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.

D’asia Cobbins

I had to take a risk. I had to stop listening to people and letting people determine who I should be as a person or what I should do for the rest of my life. I thought what would be my last few moments of my life turned out to be the biggest turning point to my new journey. I started off being very depressed and being in religion for 21 years I decided to leave to become spiritual and never looked back. Once I was able to leave religion I was able to bring forth my spiritual abilities and provide those abilities into a side gig at home. A lot of people did not support what I did and thought I should have gotten a 9-5 job but my spirit said to trust the process, so I built myself up from scratch. Read more>>

Adinda Zoutman

I took a risk when I decided to make a book about my work, inspiration and crochet. I never made a book before and I never thought I’d ever do that. Initially I was approached by a Dutch publisher. But because I didn’t feel free to make my own creative choices when working with them, I decided to self-publish the book. It felt like an adventure, it was all new to me. I found a wonderful Dutch photographer ‘Duco de Vries’ and went with him to my favorite place where I often work in Spain. I also found a very good art director, Joyce Zethof, and together we made the book just the way I hoped it would become. It was a risk because financially it was quite a big investment, without knowing if the book would sell. But fortunately it sold well and was even translated in English. Read more>>

Tashira Sheftal

In late 2023, I found myself at a turning point in life. After spending 16 years at T-Mobile, I was part of the mass layoffs in August. It was a devastating blow, but it also gave me the chance to reflect on what I truly wanted. That’s when I decided to take a leap of faith and enroll in Chic Image Academy to pursue a lifelong passion for skincare and beauty. Read more>>

Kerri Chavez

Opening my business, Deep Breath Organizing, was a big risk. At the time, I didn’t have much extra money. I was a single mom, working full-time from home, attending school full-time, and caring for my toddler—all at once. Financially, we were stretched thin.

Still, I felt a calling to help those struggling to piece their lives back together after a loss. That’s how Deep Breath Organizing was born, with the mission: “We assist with organizational needs after the loss of a loved one.” Read more>>

Akasha Tiller

The riskiest thing that I have ever done in my life was in the end of August 2024, I essentially moved Across the country by myself at 20 years old to pursue modeling. I went through a spiritual journey where I was fasting during that month after I lost everything from my job ,to my future job, crash my car and was dealing with that. I went on a walk by Faith and not by sight and I was like OK let’s see what happens if I just go out here for seven days and I came out here stayed with my cousin for seven days and end up getting booked at the end of the week because it was Fashion Week . It was the craziest start to a new journey. Read more>>

Tessa Seibel

When my tech sales company went through layoffs, I had this pivotal moment where I thought, “Why not bet on myself?” and decided to leap into entrepreneurship. I started as a virtual assistant and social media manager, handling anything my clients needed, from content creation to copywriting. But deep down, I wanted more. I wanted to guide people through the “why” behind their social media and help them build strategies that felt intentional, not just trendy. So, I took the risk of pivoting into consulting about a year into my business, which was scary but so worth it. That shift was all about trusting myself and recognizing the value I could offer beyond just executing the actual content creation. Read more>>

Courtland Warren

After dedicating 20 years a company, I made the bold decision to step away and embark on a new path. This choice was driven by an inner voice urging me to pursue a life more aligned with my true self.

The journey began with deep self-reflection, where I assessed my core values, passions, and long-term aspirations. This introspection revealed that my current path no longer resonated with my authentic self, prompting the need for change. Read more>>

Kevin Estrada

I took the risk being in college and working at Pizza Hut / Olive garden to quit and go full time into real estate because I was forced to go to a recruitment class after a drunk night in Hollywood. Due to the risk I was able to build a team of realtors and get my loan officer license and buy multiple homes and grow my business. Read more>>

Julivia

After my near death experience, on January 16 2017 life presented me with two choices. Remain the same or evolve. The best way to explain this part of my life would be there was truly only one option, and that would be to evolve. The old Julivia was gone when that experience occurred. Did I try to revive her? Why, of course. I think anyone with human tendencies would have chosen the path of remaining the same however I was given something spiritually to help me sustain. I went through ptsd and depression for 8 months. Leading up to my suicide attempt that by the grace of God I survived on October 30, 2017. Read more>>

