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.

Lauren Johnson

Taking risk is important for anything that truly matters if you want your dreams to come true. I took a risk when I bought my bus that is my current home. It flipped how I live life, in the best way. There are challenges in anything you choose to do in life. I knew that I wanted to create art and share my craft with others whiling seeing the world. I knew that getting this bus would give me that outlet to make this happen. I have learned the impact of having water, understanding how much I use. Knowing how to work on the bus. Read more>>

Candace Stallworth

In 2013, I began my career in mental health, driven by a deep desire to support individuals on their journey toward healing and stability. Over the years, I worked in various mental health roles, gaining experience in direct service, case management, and program coordination. The work was meaningful, but I always knew I wanted to do more—something that would leave a lasting impact on families and communities. Read more>>

Aki Kano

Taking on the role of President of the American Artists Professional League back in 2021 was a risk. When I became President, the organization had issues that needed to be resolved, even though it has been a reputable group since its founding in 1928. I took a leap by taking on this position. I didn’t know then if it would be my art career’s worst or best move. The fantastic thing is that the organization is doing so well now and has grown a lot over the last four years. It is a dynamic group, and along with the talented and dedicated board of directors, who are all also passionate and tireless volunteers, we constantly implement new initiatives, exhibitions, and ideas. Read more>>

Amanda

A big risk I took was starting my photography business. When I jumped in, I had zero experience—I truly embodied the “fake it till you make it” mindset. I had no idea how I was going to book clients, and as someone who has always been on the shy side, putting myself out there was terrifying. I didn’t even want people I knew to find out, so I created my original business name using a combination of mine and my husband’s middle names to stay “hidden.” I felt like the biggest imposter. Read more>>

Domino Spada

The first of these was moving to Berlin at the age of 22. When we feel an inner pull towards profound change, risk becomes a door that opens to new opportunities. I didn’t speak English, and I was in a completely new environment, but the urge to leave everything behind and reinvent myself somewhere else was too strong to ignore. I didn’t have a clear plan, only an inner drive to challenge myself. That decision allowed me to discover parts of myself I would never have known if I had stayed in my comfort zone, and it taught me that growth comes from embracing uncertainty. Read more>>

Christopher Hayes

After I went homeless, it was kind of do or die, I started hanging around studios doing photography for $25 a session and mini music videos around the place, all on the phone and I would crash on the couch of some of these places or just go sleep in my car, wasn’t a lot of money but getting to know everyone and always being around got me into my first internship with a studio, I learned a lot about music production, more than I ever did in school, and after a few months of hard work I started as an engineer with hex studios. Made good money off my sessions and was the first time it felt professional, Read more>>

Zarui Chopuryan

“Walk, and ye shall reach,” I reminded myself as I embarked on a journey that would redefine my life and career.

Growing up in the sun-kissed landscapes of Armenia, I was one of four children. Tragically, leukemia claimed my brother at the tender age of six, a loss that left an indelible mark on my soul. This profound event ignited a burning question: Could he have been saved? Seeking answers, I took a bold step, leaving my homeland to attend one of the USSR’s most prestigious medical schools in St. Petersburg. Read more>>

Francesca Rego

In 2016, at 17 years old, I graduated high school & cosmetology school at the same time thinking I had my life figured out. My plan was to be a hairstylist.

I was getting ready to be a full time stylist while my friends were going away to college. I always knew college was not for me. I was never into partying and I never liked school. However, other people’s opinions; friends, classmates, adults, teachers etc. all got in my head about being ‘just’ a hairstylist & not living up to the potential I could be. Read more>>

Alexis Sherry

I was working at a Hedge Fund I had a wonderful job in New York City but always had a passion for travel. I began booking travel for all employees with the company. Employees would ask for help in booking leisure trips for them as well. Friends and Family started asking me as well. It was then that I realized I can make this a job. I decided to quit my job and become a Travel Advisor. I took a huge risk leaving a big job to start my own business and Company. 11 Years later I could not be more proud of what I have created and built. Read more>>

Carson

The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was betting on myself and sharing my craft with the world.

