You’re working hard, things are going well, piece by piece you’ve built a life you are proud of, you’ve overcome obstacles and challenges, beat the odds and then you find yourself at the center of an unexpected dilemma – do you risk it all to keep growing? What if growing means leaving the job you worked so hard to get or the industry you worked so hard to break into? How we approach risk often has a huge bearing on our journey and so we’ve asked some of the brightest folks we know to share stories of risks they’ve taken.

Max Williams

Currently I am just finished editing a short Virtual Reality experience. It is a fictionalized drama of two individuals having a conversation on a park bench. It says everything I have ever wanted to get across from my bones about oneness. It has been 14 years in the making. Shot four years ago. There are those who do not understand the story. It makes them uncomfortable. I am fine with uncomfortable. I respect it as an avenue of evolution. A little uncomfortable can go a long way! Read more>>

Dionne Webster-cox

I took a risk on one of my career’s most significant and challenging fights when I stood up against Abbott Laboratories. This $200 billion company manufactures Similac, Alimentum, and Elecare baby formulas. Families from New York City, Chicago, Mississippi, Texas, Ohio, and Michigan came to me with heartbreaking stories—many had babies who suffered from bacterial infections, skin lesions, hair loss, and digestive issues. They endured constant hospital visits, bewildering medical professionals, and desperate attempts Read more>>

Heather Bush

My biggest business risk was acquiring my business in the first place. I was in my 40s, savoring the sweet freedom of empty nesting with a leisurely routine of volunteer work, tennis, and good company. Out of the blue, the original owner approached me….I was a Foundation Member and he was looking to sell. Sure, I had some business owner experience, but this was a completely different industry, and the idea of plunging into the unknown was more than a little daunting. Read more>>

Erik Chan

focus full time on music and art. Being known and respected for my knowledge, expertise and achievements in my former career of 16 years was a prominent part of my identity. During my tenure, I had established successful medical marijuana dispensaries, was the first in Orange County, CA to receive a business license for medical marijuana, and had written and published an industry white paper. I had invented, filed for and been granted two utility patents on cannabis peripherals (US 9,730,554 B2 and US 9,888,721 B2), commercialized a cannabis accessories storage container with detachable grinder called the Grumbler (MyGrumbler.com), and launched the Cannabis Regulation impact Study Program, known in local city government circles as CRISP – a policy reform platform developed from the culmination of my experience that focused on community considerate reform and commercial integration. Read more>>

Kualani Kennedy

In 2021, during the pandemic, I was still living in Bolinas, CA, and it occurred to me that I had to buy land for myself. I must follow this path toward land stewardship, growing food, and cooking for people. But this time, I had to do it on my terms. I bought a 10-acre ranch in northern New Mexico and took a massive leap of faith. I moved the horses and myself to a remote valley at the foothills of the Sangre Cristo mountains outside a small town. It was rough; the Aframe needed work, the roads were sometimes impassable, the snow was insane, and I was alone with my horses and newly acquired three Great Pyrenees. I tried to find work as a chef in this small town, as an executive chef for a mountain home Community Lodge, but I quickly realized it was like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole. I had no other choice but to go back to what I knew. I hired a friend to watch my ranch and animals, and I took off for a year traveling as a private chef. I went from coast to coast back and forth, working for six different clients as a fill-in chef and temp chef, and did special family reunions for long-term clients and last-minute gigs. Read more>>

Veronika Vidal

My life changing risk started when I decided to finish my relationship, to stay in the united states without family or any support, when this led me to loose everything, as I went through divorce and bankruptcy and finally lost myself in a spiritual journey. One day I decided that I have to find myself again. I walked out of my “spiritual family” house with 170$ in my pocket and 1 suitcase. I had no home and no family to go to. Today I’m building my business in new wonderful relationship, loving my life fully Read more>>

Anton Church

Taking a risk is synonymous with being a freelance artist. Making a living by working project to project can be a scary thing. But not taking that risk can deny you a world of opportunity. Our industry is unlike any other. It can introduce us to some of the most incredible people and take us to some of the most exotic places. After finishing film school, I was lucky enough to land a job with a production company. Things were safe but something always felt missing. It wasn’t until I decided to go freelance that everything started to open up for me. Read more>>