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.

Sami Sue Jones

Life has a funny way of surprising us when we least expect it. For me, the year 2023 has brought a whirlwind of change, loss, adventure, and the promise of new beginnings. Accepting a job as the Head of Education at Rudy’s Barbershop, relocating my entire life from Arizona to Seattle, Washington, and planning a destination wedding in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, all within the same year; involved taking calculated risks while also leaping into the unknown. In this article, I will share my journey of embracing change, seizing opportunities, and celebrating life’s most cherished moments. Read more>>

Kerwin Pittman

In 2018, I started my very own nonprofit called “Recidivism Reduction Educational Program Services” after being recently released from incarceration. As someone formally justice involved, and now justice impacted, I wanted to approach recidivism reduction from a social justice lens. Meaning looking at tangible problems funneling people into the criminal justice system, then providing and helping implement policy solutions to those problems. Read more>>

JAMES LAMBERT

Taking risks in art and education is hard to do but leads to more creative freedom. I always find that when my students are able to drift away from habits or a burden of concern about having things turn out right, that more personalized options emerge for their making. I do recognize that success and failure feel deeply personal, if the process gets depersonalized, the motive behind the effort gets hard to sustain. Read more>>

Jessica Valenzuela

I graduated from college and majored in accounting. After being an accountant for a few years I realized this isn’t something that makes me happy. I remember dreaming of becoming a wedding planner and never pursued it because I was told I needed to go to college and get a degree to get a high paid job. Yes, being an accountant was a well paid job. However, I wasn’t happy. Read more>>

Ryan Lengyel

“We learn more from our failures than we do from our successes.” Read more>>

Astreaux Guillotine

In spring 2023, I was contacted for the possibility of performing/emcee at a brand new hip hop club opening in Beijing, China. They said, “ it’s going to be 3 months under a work visa that can be extended to 6 months.” This immediately caught my interest. Read more>>

Anne-Marie Guery

The ability of taking risk has a central place in my career path. Before working abroad since 2015, I was running my own Tattoo shop in Paris. The business was good, and it was getting better everyday. But a part of me knew that it was not for me, I wanted to travel and discover new things. So many people tried to convince me to keep my shop and my life in France. Read more>>

Amie Barsky

Truthfully, I’ve been a risk taker my entire life. Moving out at 18, choosing a dance career at 19. Starting college at 21 when everyone else my age was graduating. Moving across the country (South Jersey to Southern California.) Working in the entertainment industry, traveling the world, building schools in 3rd world countries, starting a nonprofit, and shifting careers countless times. Perhaps I’m a humming bird at heart. Read more>>

Wren Sarrow

Anyone starting a new business is taking a risk. In the Financial industry, businesses are not often considered assets, they are expenses. When we were recently asked by our bank how much artHYPE was worth, I based it on the value of a small gallery that was recently sold, but that did not come close to including the value of the artwork we represent. Read more>>

Toni Weathers

After experiencing an unjust job loss, I faced the challenge of losing a 6 figure position and a stable place to live in one of the nation’s priciest cities. With no immediate family support nearby, I made the bold decision to bet on myself and dive into a career in art. Although I had reservations about my preparedness, I realized that I had poured a tremendous amount of time and effort into a company that viewed me solely as a statistic. Read more>>

Zach Matteson

Back when Invoke first formed in 2013, we spent many hours applying for every chamber music competition, residency, grant that we could get our hands on. At the time, you could have called Invoke a “straight ahead” string quartet; two violinists, a violist, and a cellist playing the standard repertoire by the greats like Beethoven, Mozart, etc. Read more>>

Kyam

When I first had the idea to create a podcast, it was just for me and my cousins. We always talked about sports and I wanted to bring that conversation to the world. I was pretty nervous about putting our opinions out for public consumption. I had my doubts about not being entertaining or just not covering topics people wanted to hear. Read more>>

