messaging that you’re not enough, its really hard to do that! I may sometimes present a loud and extroverted personality but I don’t like to be perceived. I am very shy about myself and putting my art out there to essentially be consumed by others in one way or another felt terrifying. Sometimes when I’m “screaming, crying, throwing up” my way though my quarterly sales tax, I think about to the first messages from friends asking to buy the earrings I started to make for fun and relaxation, and how three years later I’m still here. Read more>>
Stephanie Dobos
Starting your own business is always such a huge risk. You wonder if its the right idea and if youre making the right choices but the biggest risk you take is just saying YES! and getting things started. You never know unless you try and no time is better than taking the leap as soon as you can! I had an internship right out of culinary school where I was working for another bakery owner. Every day that I went into work I thought, why am I doing this for someone else when I could do this myself? Not long after that I decided to go ahead and get started. Read more>>
Alexis Rhone Fancher
As an artist, I take risks every day. It is a no-brainer. I often quote Dorothy Allison, who wrote the brilliant memoir, Bastard Out of Carolina. “Until I started pushing on my own fears… writing about the things I was most afraid of… I wasn’t writing worth a damn.” Like Allison, I believe it’s all about “what’s at risk.” As a poet, I practice what I preach to my students/clients. “Somebody’s out there, bleeding all over the page,” I tell them. “She’s the one who’s getting published.” What’s at risk is the down and dirty core of the poet/writer. Her deepest secrets, her fear of the dark, whatever she perceives it to be. Read more>>
Matt Hartman
I worked in corporate America for the majority of my career. I experienced a lot of success and reaped the rewards and perks that came with a Director role. I was able to provide for a family of four on a decent salary with great benefits which gave me piece of mind knowing we were in a good financial position. But there was one problem, I just wasn’t happy going to work every day knowing I would be in meetings most of the day, I would most likely run into potential conflicts with other associates and wear a ‘mask’ to give the impression I loved my job. I just could,’t be myself without being judged. In 2022 l decided to leave my full time job to open my own creative studio in North Carolina. Read more>>
Richard Green
When I started Green Key Music in Frisco, I suppose you could say I was taking a big risk. I wasn’t exactly prepared to start my own company and take on the responsibility associated with it but the opportunity presented itself in a moment when I thought it would be worth taking that leap and making the most of it. I would consider myself a fairly risk-adverse person for the majority of my life. It wasn’t until the last decade or so that I started making any real effort to push myself a little more in the direction of taking chances for bigger payoffs. You know I say that, but being a musician has always been a risky thing. From the first moment you decide to put yourself out there in front of an audience, you’re taking a big risk. Read more>>
Sabrina Santiago
It took a pandemic to have Me tap into an artistic temperament I didn’t know existed. It took the world shutting down to have Myself open up. That in itself was a huge risk. At that time, I, along with millions of others were anchored down, save the Nurses, Doctors and other Essential Workers that were deemed Relevant in a difficult time. Fast forward now to 2023 and We observe the world reopened, yet with so many big name businesses falling under. And along with them millions of jobs lost. It begs the question: How does a small business owner remain relevant in a society that is forever reshaping itself? Read more>>
Small Victory
Packing up our lives to move across the country to form a rock band is generally seen as a great risk. We spent a lot of time and money studying in college, pursuing stable career paths. While this contributed to our overall education, those decisions were informed by fear of the unknown and lack of confidence in our artistic ability. We devoted more time mitigating the arbitrary risk of being a full-time creative than we did pursuing our most authentic goals. As artists, creation and expression is a necessity in our lives, and working towards doing anything else for the sake of stability compromised those values. Read more>>
Brooke Kayla
When I was in the process of thinking of creating a podcast especially at a young age (15). I knew doing a podcast at the age, was going to be a risk between the success and the reaction from the audience but its better to say at least you tried it rather than not trying at all! So, I took the risk of starting my own podcast My World With Stories at the age of fifteen years old and it has been a game changer! Having so many people from the Broadway, film, and music world to name a few is an experience of a lifetime and will be forever grateful. I’ve learned so many stories in the business that I will take with me if I professionally go into that path one day since I’m aspiring performer! Taking a risk is important and it’s something that you will face in any field or in life. And you never know the outcome it may bring good or bad. Read more>>
