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.

Jasmine Cruz

I took a risk after a major life event in my own personal relationship. Instead of allowing my experiences to destroy me and my relationship. I decided to turn it into my biggest flex. Read more>>

Amelia Joyce

The risks I’ve taken in my life are hard to narrow down! It depends on one’s definition of “taking a risk.” From a very young age as an artist my way of doing things has been, at the very least, unconventional. Read more>>

Ebony Cooper

After 5 years of working on the best job I’d ever had, I’d reached my mental ceiling of the capability to continue. All of the hard work had been done and things were running on autopilot. Although, I had plenty of freedom, I was not being micromanaged at all, and the work was so easy that I could do it in my sleep, i literally cried everyday. Read more>>

Nikki Velasco

The scariest and bravest thing I have ever done was going all in on my dreams and taking a chance on myself. When I first started my coaching business in late 2020 I was working a full time corporate job. I was seeing one on one coaching clients in the evenings when I got home from work and I absolutely loved everything about it.  Read more>>

Tania Friedlander

As a leadership coach, I often tell my clients that growth happens outside of our comfort zone. My journey is a testament to this philosophy, filled with calculated risks that have shaped my personal and professional life. In life and business, some of the most rewarding outcomes stem from well-calculated risks. For me, it was how I approached one of life’s most significant decisions: marriage. Read more>> 

Oscar Emmanuel Fabela

I took the biggest risk of my life when I decided to leave my incredibly lavish job working as an entertainer onboard Disney Cruise Line to move to California to pursue my master’s degree at UCLA. After receiving my BA at UNLV’s College of Fine Arts, I took many detours to eventually land the role of a lifetime: Entertainer on board Disney Cruise Line! I was performing nightly, traveling the world, living for free, and making quite the comfortable living. I was able to pay off all of my undergrad student debt, and thanks to the job, I even paid off my commercial debt.  Read more>>

ANA CAROLINA SANDOVAL

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my life was making the decision to move away from my home country in 2010. It was a huge, life-changing decision that shaped my journey in profound ways. At the time, I was feeling a mix of excitement and uncertainty about what the future held. Leaving behind the familiar comforts of home, my family, and friends was daunting, but I felt a strong pull to explore new opportunities and challenge myself in a different environment. Read more>>

Haezy

I think the way I’m naturally wired I never feared taking risks, even as a kid. In fact, I’ve always been daring enough and enjoy the thrill and rush of taking risks. Now as I grow older, I’ve become a little more fearful and worrisome about some things. But that’s obviously because I have more to lose. I’ve built so much for my life over the years and yet still feel like I have so much more to achieve and experience. Read more>>

Amy Gonzalez

While I have taken many risks in my life, or what I like to call, “leaps of faith,” changing careers completely at age 35 was by far the biggest risk. I was working for a wholesale supply company for almost 13 years. I started there as an administrative assistant and worked my way up to Operations Manager. I got to meet people and travel a lot, which I loved. Read more>>

Joshua Blevins

A year and a half ago, after 5 years of working at tattoo shops, I stepped out on my own and opened up my own private studio. This was a major shift in my career and something I had been aiming towards for a long time. However, I quickly learned that no matter how prepared you may think you are for business ownership, there are constant challenges one has to face in order to succeed as a business owner. Read more>>

Caroline Tochtcheva

I believe everyone, at least once in their life, can say, “I’ve taken a big risk.” However, they will only say it out loud when they feel safe and successful in what the risk entailed. Why? Because we only perceive something as a risk when it scares us. Looking back, I can proudly say that I’ve taken many risks. Some were failures, some were successes, but each one was a battle with myself, my doubts, and my insecurities. Read more>>

CERANDA

One of the biggest risks I have ever taken was moving to Los Angeles. It was 2021 just after the hard shock of COVID-19 and my best friend and I took a month-long trip from Austin, Texas to LA to network and find a place to maybe move to in the future. We had no idea when we left Texas that we would not be going back. That month we spent here changed everything for us and made it clear we needed to stay despite having existing rent obligations in another city. Read more>>

Chad Zaabadick

I grew up playing numerous contact sports and over the course of time I had may collisions and injuries. My mindset was to be tough and continue pushing forward in life just like you do with training. When I was 17, I had my first experience with chronic pain in my spine with a ruptured disc. By the time I was in my mid 20’s that spread into a dozen different areas of pain in my body. Read more>>

Michel Ramirez

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken in the past few years would be leaving my “9-5” job and transition fully into tattooing. This decision was a difficult one to make, more than anything because I was leaving financial stability behind for my passion. it was something that I was brewing in my head for months before actually taking the leap. I consulted with my family and friends, but in the end I needed to listen to myself. Read more>>

Pay Johnson Hutchinson

The Stiletto Talks LLC was a risk. I had no idea that creating an event for Black women would evolve. into a true safe space. I made a decision to just do it. We started with 13 attendees. Fast forward to 2024 and we have had over 500 and counting. Read more>>