Tabatha C. Whitten

In 2004 I decided to follow my heart and what some know as “The Call of God” for my life. I resigned from my secular job at the time which was my employment with Harris County Children’s Protective Services. I was employed with Community Youth Services Department…this was a specialized service that contracted social services to the community through the school districts in the Houston and surrounding areas. Read more>>

Paris Campeau

Wow. I think it is a series of risks that keep paying off, starting with me moving from the West Coast to the East Coast by myself, my dog, and a car full of my belongings. I had a full tank of gas and about $2000 to my name. I didn’t know anyone on the other side, nor did I have a job lined up or a stable place to live. Read more>>

Jazmaine Norris

When asked how I got into my career field, I always tell people it wasn’t on purpose. I was an educator prior to venturing off into the beauty industry. Leaving my safety net for a career I wasn’t too sure about was not apart of my agenda. I was so hesitant about leaving, that it took me 2 years before I actually said, ” Ok Jaz, what do we have to lose?’ Read more>>

Brad & Jenna Batchelder

Brad had the idea of buying land and starting a cattle business, much like what he lived on growing up. Our plan was different though, as we wanted to create a direct consumer product, selling sides and individual cuts of beef. It took us nearly three full years, but we finally found 118 acres just south of Belton, MO that we could envision starting our business and growing our family This was a huge risk for us, as we had just had our first child, and put every penny we had into the start of this farm. Read more>>

Marissa Hawkins

After working 7 years in corporate America in Pharmaceuticals. I decided to leave my secure job with good medical insurance, with 3 young kids in tow to step into the world of entrepreneurship all while my husband was building his real estate business. Read more>>

Edward Joseph

Back in December of 2022, I decided to take a leap of faith to pursue music full time. The decision weighed heavily on me, and I couldn’t help but think of the risks. How would I pay the bills? What if I failed in the competitive music industry? The list of questions go on.. Read more>>

Dr Lopamudra Das Roy

As a cancer research professor and principal investigator, I was absorbed in conducting high-end experiments in the laboratory, deciphering the targeted Cancer therapies. But, I would meet patients with Breast Cancer, narrating their stories of trauma, ignorant of the screening processes and symptoms, leading to their death. I would hear eye-opening instances, for example, “Wish I knew a painless lump I felt all along was cancer, then I wouldn’t have been diagnosed at end stage”; Read more>>

Juan Cordova

I was tattooing in my free time while working at the post office full time. I did that for a few years i always knew if i wanted to really show improvement in my skill set, I would have to quit the post office and work on my craft full time. It was always a move i was scared to make. The post office was a safe bet for me, a full time well paying government union job. Read more>>

Crystal Mallett

I often reflect on the pivotal moment when I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an Entrepreneur. Throughout my upbringing, the desire to work for myself was always a part of me, and my passion for hair styling had been a constant presence. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that these two worlds combined. I took the bold step of leaving my full-time corporate job to establish myself as a Business Owner. Read more>>

Kynedi Verrett

I still remember the crisp California air that day; it was a pivotal moment in my life. The September month of 2022, I was a new individual to San Diego, moving from Santa Barbara and previously Los Angeles (where I was raised). During this time in late 2022, I’d always been swimming upstream in the vast ocean of the music industry. Read more>>

Kendria Godair

The biggest risk I have taken, was not just a business risk but a life risk. It was picking up my family from all we had ever known and moving across the country from North Carolina to Phoenix, Arizona. During covid my brick and mortar store in North Carolina was shut down for a few months and I had time to reassess where I was in my business, was I still in tune with the way it was going or was it ultimately time for a change. Read more>>

Michael Jade

I have a special tab in my journal called “Is this something?” It’s where all my little ideas live, judgment-free. Ideas for movies, commercials, books, businesses, songs, inventions, video games, restaurant concepts, comedy sketches, museums, technology, space travel – I get to live 10,000 lives in this part of my journal. Read more>>

Jorge Martinez

Back in 2015 I was at a safe, salary based corporate job within hospitality. I was told by my friends & family that it was a “good” job. I absolutely unequivocally hated this job with a passion. Read more>>

