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.

Anqi Liu

Life is about uncertainties. Within the mist of unpredictability, one who always takes a risk to travel to unknown territories owns multifaceted experiences. I feel this is essential to a living being- to experience, feel, and still believe in and love something. I often choose to follow my intuition, even though the reality or circumstances taught me there is a risk by picking certain paths. I told myself, then so what? It is an experience, and what happened in the journey became part of you, pictured who you are, were marks of your existence, even though you are such a tiny and ephemeral, fleeting dust in the universe. Read more>>

Melissa Lucien

Being a first generation immigrant comes with many expectations and a lot of pressure. Moving to the United States from Haiti, I found myself stuck in between trying to understand the educational system and not disappointing those who believed in me. I kept my head down and followed the path that was set for me and of course that is going to school to become a medical doctor. I lived with extreme anxiety and migraines for over 3 years; Read more>>

Ángel Ángel

One of the most important decisions we have decided to make in our professional life has been to undertake our personal projects and dedicate ourselves full time to each one of them. I know that at the beginning there are many questions about whether it is a good idea to give up a secure job, but in our case, the need to feel free, autonomous and wanting to forge our ideals, allowed us to do so with confidence and security. Really, the risk is everywhere and in any circumstance, we made a decision based on the plans and objectives that we wanted for our lives. Read more>>

SADBOYMUSIC

The biggest risk ever took was believing in myself as an Artist, Creative Directer, Producer, Investor and Engineer. When it came to curating my sound and image I really bet on myself. Being as pure and honest to the creative process, nothing has been forced everything has felt organic. So when you see the SADBOY brand anywhere else you think of me. Read more>>

Yulia Gasio

As a child, I was discouraged to study arts by my parents as they argued that “art won’t pay my bills.” I have crossed the planet and came to the land of opportunities – the United States- by myself, when I was 21 years old, to make my dream to become an artist come true. However, I have received a tremendous support from the communities of Central and Southern California during this path. My wish is to return the favor and give the emerging generations the support they need to study the arts. Read more>>

Valery Jean-Bart

My mother was told not to have me due to hypertension issues but she took a risk almost 44 years ago. I’m a product of risk and it’s embedded in my DNA. In 2012, I took a risk to start Val’s Cheesecakes and never looked back. Read more>>

Krissy M.

I am a woman of security; I like to reassure myself that the table I am currently sitting at is set before preparing another. From the year 2016 until 2021 I was employed as a sales manager as well as jump starting my professional cosmetology career and producing Royal Knapps Loc studio. Within the second year of balancing both, is when I realized that being employed by others was not for me, so I decided to get out of my comfort zone and take the risk of becoming mainly focused on my career in cosmetology. Read more>>

Denton Art And Performance Collab

I’ve had the dream to be an event planner for many years, but it wasn’t until last summer when I decided it was time to just do it! I had already vended at many events in the DFW, so I was confident that I knew what I wanted out of an event. I’ve been involved with the art and music scene in Denton for the past 6 years, and have done my share of networking and building those important connections, along with making long lasting friendships. Read more>>

Brandy Stark

Most of my adult life has been divided between three major loves: education, art, and the study of the paranomral. They do overlap at times, though I sometimes find that I walk a fine line. After 10 years as an adjunct professor, I got my PhD and was finally offered a full time faculty position. Read more>>

Remington Fraser

Funny enough, I really enjoyed my career practicing law. Which is why no one really believed me when I said I’m going to quit my secure, well-paying job practicing law to start a company in the niche (and fairly young and untested) market of online luxury consignment. At the time, I was practicing corporate law – specializing in M&A and securities – at Buchalter law firm, working in their distinguished apparel practice group. Working in fashion and apparel was always my mission. Read more>>

Laura Hernandez

Many years ago, I decided to follow my heart’s desire. Deep in my heart, I knew there was a greater way to live life, a way to live without the pain I was holding in my heart, body, and soul. I took action on my suffering and decided to help others stop theirs. I am an engineer that decided to become a coach. So imagine how many times I was told how foul I was. Read more>>