Jemara Mccoy

On January 22, 2024, I was discharged from the United States Air Force, bringing an almost decade-long career as an Aircraft Armament Technician to an end. Like many, the COVID-19 pandemic changed my world, and I found myself battling dependencies on alcohol and marijuana, along with severe depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. In September 2022, I met my precipice, after being convicted of a DUI in a UK magistrates’ court. Things only got worse when, in June 2023, I was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for driving with a suspended license. Read more>>

Nykky Hex

I would say the biggest risk I have taken is deciding to be uncompromising in art and what I want to do to express it. In general being a trans artist in the scene brings it’s own expectations and stigmas when it comes to doing “drag” and presenting in a non-traditionally feminine way. When I first started coming out I felt a lot of pressure to make myself as palatable as possible while still trying to keep my own artistic integrity but then I realized just by doing that I was not holding my integrity with my art and that if people were going to like or dislike it then it would be on my terms and for me. Being labeled as an alternative drag queen you kind of have to accept that you will miss out on bookings or not be taken seriously but art, for me, is all about expressing myself in it’s most authentic way and I learned to stay true to that I had to take the risk of potentially my career. Read more>>

Brittany Piacenza

Starting my travel page was one of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken, and it completely shifted the trajectory of my life. At the time, I was working full-time as a special education teacher—a career I’m deeply passionate about and have no intentions of leaving. Balancing my growing platform while continuing to educate children has been a challenge, but it’s also been incredibly rewarding. Read more>>

Rebecca Simon

I took a big risk when I decided to leave college and pursue something completely different—esthetics. I had started college with the idea that it was the right path for me, but as time went on, I realized that it didn’t align with my passions. After deciding to leave school, I found myself more interested in skincare and beauty, so I made the tough decision to leave college behind and use my savings to enroll in esthetician school. It felt like a huge gamble because I was giving up the “safe” route everyone expected, but it turned out to be the best choice I could’ve made. Read more>>

Claire Sanguedolce

So often in life, our feelings urge us to play it safe. To choose the next step that feels the most comfortable, appears to be the least risky, and seems to promise the quickest relief from difficult experiences. The human part of me is quite familiar with the seductive, often urgent, pull of avoidance. The therapist part of me also understands that avoidance is very thing that creates, maintains, and escalates suffering, particularly in the long-term. Therefore, I try to approach problems with compassion for my knee-jerk desire to dodge pain, as well as awareness of the paradoxical nature of avoidance and courage to use my values as a compass for determining what’s next. Read more>>

Katherine & Cesar Evander

We decided to take a risk and explore the idea of creating beautiful jewelry with intentional design. We wanted our jewelry to tell stories and create new stories with its user on the adventures taken together. We went all in on Evander Jewelry and it has been a fulfilling journey from our first creation, Lovebirds, to the next story yet untold. Taking risk is a challenging journey because there is no map with directions, it becomes a journey of trial and error, however once you find your footing it becomes a rewarding experience. Read more>>

Sierra Thomas

In 2015, I was at what many would call a stable point in my life. I worked in corporate accounting, a job that provided financial security and a predictable routine. But deep down, I felt a persistent tug—a feeling that I was meant for something greater, something I could call my own. Despite the benefits, I couldn’t shake the sense of being unfulfilled. Read more>>

Zoot Zonouzi

Risks can make or break life. It’s always been important to me to weigh the risk to reward ratio for everything I do because sometimes the risk is just not worth the reward regardless of how much the odds are in your favor. Between leaving everything behind and coming to America In 2014 and quitting my engineering job in 2020 to pursue music full time, I. think the risk I took later in life in 2020 put more pressure on me because it would also help define the outcome of the first risk I took by coming to the United States. I received an internship at 16 to work at a wiring harness company on the production floor in the assembly line. Read more>>

Nataly Alvarez

I’ve decided to start my own press on nail business! As a lover of all things art and creative, I feel it is what is perfect for me. I’ve been in the fashion industry for years now and I loved being around style and trends , but I now see how that industry no longer aligns with me. I am currently a full time mom and I’ve been soaking up every minute of it. I’ve been very busy with my almost one year old that I hadn’t been able to check in with myself and what I would want to do with my career moving forward. Going back into a workplace and leaving my daughter for a job I don’t love is simply not an option. I wanted to figure out what I could do that I would enjoy and hopefully bring in some extra money for my family. Read more>>

Robyn Stimac

Honestly, the entire past two years has been a risk!