Angela Bartys
There is a wide spectrum of risk taking, and when I look back over my life, it’s very clear that I’ve been determined to explore every fractal of that spectrum, consciously and unconsciously. It’s very easy to associate risk with danger, but I believe that true risk is trusting in the chaos of the unknown, trusting in your ability to navigate and create your own order out of mystery. Fear is instilled in us at a young age with the intention to keep us safe, but the seeds of fear can grow into paralyzing resistance if left unchecked. I grew up challenging everything. They said “go right”, I wanted to go left. They said “be this,” so I wanted to be “that.” Curiosity always took the drivers seat in my journeys, and although that led me down some dark paths, it always led me closer to myself. Read more>>
Max Lefeld
I would have to say that it’s starting my own company with the very deserving name, Co.Jones! Pronounced Company Jones in English or Cojones in Spanish. That’s what I thought was needed when I went on my own almost 20 years ago. Nothing has changed. I still feel that we are a start-up every day. When you go on your own, it teaches you valuable life lessons of humility, gratefulness, respect and appreciation. Things people take for granted or sometimes forget. The corporate ladder makes people believe that they are in control, but suddenly winds change, and they get thrown out of the ship. Suddenly they are humble again. Corporate culture teaches us that the corporate ladder is an increasing vertical thing where the higher you are, the more important you are. Read more>>
Sahar Elhallak
In my writing, I often find myself misunderstood due to growing up in a war-torn country, leading some to mistakenly perceive my work as political. However, my true focus lies in addressing crucial issues and thought-provoking topics that challenge the patriarchal system. With each sentence I craft, I vulnerably pour the depths of my soul into the hands of my readers. How they perceive and respond to my words becomes a deeply personal journey, one where my vulnerability intertwines with their understanding. Read more>>
Lauren deSerres
I wasn’t always convinced that I could be a studio artist. There was a lot of negativity around the arts as a career path, like the myth that you can’t make enough money to support yourself, etc. I responded to this by investigating different career paths within the art world, particularly education. Eventually, though, I decided that I wanted to take the leap and start my own art business- I eventually wanted to be in charge of my schedule and my own path. So I launched my art business in 2017 with my partner, Walt. Read more>>
Anna Bullock
“Of all the virtues we can learn, no trait is more useful, more essential for survival, and more likely to improve the quality of life than the ability to transform adversity into an enjoyable challenge.” – Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi Here’s the thing: Risks are always going to feel a little scary – no matter how big or small they might seem. I think it’s because there’s always some element of the unknown or wondering if we’re about to make a mistake we won’t be able to come back from. As dramatic as this is going to sound, throughout the history of time the people who make the biggest differences are the people who are resilient through hardship, value a calculated risk and are open-minded and have learned to trust their gut. My mantra for the past few years of creating an untraditional creative career for myself has been: If you never ask/try, the answer is always no. To me, the idea of “what if” is much scarier than risking a fall. Read more>>
Candice Rogers
I am 43 years old and have been in healthcare for almost 20 years. I was a Family Nurse Practitioner up until April 2023 and I took a leap of faith to pursue art full-time. Still crossing my fingers that I will land on both feet after leaping! The verdict is still out. I don’t regret my decision, experiencing contentment on a daily basis now. I am still treading water and have not “made it big” yet but it’s still early! I hope and pray that as I spend more time in my craft, my pieces will continue to improve and therefore become more valuable. Read more>>
Chloe Mackey
Thank you so much for chatting with me today! I would say that deciding to quit my corporate job to work full-time as a coach was the biggest risk I’ve taken to date. Calculated risk-taking is an important skill; considering where I am today, I am happy to say this huge leap of faith paid off. To back up a bit, I started coaching back in 2019. I had been working with an incredible coach as a client for several years and therefore had first-hand knowledge of just how thought-provoking and life-changing working with a coach could be. With career experience in both elementary education and corporate learning and development, getting certified to work in a field that was 100% focused on personal development made complete sense to me. I know it sounds cheesy, but it just felt right! Read more>>
Brandi Tinoco