Megan MacCutcheon

Recently, I decided to expand my practice and take two big steps — One, to hire clinicians to help support more moms in our community and two, to join forces with my pelvic floor PT friend to open a new space that will house both our practices as well as other small businesses who share our mission to support families during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. We took on a lease for a large space last month with the hopes of building a holistic and collaborative center that will be a one-stop shop for the clients we serve. Read more>>

Samantha Luis

Opening a Pilates studio during the COVID-19 pandemic was a journey filled with uncertainty, challenges, and ultimately, triumph. It was a dream I had nurtured for years, and despite the daunting circumstances, I decided to take the plunge. Here’s my story: Read more>>

Chad Tepley

I was 3 years into my first job after college, it was a great position in Chicago with a big company, steady pay, and nice benefits…it was a “safe” job, but I was working so many hours, grinding it out, staring endlessly at a computer, and the thought of climbing the corporate ladder was daunting. I felt stuck and I wasn’t truly happy. I’ve always had the entrepreneurial itch and I had big dreams of becoming a real estate developer… Read more>>

Ben Mosser

I wondered wether I was capable of starting and running a tattoo studio of my own for years. It was a huge financial risk to take the leap into working for myself, but it’s paid off well. I’m thankful to be able to work for myself and be free of toxic work environments and bosses. I enjoy being in control of my work life and would be in a much less fortunate position had I not taken that initial risk. Read more>>

Iman & Daniel Ikeda-Bibi

It’s 2020 and COVID smacks the world in the face. It’s everywhere. There are shutdowns, angry and sick people, lots of questions, and nothing to prepare us for what’s to come. I had just been laid of my job and I’m sitting there applying for jobs (for the too many-th time) and my heart’s just not in it. This time felt different. Read more>>

Saint Yocom

Like many people in 2020, I was laid off from my job because of the pandemic. I had only recently moved back to Los Angeles and I was living in a small four bedroom apartment with three roommates. My room was the smallest and could only really fit a bed and a dresser. With all of my new free time, I decided to take some classes through Santa Monica College. Read more>>

Steven Johnson

The biggest risk I took was towards the beginning of my journey making videos when I put all of my money into my camera and lighting equipment. At the time I was a senior in highschool and I had an old Cannon rebel T5 as my only camera and no lights. I wasn’t making any money off videos at the time, so I knew that doing this could backfire, but I also knew that I wanted to take my craft to the next level and that the only way to do that was to upgrade and to actually invest into myself. Read more>>

Indrani Desouza

I took a rather large risk many years ago, right around the time when I had finished with high school. I had been fully committed to dance from a fairly young age, and there came a time when it was time to decide if I would go to a college that I was accepted into or take the risk of going full time into the arts. There was a very reputable dance school in my hometown of Toronto called the Randolph Dance Theatre, one day they had an open audition for their scholarship program so I thought why the heck not! Read more>>

David Rodríguez Estrada

In the year 2004, I had just celebrated my sixteenth birthday, and I felt a strong sense of readiness, or so I believed, to embark on the pursuit of my dreams with unwavering determination. My dream, which had crystallized into a life-defining mission, revolved around a career in filmmaking. Read more>>

Anita C Powell, Msc.D.

It was in 1998. My twin daughters were Sophomores at a Michigan college and I left 19 years of employment ~ scared and on a wing and a prayer. No job, husband, boyfriend, savings, well except around $5,000. I had in a 401k account. Read more>>

Harp Gill

Taking the risk to go all in! Read more>>

Katlin Pacheco

My life changed in 5 days…. Read more>>

Eunice Weckesser

I have always been a creative and lover of fashion and art since I can remember. Being raised in an immigrant family stability was always a priority and the thought of pursuing a career in what I loved seemed impossible especially because my parents really shaped me and my choices as a teenager and young adult. I pursued a career in Nursing and have been working as a nurse for the past 15 years. Read more>>