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.

Jillian Corsie

My horror comedy short TOOTH is my first foray into narrative filmmaking and is a significant departure from my previous documentary work. The concept behind the film is unconventional to say the least – I used my baby teeth, gluing wires to them to create tooth puppets! I blended CG effects with practical effects and 2D animation, resulting in a strange and wacky stylistic film that certainly isn’t tailored for mainstream tastes. Read more>>

Mitchell Manburg

Before I moved to LA to attend a year of music school I told my voice teacher, Jefferson, all about my realistic plans and expectations. He smirked at me and said, “I don’t think you have a clue what to expect.” Sure enough, six months in I unexpectedly dropped out of school and was left clueless in Hollywood with my cheap guitar and student debt. Read more>>

Love White

Choosing to launch Love & Snow in 2016 was it’s own risk. Our hero product, The Restorative Hair and Scalp Serum, was a product I formulated in 2008 and had begun to have some success before the economic crash. After the economy went over a cliff, I decided to table it for what turned into 8 years. Following a devastating car accident in 2014 that lead to injuries I still manage remanence of today, I chose to bet on myself. Read more>>

Lauren Dreggors

In December 2017, seemingly out of the blue and with no actual experience, I told my parents that I wanted to be a film actor. It came as a bit of a shock to my mother, who was most likely having flashbacks to her eight-year-old daughter refusing to say any lines onstage during the elementary school Christmas play. That’s right, the girl who had near-debilitating stage fright as a kid suddenly decided she wanted to be an actor. With this in the back of her mind, I’m sure, my mother rightfully suggested that I audition for a play with my college theatre group, Mercer Theatre, before making this decision. Read more>>

Jackie Zykan

A little over a year ago, I decided to leave a very comfortable high profile corporate position to launch not only my own whiskey brand but also grow a perfume brand which I established a year prior. Being a single mom, this was understandably a major risk as it meant forfeiting any guarantees of income or benefits. While success in the whiskey industry seemed accessible given the name I had built for myself, the perfume industry was a completely different animal. And I was taking it on alone, as a one woman show, for every aspect of the business. Read more>>

Shannon McNiece

In a world that often emphasizes the importance of stability and security, sometimes we find ourselves faced with a choice that goes against the grain. A risk I took that changed my life for the better was quitting my job as a therapist without any concrete next steps lined up. To some, this may have seemed like a big mistake. No plan? No income!? But to me, it was the best decision I could have made at that time. Read more>>

Jessica Joines

Believing that the truth in my heart was more real than the one I was seeing. This sentence reflects a defining moment in my life. One that now shapes all moments. And is my driving philosophy in life. For most my life, my ego — the voice of fear in my mind that presents as the voice of reason — was my ‘go-to.’ I was aligned with it. I believed in it. Made the majority of life decisions based on what IT was saying. Read more>>

Melanie Klein

A tenure-track position in academia is the holy grail! I’d been diligently working toward that title as an adjunct professor for 15 years and loved my career, my students and the powerful experiences that went with the job. Eighteen months after I had been hired for that coveted position of tenure-track professor, I decided it was time to quit and open my coaching and consulting business full -time. As a single mother with the “ideal” job and security, this decision was incredibly risky and scary… but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was time to make a pivot. Read more>>

Meredith & Compton

In 2022 Compton and I got married and simultaneously launched our band Common Man. We weren’t sure what would really come from the band. but we both had previous music careers and knew we wanted to have a career in the arts as a team. We both had part time jobs, and would take gigs when we could while writing and rehearsing music. The next step in the process ended up being going on tour, but we had no connections, mangers, booking agents etc to utilize. Spring of 2023 we ended up teaming up with another local artist and booked our own tour across Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas. Read more>>

EDGAR RAE

I have always enjoyed the challenge….the challenge of what exactly did not really matter – If it was something difficult, frowned upon, or dangerous I was automatically drawn to it as if I had to conquer it to…well, just to know I could conquer it. This has made me a very competitive person, typically in a competition against myself and my own short comings. Read more>>

Cherrie McRae

Hi there, so glad to be here! Risks, an all-too familiar word for me as an artist. One major risk that comes to mind was moving from my native hometown of Miami, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia to pursue a better quality of life and creative lifestyle. As a young adult, single mother the stakes were undoubtedly raised when I picked up myself and my son’s entire life and relocated to a whole other state merely on the strength of a creative career either soaring or flopping. Read more>>

Sydney Noelle

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken? Quitting my full-time job as a middle school dance instructor last spring to work for myself as a yoga/meditation instructor. I turned my passion for yoga and movement wellness into an LLC in December and have been working for myself ever since. The journey has definitely not been easy – I had to have a hip labrum reconstruction surgery in May. It was completely unexpected – needless to say I took a hit financially given that I need my body to do my job. This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever been through and there were many times I felt discouraged. Read more>>