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.

Ana Sneeringer

Risk-taking often leads to creative breakthroughs. Trying new things, pushing boundaries, and experimenting with different techniques can produce fresh and innovative artwork. Plus, it’s a vast stepping out of your comfort zone, which helps you grow as an artist and an individual. Facing and overcoming challenges builds confidence and resilience, which can benefit your overall development. Read more>>

Emily Polak

When my husband and I first started sourcing vintage clothes, we honestly weren’t sure if anyone would like the things we found. When we finally took a leap of faith and hosted our first pop-up market, the support was incredible! Our customers loved our finds and encouraged us to continue hunting for more treasures to add to our shop. Read more>>

Sonya Villegas Kelsen

Taking a risk is not for the faint of heart. The feeling of walking a tightrope with no safety net is one of the most challenging situations you can put yourself in. It is incredibly stressful but what can cause more stress is regret. Regretting not taking a chance on your ideas and dreams is something I will not have to live with. I have had measurable success and disastrous failures in my entrepreneurial career but the lessons I have learned, the friendships I have made and the freedom I have become accustomed to is all worth it. Read more>>

Valerie Richardson

I was working as an emergency dispatcher when I got the idea to start my own business. I sat halfway through my shift thinking about all the training, certificates, and skills I had and somehow, I was not satisfied. Becoming an entrepreneur have always been a goal of mine. Growing up, I watched my Grandparents, and Father successfully own and operate M. Rich Heating and Cooling HVAC Company, a family business that has been serving the Metro Detroit area for over 30 years! While the idea was heavy on my mind, I walked off my shift after creating the name, logo, and business page for this idea I just came up with. Read more>>

Barry Butler

A lot of people thought we were crazy. Starting a distillery at the age of 59, when most people are starting to think about retiring was a foreign concept to most people. But for my wife, Lisa, and I it was a natural choice. I have been starting and selling bio-pharmaceutical companies for the past 22 years, so I am not a stranger to taking risks and finding success. But making liquor (especially good liquor) is a different story. Read more>>

Veronica Cisneros

I found myself entangled in the relentless pursuit of success, juggling 46 hours a week between my full-time commitment at the hospital and nurturing my fledgling private practice. The days were long, and the nights were a battleground for guilt and frustration as the echoes of complaints from my husband and children resounded in my ears. The formidable weight of maternal responsibility bore down on me, and the burden of that unrelenting “mom’s guilt” felt unbearable. Read more>>

Steffany Villalobos

Two years ago, i took the biggest risk of my life and walked away from my corporate job to pursue being an artist full time. I had been juggling both a 40+ hour work week and 20+ hours studio time at night for about 2 years at the time and i knew i had to decide, either I back off oN my side hustle selling my artwork or jump into the self-employment world all together because i was exhausted. I knew the potential i could make if i had more time to create and i had already built up and understood the demand in the space. Then my job announced a restructure and i could either stay or walk away. I felt like it was the perfect time to take the leap. It was honestly the best decision i have ever made. i had no idea what was ahead but i knew that i had to trust myself and that failure was not an option. Read more>>

Jules Trotter

I am the quintessence of people-pleasing. And while it’s not always a bad quality to be mindful of those around me, one of the pitfalls of being able to read a room well is that the public is a very big room, and it is full of opinions. When I first started vlogging and photographing theme parks, I was quickly confronted by the reality that I would have to do this in front of an audience–sink or swim. So many questions would run through my mind, like how ridiculous I looked walking around with camera equipment at a theme park, or recording a vlog at a crowded special event. And then to post these things online was stamping my seal of approval that I indeed looked at my work and deemed it worthy of the public’s attention. At the time, it was a living nightmare. Read more>>

Sasha Goldstein

The biggest risk in my life so far, was jumping into the wind and starting my own business. I’d worked in the design industry for 17+ years working for other companies where I learned so much, however at the end of the day was not valued, paid enough, or given credit for all the work I was doing. I was at a point in my life and career where I was unhappy and I knew something needed to change. I considered working for another company, and interviewed with a few, but at the end of the day, no particular brand or job resonated with me. It was time that I do something for myself, whether that meant trying and succeeding, or trying and failing, because then I knew that I had given it my all and tried to create and do something that was meaningful to me that I could share in the design community. Read more>>

Cindi Rhodes

I have always been an artist-designer, creator-maker, soul-searcher, and meaning-finder. As a very small girl, I spent hours on the shady side of the house creating beautiful and fun environments for my troll dolls and homemade “creepy-crawlies” to play in by picking out pathways and tunnels in the moist baby’s tears and creating furniture for them out of Crackerjacks and Shredded Wheat cereal boxes. I would wrap cheese and an apple in my bandana, toss it with my latest adventure book in the front basket of my rusty black 3-speed Schwinn bike, and ride it down the stairs to Santiago Park, climbing my favorite shaded Sycamore tree to read and dream the afternoon away. Read more>>

Ino Yang Popper

I have always been a risk-taker and will always advocate for it. Many risks I took in my life have led me to where I am today. One of them I would like to shine a spotlight on is the AFI cinematography program. It is the best cinematography program in the U.S., but it’s also extremely competitive to get in, extremely intensive, and extremely expensive. I said “extremely” three times and I’m not exaggerating. Before I went to AFI, I had just built a decent momentum as a startup cinematographer making some progress. Going to AFI means that all of those I have built would have to be put on hold, and life, has to be put on hold. Everyone who has ever attended or considered attending AFI would probably go through the same list of considerations and ask themselves: Is it worth it? Read more>>