Florencia conti

A Life of Risks For my 24th birthday, I decided to go skydiving. My friends and family could not understand why I’d take such a risk. Well, my whole life has been a series of risks. I was born in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. From day one, my life was at risk – I suffered from epilepsy. It was a literal risk just to live—I would faint uncontrollably and suffer from spasms. Read more>>

Don White

I decided to create my own business Agility Science LLC while I was working on a contract with a large contracting firm. Prior to this decision, I was always a W2 employee with company benefits, including health and wellness options for me and my family. My biggest fear was finding affordable health insurance and saving for retirement. When I made this decision, I already had a steady full-time client and was just promoted to coach an entire Business pillar of a fortune 5 company. Read more>>

Dr. Tamika Johnson

Some argue that taking risks requires facing danger and holding the belief that you’re shielded from harm. Throughout my life, I’ve experienced both. From a young age, I was encouraged to pursue higher education, establish a career, and eventually retire from that career path. As a result, I earned not just one, but four degrees. Read more>>

Josh Greene

Starting your filmmaking career is all about risk-taking. Starting your own film production company at age 22 is a risk. Having just graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Jack and I knew we needed to take risks in order to explore our potential. We felt that in order to continue being able to create our own projects, we needed to establish our own schedule.  Read more>>

Laura Grigoryan

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was opening Fix Me Up Medical Spa as a new nurse, at the start of the pandemic, right when the first stay-at-home order was issued. I launched the business all by myself, during a time when most people were closing their doors rather than starting something new. Read more>>

Maria Sanchez

Taking a risk by accepting the challenge of being the Mexican Consulate Health Window Coordinator because this is a program that covers the two states of North Carolina and South Carolina. The Health Window program focus in health promotion, disease prevention, education and empowers our community of immigrants how to navigate the healthcare system of America, Read more>>

Leo Cavada

Let’s start from the beginning, I firmly believe that taking risks is vital for a human being, without risks, you live an existence stuck inside a comfort zone that will never give you the chance to express yourself to the fullest and that will never give you the chance to feel alive! Read more>>

Jenn Gavin

Dog training is an unlicensed industry, and because of it, there is a wide variety in the both the caliber of services you will find in our industry and the foundation in evidence based approaches, you know, science backed stuff. While we have become the recognized leader of our field in our area and throughout the state, that doesn’t stop people who are still using outmoded approaches to animal behavior from loudly crying out that positive reinforcement is permissive, ineffective, or wrong. Read more>>

Ashriel Hber

Some days you wake up and decide to try a new brand of oatmilk creamer and you feel bold and powerful. Other days you get the calling out of no where to write a book, start a podcast, and take your life in a direction that still leaves you heaving in a paper bag in a corner. Read more>>

Kayln Bruington

I began working for other studios and I had been at several different places through out the years. Unfortunately, each place I had been never felt like “home”. Although, many of them were great, I couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. So I embarked on the biggest adventure of my life and started my own company. Although, it has not been easy running a business, making all the decisions, handling what life throws at you, creating a balance between work and personal, I would not trade it for a minute. Read more>>

Francesca Avitto and Kate Wnek

The biggest risk we both took with starting this business was leaving our old careers behind, knowing that we had a craving to follow our passion for creating fun, elevated versions of healthy, Plant Forward vegan dishes for our community. We both spent years honing our careers, we just knew the timing for this was right.  Read more>>

Sejal ($EJ) Kargal

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken is being vulnerable with my self-discovery and identity through my music. Being raised to view creative passions as only hobbies, following my passion was a significant leap. Managing everything independently, from production to promotion, is challenging but enriching. It was always a risk that I wouldn’t be taken seriously as I was only able to begin releasing music last year and what I make doesn’t fit into any other box or genre, but I believe in leaving a legacy of unique art and storytelling.  Read more>>

May Attar

One of the most significant risks I’ve taken in my life was leaving my home country, Lebanon, in 2006. I was evacuated after a massive military attack on Lebanon. I recall the treacherous 10-hour bus ride from Beirut to Syria, followed by a journey to Dubai. Although I was safe in Dubai, my heart remained in Beirut. Even 18 years later, I still grapple with the guilt of leaving behind friends, family, and everything I knew. Read more>>

NneNna Carr

The biggest risk I ever took was my leap into becoming a full-time entrepreneur. My entrepreneurial journey began after I abruptly left my 14-year Air Force career. When I first entered the Air Force, I honestly had no clue who I was or what I wanted to do. I just knew I had to do something that appeared successful. I joined in 2005 and stayed for 12 years only because I had no idea what else I could do. While still serving, I started my first business, an event planning company. Read more>>

Baili

I always knew there was more out there for me. I wasn’t sure what but even as a kid, my impulsivity turned out to be the biggest blessing. I would jump with no backup plan and would just hope my parachute would open… and I fell… a lot. But this fed my creativity in a way I wouldn’t have ever imagined. Read more>>