The chapters in our stories are often marked by wins and losses. Getting a new job, getting fired. Getting a life-threatening medical diagnosis, beating it and getting a clean bill of health. Too often, due to a societal expectation of modesty and humility we are discouraged from talking about the risks we’ve taken that led to those ups and downs – because often those risks draw attention to how we are responsible for the outcomes – positive or negative. But those risks matter. Those stories matter. We asked some brilliant entrepreneurs, artists, creatives, and leaders to tell us those stories – the stories of the risks they’ve taken, and we’ve shared them with you below.
Lydia Rose
When I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a professional singer, I knew that I had to take a big risk and step out of my comfort zone. Leaving my home in Australia at the age of 18 and moving abroad to try to make it in the music industry was a huge leap of faith, but I was determined to make it work. Read more>>
Katie Shipley
I’ve always enjoyed my job as a physical therapist. I started with adults and worked my way to pediatrics (which is where I always knew I wanted to be). I landed my dream job at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. It was a wonderful place to work- I loved my co-workers and patients. It was even here that I realized my deepest love as a PT was to work with babies (especially in the NICU). However, the job was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting. Read more>>
jesse anderson
I dropped out of college and moved across country with a couple week notice to work in media and learn as much as I could about outdoor marking. After doing this for a few months I decided to do it myself and move back to Michigan and start my own businesses. I learned that the best teacher is experience so I needed to just do it and learn as I go. Leaving College when everyone told me not to and thought it was a bad idea was gonna be risky. Then moving across country alone with no family or friends near me just to make it work for myself was a huge unknown risk for me to take. Read more>>
Zahmere Price
At this point of my journey I was about 3 years in and probably in 5 or 6 locations. I was working my way to Florida, so I called a eye doctor in Jacksonville and pitched as I usually do and to sum up the conversation It went something like this. His response to me was “Listen I don’t want to waste your time, so I’m not guaranteeing that we’ll be bring the brand in, But I’ll take a look at them. Read more>>
Fernando Flores
We all have surviving instincts. Some of them mating us out of risk. But sometimes, being out of risk means to be brave and TAKE A RISK. In other words, sometimes you have to go through, so you can get out. For me, my biggest risk was to have the courage to do what I truly love doing: Audiovisuals. Storytelling. I always like to think that I’m capable of doing whatever I want to. If I wanted to, I could’ve been a doctor, lawyer, athlete etc. At the end of the day, I chose this path. Read more>>
Julie Hinson
I have never been risk adverse, as a kid I was always the first one to jump, climb to the highest branch, leave the highway to venture on backroads and into quiet places, this has been no different with my professional life. During the height of the pandemic in 2020 I had just lost my restaurant job and was working out of a tiny shared studio space with another maker. Read more>>
ArchxAngel .
What would you lose to become all that you believe you are worthy to be?
On the journey, there are many risks with great rewards. There are losses with failures but what if you only had to lose just enough to take the risk to have it all? What if you lost but still got back up again? How many great risks achieved wins would eventually outweigh the losses? Read more>>
Peezyandlala
“Since day one we knew the path we chose wouldn’t be a walk in the park. We went from grinding a 9-5 to spending countless nights in the studio. Our environment wasn’t always supportive, and we faced doubts and criticism from family and friends. People would ask, ‘You still doing that little music thing?’ It weighed on us, but we turned it into fuel to keep pushing forward. Read more>>
Tatiana Castrillon
Becoming a business owner has been the biggest risk I’ve had to take! You really don’t know how much work, sacrifice and time it actually takes until you start. Like most people, COVID allowed me to explore things in my life that I otherwise would not have had the time for. This is when my photography journey began. I picked up a camera and just starting shooting everything that my eye could catch. Read more>>
Jasmin Galloway
Becoming an entrepreneur has been a great experience with rough patches in between like anything else in life . I took a risk knowing that I had to fund my business using my own money because of not having the proper resources or information on building a business with capital funding and business credit . So I’m essence , I lost a lot financially building this business but I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and experience with it as well . Read more>>
Leslie Ligon
The family motto my husband and I shared with our sons is, “Be bold and brave.” (Followed closely by, “Brave or stupid,” which we yell in a Monty Python style delivery, and often includes sledgehammers and pry bars … lol) All of life is bound, if you’re fortunate, to provide risk-taking times, but life-changing experiences (a break-in while I was home, and 10 days later, a house fire in my parents’ house when I was staying there recovering from the break-in) in my late 20s, Read more>>
Jasyn Turley
The risk I took was when I decided to go the Self-Publishing route. You see more if not everything falls on the Indie Author when doing this: format, professional edit, cover design, etcetera. Yes, these things can be commissioned to other parties. I do not know what costs come from going the traditional publishing route, I am sure they exist. I can only speak from my experience as an indie author. Read more>>