Nicole Retchin

A recent “big risk” I took was when I purchased my own commercial kitchen in the beginning of 2021. Prior to this, I was renting different kitchens in the South Florida area for several years. Being a single mom with 2 kids, this was something that weighed on me but I knew the only way I was going to take my business to the next level, was to take the risk! It’s a lot of work but it is definitely paying off. I’m thankful for all the support I’ve received through the years and continue to do so. Read more>>

Malcom Rauch

Roughly around three years ago I was working a regular job with crazy hours, 4:30 AM to 4:30 PM sometimes even longer. Then I will come home and work on my craft or dedicate that time to my family. I’ve always pictured myself being my own boss so there would be some days at work where I had to reevaluate myself. Like is this really what I want to do, are you settling for less? The job paid well but again I never wanted to work for someone else. Read more>>

Jill Lefkowitz

Attending Art School is a risk unto itself. Parents usually tell their kids to have a Plan B when they major in Art. I told my parents that I was going to have two careers; one was to attend New York University as a Studio Art Major and the second career was as a Make-up Artist in Film and Television. This was a risky choice because both careers require a lot of work, talent and ambition. They did not tell me to have a Plan B, because they knew I could accomplish both goals. Read more>>

Lisa Seid

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was starting my own private therapy practice. I had been working for agencies in the not-for-profit mental health field for about 5 years. While, I loved serving the community, leadership, and helping my clients transform their lives, I found myself more unhappy and unbalanced in my life due to industry constraints. Read more>>

Keith Thomas

Leaving corporate America is not an easy task. I found myself in a management position after college working for a Fortune 100 company. I was making good money but I was not happy at all. I began to feel like I am making someone else’s dream come true by working 80 hours a week. I began to feel like if I invested this time into myself I could be successful. Read more>>

Jazimane Maryland

Let me tell you a story where I took a risk. Being a business owner is a hard job no lie especially if you do everything your self. When I say everything myself I’m the brains behind my business, I do the marketing, the posting, the ordering, the graphics and all. I want to build a team of course and have a assistant but I have a time finding like minded people like myself. The time I took a big risk was back in September 2021 I lost my job. Read more>>

Breana Turner

In the summer of 2021, I decided to take a leap of faith and compete for the job of a lifetime, Miss Virginia Volunteer. Miss Virginia Volunteer serves at the state preliminary pageant for The Miss Volunteer America Pageant organization, which was founded by Allison Demarcus, in Tennessee. This pageant focuses on a new way of empowering women through their volunteerism, scholarship, and uplifting and supporting their future endeavors. Read more>>

Isamar Rivera

Something I consider a risk is putting yourself out there. Putting your work,ideas, creation, and talents out to the public. I consider myself a creator . I create different things and can’t define myself with one category. I love to paint, write, share my experiences, make hair tutorials, cooking tutorials the list goes on. One day while I was looking for a remedy that my family has used since I can remember, I could not find the remedy on google. Read more>>

Lyonell Lee

It’s summer 2008 and I’d just graduated fall 2007. I was running out of money and unable to find a job in the area that would allow me to use my degree (Exercise Science/Kinesiology). This meant either the military or the naval shipyard (fun fact Norfolk Naval Shipyard is the largest shipyard in the WORLD….google it!) Running out of options, I decided to meet with an army recruiter, an air force recruiter as well as look up shipyard positions. Read more>>

Hermest Benoit

This question is difficult for me to answer. I think of risk as a function of the universe, unfortunately, risk in the human experience is deemed dangerous. But from a first principle perspective, all you are really doing is initiating a process. No real danger is associated with your risk-taking decisions. Think about it this way, do the cells in your body think about the risk associated with creating newer cells? No, of course not. It is simply just a task to complete in order to reach a larger outcome. People who fear taking risks just don’t have a clear understanding of what they value in life. So my biggest “risk” as of late, was answering the question this way. Read more>>