Becoming an entrepreneur was a risk of becoming successful or taking a loss. I started off as a party planner/coordinator which I absolutely love, but then I found something else that I love even more. I found my hidden talent of baking. I started off baking for just my family. Played with recipes here and there, but something about baking relaxed me. My grandma kept telling me that I should sell my cakes, but I said there are so many bakers out there why me? Well I took the change and started promoting cakes. I was running two businesses at one time and it started to become overwhelming. Being a coordinator was taking away my Saturdays with family and the recovery from an event wasn’t always fun. Read more>>
Katherine Schultz
This year I expanded my business from Adelaide Australia to New York City, now splitting my time between the two different cities. I have worked as a photographer in Adelaide for ten years and love it but felt the need to challenge myself and grow further. It took 18 months of planning, a rigorous visa process, building a client base in a new city, securing a new home, a new studio and finding momentum all while adjusting to life as an Australian in a brand new city. It’s better than I could have imagined and I equally love both the contrasts and parallels between the two lives now. Read more>>
Asha Chai-Chang
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When I moved to LA last year, I had saved up enough to live in a place for a few months, made one or two good friends that were local, and had a list of good ideas – but no completed scripts or a job to stabilize me once I got here. I was finally ready to invest in myself and see if I had the chops to make it in this make-it-or-sink town. It sounded like a good plan, right? I did all the “right” things, savings, and such. I heard that LA makes you face your deepest fears, and I wasn’t ready for the realization that my breakthrough would come from leaving the comforts of my beautiful home in Charlotte, North Carolina and becoming anew. I had to physically make myself uncomfortable and leap out of complacency. Read more>>
Jasmine Pinet-McTague
I am an educator and being one is a risk. I know it is funny to say that being and choosing to be an educator is a risk. True, Educators don’t get paid much, let alone are valued. I choose to become a teacher for the wrong reasons at the time. I was a single mother at the time and I was already a pre-diem teacher aide. So I figured become a teacher and make more money then $75 days a when you work. Also, I needed something more secure especially for the summer. When I finally became a teacher, my outlook changed. I knew I wasn’t going to make a lot of money, but I know I was going to make a difference. I wanted to be an actress at one time, and now I can put my creative talent to use. I can act, dance and sing all day. A year after becoming a teacher, I got married and my husband has been a great support. Read more>>
Carla Chalah
From the outside looking in, I had it all. I was in the midst of wrapping up my clinical psychology program at Harvard University, while simultaneously lending my skills as a doctoral research assistant at the Museum of Science in Cambridge. I was surrounded by amazing friends, had a charming apartment, and was on track to a secure, prosperous and stable career in psychology. Yet, beneath the surface, I felt like a ship lost at sea, overpowered by feelings of hollowness, desolation, and relentless anxiety. This dichotomy between my external reality and my internal state was striking. Read more>>
Heoak Lee
KoreaFest itself is a risk taking venture every year. The first festival in 2017 was a very low budget event and we didn’t know what to expect. We took a chance and produced the event and the response was overwhelming. Based on this success, we rented a 23,000 square feet venue for the second KoreaFest in 2018. We had invested in the venue, staging, lighting, sound, tables, chairs, piping & draping and other necessary requirements from the venue so we had to sell tickets to cover the cost. However we had very little sponsorship and donations. This was a huge undertaking at the time with still so much unknown. Read more>>
Cebron Bradford
or myself a major risk I’ve taken is the whole idea of calling myself a professional artist and owning the steps and the commitment it requires to live up to that standard. Making the change wasn’t something that happened all at once. I would say it started by realizing that my success as an artist is self-directed and not contingent upon stereotypes I was given or observed. The second half of that risk is being open to take on more by realizing pursing art and being an academic isn’t an either or but rather could feed into both and rather make me better in both areas of focus. Read more>>
Bita Motiie
I work for a social media platform, we are a start up company and have created a place for adults only. This year I convinced my boss, our CEO, to allow me to host our first ever Creator Convention here in Dallas, Texas. There was a lot of push back but I convinced him that we should take this chance and host something special. I spent the next 6 months on top of my regular tasks planning my first convention. Keep in mind I had never done such a thing, our platform was turning 3 years old and most of our users/creators are from all over the world. Read more>>
Savannah Wade