Sondra King
Taking a risk is doing something that’s not in your favor. Overcoming fear, obstacles, having faith, trusting your gut instinct, confidence in yourself, and fighting through your own thoughts or insecurities. When I started my smoothie business, I took a risk in my own vision. I decided to share my passion and love of nutrition, health, and wellness with no prior entrepreneurship background. I simply believed in my vision and knew that I had a purpose to be fulfilled. Read more>>
Sahar Shalash
Taking charge – I took charge of my dream and manifested it against statistical odds. Opening LRG Realty was a risk that family and friends warned me against. They pushed back saying I was to young, not enough experience, but it was my dream all along and I took charge of it. Now it’s a reality. Read more>>
Christina Paluszek-McClure
Becoming a full-time jewelry artist was a life-changing risk. I had been working for various companies in the music and entertainment industry for about a decade in marketing, public relations, and promotions. Making jewelry was something I taught myself how to do with a some trial and error. I did it on the side for fun and because I wanted to wear jewelry that was different and not being worn by everyone else. In my last year of working in the music and entertainment industry, I was beginning to feel burnt out and started looking at other options. Read more>>
J R Lyle
There are risks associated with everything. The investment of financial resources and personal time are a huge venture for which you may not see a true profit. Not knowing if there will ever be a return on investment is a risk I had to contend with. For me, it was important to continue the journey into the unknown, creating strategies to fund the path I had chosen. I needed to answer the question, will you be ok with yourself if you never try to pursue responsibly the thing you’ve always dreamed about. Read more>>
Casey Derhak
The biggest risk that I have taken in my life is deciding to live my life the way that I want to live it. Not letting society norms play a huge factor into my decision making. Making decisions based on what I want and not out of fear. You could go all the way back to 2011 when I decided to move to Nashville and leave my family and friends and life I had in Florida. Read more>>
Adam Barkett
I actually began my professional career in healthcare as a registered nurse; I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree from the University of South Florida in 2010 and worked about 3 years doing bedside nursing on a Progressive Care (Telemetry) Unit. When an opportunity came for me to transition from performing bedside care to working behind the scenes in Information Technology (IT) in healthcare, I seized it as there was a need for people like myself in healthcare who could work with computers, Read more>>
LUCIANO AGUILAR
May 2004, I was the lead dog handler for any Air Force One missions that could have come up over this particular weekend. My kennel master approached me and said, “Listen, I just got the updated schedule, it’s going to be a quiet weekend. You will attend this dog training seminar and report back to us your thoughts and what you learned.” At first, like anyone else would be, I was annoyed and thought to myself, “Great, more work!” Read more>>
Rosie
Fun Fact: It;s never too late! Learned to podcast at 57. I’m 60 and in loving it! Through podcasting, I found a powerful platform to inspire and empower others, proving that age is never a barrier to pursuing new passions. I embraced the journey and fell in love with the process, as it allowed me to contribute to a more inclusive and equitable world. Read more>>
Artist Plott
Deciding to start your own business is always scary, but once you take the time to do a little research you see it’s not that scary after all. I have close friends who are years ahead of me in their businesses. It’s not about waiting till the right time, it’s about choosing your own path. You can spend years waiting for “the right moment” but eventually you have to do it. So you might as well go ahead and DO IT. Read more>>
Romeo Johnson
Growing up I have always been the risk taker of the family so I grasped the idea of consequences very early on. I have incurred many scars and bruises from jumping off of things and pushing the limits. I recall a time that I failed to mention that I could not swim but wanted to be with all of my friends at the pool at the after school program. While sitting on the edge of the pool someone ran by and pushed me in and the lifeguard had to pull me out. To this day I don’t trust people running around by a pool and I still am not comfortable in the water. Read more>>
Michael Bauer
Growing up I have always been the risk taker of the family so I grasped the idea of consequences very early on. I have incurred many scars and bruises from jumping off of things and pushing the limits. I recall a time that I failed to mention that I could not swim but wanted to be with all of my friends at the pool at the after school program. While sitting on the edge of the pool someone ran by and pushed me in and the lifeguard had to pull me out. To this day I don’t trust people running around by a pool and I still am not comfortable in the water. Read more>>
Melanie Inman
Our biggest risk with BHC was jumping from a career position to a brand new business owner! My husband and I both have healthcare career jobs that we went to college for. When we started BHC, I never, ever imagined that I would leave behind a career that I dreamed of since high school and have a college degree for. I managed to carry out both jobs- one in dental hygiene and one as a new entrepreneur in screen printing for just over 1 year. Read more>>
Auburn McCormick