It all started in March of 2021. That was when I lost my job of 20 years. The only job I had ever had…I was a Promotion Manager at a major record label and the prospect of finding a similar job in the music industry, now that I was in my 40’s, was bleak to put it lightly. Read more>>

Yolunda Hopps

In May of 2021, I took a huge risk by leaving my full time job as a Special Education Teacher to start not one but TWO businesses!! It was around the time of the pandemic that I was looking to make a return back to teaching high school after being at a K-8 school for 5 years. All of my prior attempts had failed but I finally landed a position. It seemed perfect! I was making more money & I didn’t have the same level of responsibility I’d had with my last position as a Department Chair. The downside was that the job bored me out of my mind. Teachers sign contracts for the following year in the Spring before summer break. Read more>>

The journey of Creators Unplugged has been one of challenges and triumphs—but mostly triumphs! Early on, we faced the task of spreading the word and earning the trust of those attending our events. There was also the lingering uncertainty of whether enough people would show up for our first event. To our surprise, not only did we sell out, but we even had to turn people away. From that moment, it was all about growth. Read more>>

Maisy Leigh

My love for ideating and bringing ideas to life has always guided me, but taking the leap to pursue this passion full-time was the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. My heart was always drawn to design and storytelling. For years, I followed the safe path: earning my degree, landing a corporate job, and settling into the steady rhythm of nine-to-five life. But deep down, I felt like I was ignoring a part of myself—the creative side that constantly dreamed of making, sharing, and connecting. Read more>>

Daniel Zinn

I started producing commercial classical music concerts. Notoriously unprofitable business. Most people thought I was crazy, and I was losing quite a bit of money for a long time, but through perseverance, probably more stubbornness than brains, I made to the other side and am now the head of an unlikely successful concert series. Read more>>

Ashly Mccullough

For years I dreamed of head coaching my own basketball team. From 2015-2022, I worked as a juvenile corrections officer from 10pm-6am and I would coach during the day. In 2020 I jumped from being an assistant coach in high school to an assistant coach in college. It was a tough decision because it lead to me community more and spending more time away from my family. During my 2 years of coaching at Glendale College, I earned my masters degree. Earning my masters degree allowed me for to change professions into teaching after I left my career in law enforcement. Read more>>

Brooke Herzing

Risk-taking is never easy, especially when the stakes are high. For me, it meant uprooting my life, stepping into the unknown, and facing an onslaught of challenges head-on. After the birth of my daughter, Kasper, I realized how important it was to live authentically and pursue what mattered most to me. Becoming a mother shifted my perspective and gave me the courage to chase a goal I had held close to my heart for years: earning a master’s degree in fine art. Read more>>

Sean Chuma

I suppose this is the best question for a guy like me. I take risks every day. I jump off of things, only to trust that a parachute will open and set me down safely on the ground. Why do I do this? I love the feeling of being in harmony with gravity. Don’t get me wrong, I would love anti gravity, but gravity is amazing because it is a very strong force that keeps us connected physically, and possibly in other ways, to our amazing planet. You don’t feel that attraction power so much when you are standing on the ground, but it is very apparent when you jump or fall off of something because you plummet toward the earth. Read more>>

Stephanie Bell

The Edge of Art and Life: A Journey Beyond Fear

There was a time in my life when devastation cast a shadow over everything. I couldn’t see a way forward, couldn’t fathom how to untangle the overwhelming mess before me. I had been taught, like so many of us, to fear moments like these. Fear whispers in your ear, warning you to shield yourself, to retreat into safety, to avoid pain at all costs. And so, like anyone conditioned by fear, I tried to minimize risk, to defend myself against the hurt that seemed inevitable. Read more>>

Chris “mo” Mochinski

As a teenager, I was immersed in rock and roll as well as technology – both very much subsequent to my dad insisting that I chase interests with eagerness and excellence. These were always the two things I wanted to do, but never in a million years thought I could pull either off as a “career.” Read more>>