Tyler Joshua Green

Faith is risk taking. Ministry, activism, entrepreneurship all require the hope internally that offsets the hopelessness of this dark world. The word entrepreneur even means “person of faith.” It takes a great deal of faith to create, organize and produce anything innovative or creative. My ministry, rooted solely in my faith in God, has yielded opportunities in social justice activism, entrepreneurial endeavors and academic arenas. In other words, the faith incubated by the church has birthed opportunities to share that faith, hope and love with the larger world. Read more>>

Dr. Nancy Gaines-Dillard

Taking a risk, I’d say is not for everyone. Taking a risk means you must step outside your comfort zone and do something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do. I’d like to think of myself as a risk taker stepping outside my comfort zone being very uncomfortable but still confident in my capabilities and moving forward in life. The story is not so long ago I moved 3000 miles across the country on a faith-based intervention not knowing what state I was going to reside in, not knowing exactly what it was that I was going to do but I had this sense of urgency to move. Read more>>

Suellen Daniels

In 2010, in the middle of a new business venture in the commercial real estate sector, the market crashed and we lost the company. We had 3 days to figure it out before bills came due. We needed income NOW. While sending out hundreds of resumes we tapped back into skills we’d cultivated along the way and ended up between the two of us with 7 part time jobs. It was crazy. We tracked schedules with multi-colored post-it notes on the kitchen counter. Read more>>

Kendra Curtis

Back when I was working in retail, all I could think about was my creative business or “side hustle” with watercolor that I was enjoying. I began painting custom art for clients, building my library of work, and in any moment of spare time – I was painting. (Even during my lunch breaks!) When the shop I was working at closed due to my boss retiring, I had a choice to make. Either I’d apply for another retail job, or I could risk diving all my energy into developing my watercolor business. After much thought, I felt at peace about choosing what I was passionate about and knew I’d regret not trying it out. Read more>>

Brittany Georges

So I’m the woman who’s always looking for a new gig, a reason to start over, a BIG risk taker. I met someone and we were having a conversation and I stated I had three jobs. She was like what?! You can’t be serious if you can juggle 3 jobs, you can definitely build a career! I was given the opportunity to go to school and I took it and ran with it. Literally. Left everything behind and started a new life. I even quit all 3 jobs. I attended Beauty School and originally was only interested in ELECTROLOGY (permanent hair removal). In order to receive financial aid I had to a dual enrollment which I chose ESTHETICS. 6 months later, I’m graduating with TWO LICENSES. Less than a year my life changed before my eyes. Read more>>

Nathasha Vargas

Before COVID, I was practicing skin care and lash extensions at home while working at a waxing chain. It was great! I was getting some hands-on experience with facials so I could eventually work at a spa like I originally wanted to when I got my license, and I was learning a whole new skill with waxing. Then, COVID hit and we had to shut down at work, and I also had to close my doors. We went through a lot of opening and closing at my waxing job, but eventually things got better and we were staying open. Read more>>

Dr. Mari Mitrani

I had an “ahaaa” moment in 2020 when I read a quote from Stephen Jacobsen, “Progress is a process of making mistakes, so get started making mistakes faster.” Think about it, every single day we are presented with opportunities to make decisions, these decisions can either be “good” or “bad”. The good ones can be celebrated as successes, while bad ones are typically interpreted as bad, but in truth, they are not necessarily that bad. Read more>>

Trent Moya

So a time I took a huge risk is when I quit my 9-5 to work on my cake full time. I was the most scariest thing I’ve done. I was working at a restaurant and everything was fine but I was always late because I constantly had to drive around the city double cakes that I made prior to. One day I was standing at work and I told myself I could be at home working on my cakes instead of staying around and not doing anything so I stopped what I was doing looked up and say time to believe in myself. Read more>>