I left Nashville behind! The music scene in Nashville came to a halt along with everything else in early 2020. During that time I struggled a lot with my creativity and purpose in music. I wasn’t feeling inspired or joyful when it came to writing or performing. I took a hard look at what living in Nashville for the past 8 years had gotten me…and to be honest I wasn’t impressed. I was performing the same gigs, at the same places, for the same people, for no money, and it was getting me nowhere. Read more>>
Om Patel
Taking risks can be frightening, especially when your mind is telling you that failure is more likely than success. However, it’s the truly brave individuals who disregard those negative thoughts and take the leap of faith anyway. These people understand that the road to success is never straight and may involve veering off course a few times before reaching the destination. Read more>>
Valerie Cook
I recently took the risk of rebranding my company. This included a small name change, logo and color scheme change, and target audience adjustment. I wanted to cater more to the alternative crowd for weddings, elopements, family sessions, and events. Not many people edit to my style, which I call “True to Color Moody”. I am not the light and airy photographer. I like to be able to discern between a window and a dress. Read more>>
Finess Jewelz
I had my own barbershop. I let it go so I could fully invest in my music. It was a big sacrifice but I was going to let anything hold me back from pursuing my dreams Read more>>
Ally Heiden
Growing up, the life path that was laid in front of me always included a four year degree at a college or university. Once I graduated high school I went to my community college in my hometown with no for sure plan of what I truly wanted to do. I always had esthetics in the back of my mind but was never sure if I could make a career out of it. Read more>>
Andy Suarez
It was 2016 after being at my previous job working 40+ hours weekly and running to my evening job just to make enough money as a chef. I decided to use my vacation time and sick pay which my job was never happy about when I left since they enjoyed working me until anxiety kicked in. I finally decided it was time for a change and bought myself a ticket to visit friends in Sweden. Read more>>
WhoDat Boyz
Demario : 2023 Opened a new chapter for us to stretch our creativity to new lengths as we really launched into our DJ careers, our stance as just podcast personalities into acting and comedy sketches. Also we are working on an undisclosed website project that will be ready to launch soon that should effect the event industry in Tennessee. Read more>>
Mikaila Murphy
Growing up I always knew I wanted to move to LA and work in the entertainment industry, I started dancing when I was 3 years old and that to this day has been my greatest passion. I knew I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. The only problem is, dancers don’t make money and they are taken as rage of every day both monetarily and physically. I knew in order to be happy, I needed to find. Read more>>
Jessica Carranza
I feel life is full of opportunities and sometimes we just need to go for it. I’ts important to always challenge yourself and the most important to believe in you. Sometimes things might not come out as we planned and thats okay!
What is not okay is giving up I always live this phrase from one of the movies of jean claude van damme because my parents and I used to watch them all. And this phrase was “retroceder nunca, rendirse Jamás” and that I always keep in my mind. Read more>>
Angela Lightsey
Creating and building Tybee Wellness Retreats was the biggest risk I have taken professionally. I was not certain that it would work, that I could build an incredible team or that I was capable of learning all of the ins & outs of owning a small business. The idea for immersive yoga retreats came to me during COVID lockdown #1. I was simultaneously going through a divorce and I knew that I wanted to build something for myself and my daughter. A business where I could help others, fill my own cup & be present every afternoon at school pick up. Read more>>
Mykeisha Ross
Taking Risk- Who told you that you Qualified? Many times in the world. We just want a chance in life. A chance to be the change we wish to see.Chance at Freedom and not to be caged. So, for me I always asked myself what can I do to help my community and my family. Read more>>
Nathalie Gonthier
I’d want to say that living life is a contant mesuring of risks, affecting our daily desicions, for the short or the long term. Life is a risk. Moving to another country with no plan. Having a child. Changing career. Risk is an engine, a motivation, a way to mesure every day’s life moment, encounter, decision, etc. Risk is good, risk is scary. Talking to people is a risk, a risk to please them or offend them, a risk to make a friend or an enemy or fall in love. Read more>>
Antoine Baynes
At the age of twenty three I took one of the biggest risk of my life at that time. My oldest daughter was only about eight months old. Here I am working two jobs just to provide and survive. I was working in the medical field as an advisor and counselor for healthy sex practices. We would also administer free H.I.V testing to anyone that wants to know their status. While doing that I also worked at Sam’s club as a part time photo technician in the photo lab. Read more>>
Undying Faith
In 2019, John Yang, wrote the script for episode one of Undying Faith. Although fictional, the show showcases a world where two characters, Lydia Johnson and Joanna Williams, must live life in a world without freedom of religion. Anyone in the entertainment industry will say making movies is a high risk. Read more>>
Jimmy Clare
When I started CrazyFitnessGuy it was a big risk because I didn’t know if people would read content from an Autistic point of view. I also did not know anything about public relations (PR) for marketing, social media marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) and I had no idea how to create a website. Read more>>