Bryan Grant

Bryan Grant Studios is renowned for its fearless approach to taking creative risks.  It’s what keeps us competitive and in part why we’ve become the home to major studios, and Fortune 500 companies.  When I look back at my beginnings the biggest risk I took was on myself.  It was 2008 and the recession hit hard.  I was let go from an advertising agency as a project manager, and I had no job in site.  I had recruiters thinking I was nuts for wanting to start a motion design company and insisted that I stick with project management, which was the position I just left for the past 7 years.  I was determined and had a vision.  I had experience in motion design prior to moving to Los Angeles in 2003 and it was always my dream.  I wanted to contribute in the making of studio movies and television. Read more>>

Micah Manaitai

So I just took the big leap that everyone in this field takes: I quit my job to do what I’m most passionate about. For better or worse I have a broad set of crafts I feel that way about. I worked in audio post production for TV/film and became a dialogue editor, while an interest in both composing and mixing began to incubate in me. For the past 6 years, I can’t think of a time that my work day wasn’t at least 12-13 hours minimum, given that I had a full time staff position in a studio and I would continually book a full after-hours schedule of freelance work. Read more>>

Robert Lydecker

Film composers have figured out the most efficient, precise, controlled workflow to get music written and produced on time, on budget, and to everyone’s liking. As part of that process, we make computerized demos of our music for directors to approve before we record with live musicians. While this is a great way to eliminate surprises and stay on budget, it can sometimes confine our creativity without us realizing. A few years ago I was working on a film and felt stifled by this demo process. The director and I were seeking music with techniques and expression that went beyond the limits of what I could do with my computer. Read more>>

LATISHA WOODS

My life is one big ball of risks. I’m the same person who applied to only one college and had never stepped foot on the campus. Risk-taking is what I do!!! But my biggest risk would have to be starting my practice. In 2016, I was nearing the necessary supervision hours to attain my full counseling license. With that license, I would finally be allowed to open a private practice (you must have a full license to open a private practice in Georgia). A co-worker and I had decided we had enough of all the stress of working for counseling agencies and decided to branch out and start our own group practice. When it was time to look for office space, my supposed business partner was a no-show and had silently decided not to join me in the endeavor. Read more>>

Dannieka Cuttino

The biggest risk I feel that I took this year was going full-time entrepreneur. At the time I was working a regular 9-5 at a call center. My job at the time was a very high customer demand, micromanaged environment. It took up most of my day which resulted in me abandoning my creative arts and my business. It got to the point where it affected my mental health and the only reason I continued to hold on to it like every other creative is for a stable income. I prayed and ask God to help me remove myself from this job so that I can focus on my films and Videography and Photography business. In March, I received an opportunity to film a documentary in Doha, Qatar and I knew I could not pass on the opportunity. Read more>>

Blake Carrera

Music itself is taking a risk. It’s highly personal. To make good music, you have to be naked in front of your fans, baring your soul and your heart, your confidence and your insecurities. It’s what makes a good musician and a good performer. But to be a musician is also a risk because there are zero guarantees of any success. The success that I’ve had with Aiwass has been mostly due to hard work, but it’s also due to a little bit of luck catching on with fans. I think part of the reason I’ve caught on is because I’ve taken risks, personally and sonically. Read more>>

E. Nikk Halliday

Risk Taking was an option on the table when no other options were available. Coming from a envirnoment where financial hardships were common, in my eyes the only way to get past such and stand out were by taking Risks.
Most Folks may not have agreed with the risk i took to get where i am today, but they were all strategized in preparation for the next step. I’ve been so focused on my goals since the age of 19, I’m 31 years now and still going strong. All of the risk i took in my lifetime had meaning to them, As an Engineer/Creative I’ve Strategized most of my life. The best part about this is when your vision actually play out the way you planned. Read more>>

Dreama Walton

A little over two years ago the cofounder of a meal bar that was sponsoring me reached out to me. His name is Corey and he is the cofounder of sans meal bar and he asked if I would be interested in meeting to Filmmaker’s out of Denver. We talked about not really knowing exactly what they had in mind, but he asked if I would be willing to talk to them for a bit, so he arranged a zoom call and we just started chatting, the Filmmaker’s asked me about my running why people would choose to do such a thing and where I get my motivation from. In learning more about me the decided that if I were willing to work with them, they would like to do a 10 to 12 minute short film… I didn’t really think about it much because I thought it’s just 10 to 12 minutes so what harm could be done? I can bought it would be mostly about my running. But my running story begins a long time ago, my motivations reach back in the past to my sister and they knew that. Read more>>

Penelope Robin

For as long as I can remember my life has revolved around music. My dad is a music producer and I used to fall asleep in the recording studio with loud dance beats bouncing around in my head mysteriously becoming my form of comfort and meditation. At age seven I recorded my first song after much persistence, even though I think my dad would describe it more like I drove him crazy. I wanted to do what I watched every day through that studio window. I wanted to sing and write amazing songs, and so it happened. At the early age of seven I began a musical career journey that took me all the way to performing in theme parks all throughout the United States, summer camps, girl scout clubs, and festivals. Read more>>