One of the greatest risks as a performing artist is the audition. In 2022, still in the midst of the pandemic, I auditioned for the lead role of a play that was being workshopped in NY. I got it! Weeks after, my friend from the workshop told me to audition and meet an established artist and director. My work at the time was virtual, so I booked a ticket not knowing what I would arrive to. I had a place to stay and arrived to the audition, prepared for whatever would be asked of me. We did simple staging (a process that creates the stage directions prior to working with a hired cast of performers). The next day, the director asked if I could dance. “Uh, yes. I can.” My friend affirmed that I was a dancer. Despite my lack of practice and the reality of being a social or “club” dancer, I professed that this was true. The director proceeded to prompt me with directions that I gave with 110%, selling face and body. Read more>>
Mariam Martinez
The beauty world was always so entertaining and glamorous to me. I remember always being the friend in the group who would glam up my besties. If someone were to tell me I’d be pursuing the beauty industry as a career and gone this far back then, I wouldn’t have believed them. I’ve always worked in 9-5’s while still in college, I tried studying nursing for sometime because it was something secure but I couldn’t say it was something I loved. I always loved the thought of having my own beauty business but the risks on starting felt terrifying. Now after taking that risk and leaving behind my comfort I realized there’s nothing more I’d rather be doing than this. Read more>>
Amanda Govenar
I would say becoming a Certified Life Coach was a risky decision for me. It was a huge career change and I had to come to terms with being a beginner again, but thankfully I have a degree in Psychology and an immense interest in the human brain and body. And while I did not go the route of becoming a therapist after my college graduation many years ago (instead I went off to culinary school and spent 10 years working as a professional chef) I always knew it was something I could come back to later in life. I wasn’t expecting to feel the desire to become a Coach but when I received the news that my skin cancer had returned again in August of 2022 and I needed to undergo a 4th surgery on my face, I decided it was time to really examine the direction my life was going and whether I wanted to continue down that path. Read more>>
Jerome Haygood
The year 2020 took the world by surprise. I when from working in an office to working from home to terminated 5 months into the year. I had just purchased equipment for printing shirts for myself in March to cut cost for producing my clothing line. I spent all of April learning how to properly use what I bought. By the beginning of May my employer had advised they would be doing cuts for the business. I had to decide at that moment if I was to go on the job hunt, or bet on myself and use what I learned with printing to survive. I started offering printing services for other people. It started off as “well, let’s do this until something pops up” to “well let’s figure how to double and triple this so we don’t have to clock in for anyone anymore”. I’ve gotten to a point now that the company I bought equipment from will send me free products now. Read more>>
Rocco Caruso
Everything I do is a risk, but I feel like that is what makes it interesting, fun and fulfilling. It is very important not to get stuck in a comfort zone and always seek discomfort, because the best moments in life are behind those phases of discomfort. I could be working a normal 9-5 job right now, but I would much rather be doing everything in my power to achieve my goals because I see no second option. Sometimes you have to take a risk in the form of working for free to open other doors, turning down an offer to work on something you believe in more, or even sneaking your camera into an event to film an artist to possibly work with in the future. It is very important not to take risks blindly, but rather to know what you can do and what you need to do to reach your personal goals as a creative and to follow that until you reach that goal. Read more>>
Erin Wehrenberg
Listening to my heart is what I think of when I think of taking a risk. Every time I want to try something new or implement a new idea I have or expand and push myself to try or be something different, I feel I am taking a risk. This could be opening myself up to offer a completely new service than I have previously, tweaking something small about what I currently offer, or being willing to put myself out there in a way I have not before in a collaboration, a job, a location, an offering. When I feel nervous about something, I know I am on the right track. If something doesn’t feel (at least) a little scary, I don’t think I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone enough. If I don’t feel challenged or unsure at all, then I am not pushing myself beyond what feels okay and accessible to me currently, and if that is not true, I am not growing. Read more>>
Taylor Ricks
One risk that I have taken is definitely becoming a photographer. I have always been interested in it and have found myself in a magical world that I couldn’t see not being apart of my life. I went from being a cosmetologist who went from loving to not standing the smell of gel any longer. I wanted something better fitting for myself. So it is safe to say that I have found my way home. Read more>>
Jasmine Mathew