In 2019, the idea of creating my own creative company first sparked in my mind—an avenue where artists and creatives could come together, a hub where talents could be highlighted, whether through traditional art forms like painting or through music. I had always been passionate about the arts, but I never fully committed to taking it seriously. Read more>>

KLAXX

My biggest risk was dropping out of 4 year college to move to LA alone at 18 years old and go to music production school! This was my moment where I was all in on pursuing music as my career. There was no going back for me so I put my whole heart into music, and I have since that moment. Read more>>

Martina Demaio

I think it is important to take risks in life, to make decisions that will take us to the place we want to be. Making the choice to move to New York was a big life decision, one that involved a lot of risk. It all started during the pandemic where I was in an acting and dancing university in Argentina, while my siblings were having the time of their lives in Australia, saving a lot of money. So I was in the mindset of leaving everything and moving to Australia to save money and then study acting in New York later in life. By chance, I saw an Au Pair program in the United States where you can live with a family, take care of their kids while being in the city. After lots of thinking, I knew it wasn’t money I was after; it was the pursuit of participating in art with like minded people. With a lot of fear I got onto that plane thinking it will only last a year and then I will have to go somewhere else. However, once I had landed I knew it was worth it. Read more>>

Krystal Kelleher

Taking a risk….I feel like I do this daily. To me, i never regret the things I do but the things I do not do. Life is so short and flies by (especially the older you get), that I want to experience everything. Even the failures, because with those comes pain, but also lessons and growth. Read more>>

Katja Koren

After a successful music career as a recording artist and professional background vocalist in my homeland, Slovenia, I somehow felt unappreciated. As a nation, we are still overcoming old beliefs—or, as James Brown would say, “It’s a man’s world.” Then my journey of shadow work began, as it’s called in spiritual communities. You have to go through or face something heavy to learn unconditional love for yourself and others. Read more>>

Yousef Alhaddad

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was choosing to pursue a career in animation instead of following a more traditional and socially accepted path.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia, where art—especially in entertainment—was not widely seen as a viable career. Since childhood, I had a deep passion for creating characters, starting with sprite animations on YouTube at age 10 and later exploring digital painting. However, as I got older, societal expectations pushed me toward a more conventional profession. I applied and was accepted into medical school, but just a week before classes started, I realized I couldn’t see myself in that life. Read more>>

Franck De Las Mercedes

Having spent part of my career in the gallery system until December of 2023, one of the biggest risks I took was to become an independent artist. Despite having representation I felt I needed a change and to break away from the stagnation. Ironically the risk taken was in response to the desire to take creative risks in my art practice. When we start an artists, full creative expression is encouraged. “You can do it all, experiment, be free.” Unfortunately, you can fall into opportunities that, though at the beginning offer much needed support to your craft, you are discouraged from experimentation and asked to remain uniform, even censored. Read more>>

Ryan Crofford

The time I took a risk was when I started my financial literacy business to help others with their finances and credit. I was coming out of the fitness industry and being an entrepreneur I know I was meant to have a business. Once I found the opportunity to be a financial literacy coach that was a risk in itself. People did not know me for finances, they knew me for meal plans so for me this forced me out of my comfort zone. I had to completely dedicate myself to learning financial literacy and obsess over other peoples financial problems and this is where I got momentum. I realized that I didn’t know what I didn’t know and opened myself up to learning and doing things differently to get my customers results and that is what took me far. Read more>>

Corey Joseph Eichenberger

I was working for a well known furniture maker in LA when COVID shut everything down.
He left 7,000 square feet of shop space with little to no warning and it was then, where I needed to make a decision that would change my trajectory. Along side 2 other colleagues, we decided to take over the lease and that is the day I created my company Corey Joseph Designs. Read more>>

Janie Oliver

Well, I’m a big believer in taking risks. My brother, sister and I were so fortunate to have been raised by parents that supported us along the way. We knew we could do anything we set our minds to do and their work ethic was passed down to us. Even when I left my career in the entertainment industry and moved to the United States from Canada in 1992, I didn’t have one hesitation. Jump. You can’t go forward without jumping. The most recent “risk” was right at the beginning of Covid. I packed up my dogs and my house in L.A. and bought a home and business in a Southern California mountain town where my bakery and catering business is currently thriving. Hard work, a little luck and recognizing when you need to pivot are all keys to success. Read more>>

Eduardo Alvarez

My art journey mirrors that of many others. Unpredictable circumstances often challenge our ability to dedicate the necessary time and effort to building an art career, forcing us to take risks and make sacrifices in order to succeed.
When I first realized, as a teenager, that my path and art were intertwined, Chile had just come under an autocratic military dictatorship. This made it nearly impossible to make a living as an artist. Nevertheless, I received support from my parents and was able to study fine arts at Universidad Católica de Chile, the most prestigious art school in the country at that time. Read more>>