2001, in Philly at Temple U., I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and a concentration in Therapeutic Recreation and received my Certification in Recreational Therapy, officially becoming a CTRS. All that in a fairly new field where most people didn’t even know what Recreational Therapy was made it always a discussion point for me that I needed to be prepared for. Fast forward to 2011, when I took time off from working to care for my now oldest son but was craving the ability to accomplish something in the community through work. So, I began reaching out to local dance studios because I had previously taught Bollywood dance on the side for other companies. I thought that it was the latest rage to do Bollywood dancing and that I could monopolize on it, maybe even attempting to be inclusive for all abilities. Read more>>
Jessica Marcus and Nicholas Bergmann
At the end of 2021, we decided it was time to leave the city we had been living in for the past 6 years; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was becoming claustrophobic and exceedingly dangerous to keep living there. Neither of us were working since the Covid lockdowns and it had given us time to reflect. If we could live anywhere in the United States, where would we go? In search of a warmer climate, wildlife, fresh air, and space, we took a risk and moved to Florida. We filled our Jeep up to the brim with our belongings, leaving just enough space for our cat, Little Guy, and a large plastic tote that we filled with the beginnings of our inventory. Read more>>
Maranda Evans
One of the most challenging risks I’ve taken in my life was writing my first book, Troubled. This book detailed every intimate detail of my life as an abused and depressed teenager. To release those experiences to the world required courage. There was some backlash, but it turned out that most people supported me as an author and my book. That very risk helped me build and create my company, Victorian Publishing LLC. Read more>>
Tony Marinella
I worked as a photographer for a variety of companies over the years from the Museum of Northern Arizona, Gannett Publishing, Cabellas, etc. to finally making the leap to full time freelance photographer. It was probably the scariest thing I have done going from full time employment to not knowing where the next job would be. I liken it to a roller coaster ride or ocean waves. And the feast or famine saying defiantly fits. Some days Im so busy I have no time to turn around and others I find myself looking for my next job. It takes patience and perserverance but in the long run is so worth it. I am my own boss! I call all the shots and hire assistants, or stylists or designers depending on the jobs. It did take a good year or so to accept the ups and downs of self employment but aging no regretts. Read more>>
Anthony Anderson
Taking a risk is what led me to where I am today. From the importance of vulnerability, to challenging myself to become better, to developing my craft, all served as important components as to why the risk was worth it. You have to be open to doing the heavy lifting when building your own foundation. Even in the essence of self-worth. who you surround yourself with, the importance of protecting your peace, and even stepping outside of your comfort zone, all play a role in establishing your boundaries and what you’re willing to do. Risk can be rewarding when it comes to fulfilling your journey. It can make you resilient. Read more>>
Caroline Maréchal
Moving abroad! It was something I had in mind since my young age. I always loved traveling and discovering new landscapes and new cultures. And then, you have your first job, you found your family… Always not the good timing, and one day this could be possible and I said yes let’s go! Moving to California during a worldwide pandemic was the most important and incredible risk I have never taken in my entire life. I stepped outside my comfort zone, explored new possibilities, and pushed boundaries of what I thought was possible. Read more>>
Alejandro Suarez
When you take a risk, it most likely doesn’t affect just you. It affects those around you, those that are with you, and those that want the best for you. In all aspects of life, it’s always the same type of decision-making that’ll help us accomplish our passions or destroy our desires. I grew up in a world that revolves around music. In my Colombian-American household, I remember waking up to Joe Arroyo every Saturday morning. The stark sound of the Salsa cowbell resonated in my bedroom. My family, and our culture, used music as a way of connection. A similarity that is shared between most cultures worldwide. But, that wasn’t all we listened to. Read more>>
Sequan Kolibas
I grew up in a pro-sex, pro-drugs, pro-rock n’roll household. I was the rebel in junior high and high school. But underneath it all, I had a core belief of not being enough, and wanted to be accepted by those I loved. I started doing drugs at 13, then hard drugs at 15, which led me on a path straight to addiction, a criminal lifestyle and eventually, prison. It also led me to making choices in which I contracted HIV. Great … I have a criminal record, I’m a closet injection drug user and now I have an HIV diagnosis … you want to talk about all those inner insecurities around being rejected … now they are on OVERDRIVE! Read more>>