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.
Brooke Packard
Ever since I was young I followed the rules, but I always had an itch for taking risk. As I’ve grown, I’ve taken more risks with larger losses and/or rewards. In the long run, I’d say it’s all paid off. I’ve always been motivated and stubborn in what I plan to accomplish. First, I was making and selling jewelry at art fairs. Second, I was switched from softball to volleyball and going D1 with a full ride scholarship. Third, I took a massive risk and left my D1 scholarship. I then made a point to break into the modeling, fashion and entertainment industry. Read more>>
Ianthus Barlow
Starting IB Woodworks was one of the biggest risks I have ever taken. The year was 2016 and I was working in construction not really loving my job. At this point I had been building small woodworking projects just as a hobby and starting to get into pouring epoxy rivers on a small scale. I was living in Salt Lake City Utah and was really starting to become home sick so i made the decision to pack up my house, move home to Colorado city Arizona to start my business making high end live edge epoxy river tables. With a lot of studying YouTube videos on how to build them and a few years working epoxy on a small scale i went for it and sold my first custom live edge epoxy river table to a childhood friend. Read more>>
Sabrina Twyla
Taking a risk means following your heart. There’s literally a 50% chance that the risk you take will work out. That’s what interviewing for a job is. That’s what auditioning for a role is. That’s what living is. Nobody in life knows for SURE how things are going to work out, no matter how much we plan ahead. As humans, the most I believe we can do is try our best every single day, and keep improving upon what we want to do and get out of life. When I was around 3 years old, my mother tells me I was singing Part Of Your World from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, in the back of the car in perfect pitch while repeating every lyric word for word. Read more>>
Mi Thao Nguyen
The biggest and best risk I have ever taken was moving to Washington, DC and starting my styling career. When I graduated college with my fashion degree, I knew that my hometown in Pennsylvania was not where I could really thrive. I was so frustrated about not knowing what to do and felt so stuck. I had two friends who lived in DC and told me to come visit them to just take my mind off of things and visit a new city. When I visited, I felt an instant connection with the city. Read more>>
Alvin Lee
Ever since I was 6 years old, I knew that music was my gift. My parents put me through classical piano lessons all the way through high school, but I never saw myself pursuing a career as a pianist. It wasn’t until college that I discovered DJing, and it was the art of reading your audience and being able to seamlessly transition from song to song that attracted me to the craft, with producing coming shortly thereafter. The risk-averse part of this story is that I started DJing and playing shows in parallel to being a student, all the way through graduation and even with a corporate job as an Engineer. With the era of COVID, my work became fully remote and I utilized the ever-changing work environment to move to LA and pursue more networking and music opportunities while still balancing my 9-5. Read more>>
TAJLA
Being in this industry is all about taking risks. Especially to get to where you want to be. I grew up in Australia, travelled to Los Angeles at age 19 and now moved to Atlanta at 26 all in the name of chasing my dreams. It hasn’t been an easy ride, and it’s come with many sacrifices. But I wouldn’t change any choice I’ve made as it’s all pushed me further to pursuing music. Read more>>
Veronica ANile
I believe that life is about taking risks. I took a two-year hiatus from work and moved overseas to write a book. I took on a new language and left everything behind. Two years later, I not only wrote and self-published one book but two books. Both books toped the Amazon charts and became best sellers in a foreign country. While writing my first book, my psychic abilities took over and completely changed my life. Since then, I have worked with hundreds of people. Read more>>
Beth
I’ve taken a lot of risks in my life, but one of the bigger ones was when I decided to go back to graduate school mid-career. My cohort consisted of 8 students, including myself – I could have given birth to all seven of them! So it took a lot of courage to allow myself to be a student again not only in the eyes of my relationship with myself and my professors, but also with my cohort. I was enrolled at UCLA in the School of Theatre Film and Television. I was on track to earn my MFA in theatre – I thought I wanted to teach at the university level, and I also felt that, as an actor, my work was no longer relevant. Read more>>
Raven Armed
I was a teacher for the majority of my professional career. I spent nearly a decade in classrooms after attaining my B.A., Masters, and Specialist degrees. I am even in the final years of my Doctorate now for the educational field. However, back in 2020 during the pandemic I took up a side hobby of content creation and live streaming. It was something that brought me through the hardships of that time and helped my mental health tremendously. It started off small, but then grew to a partnership with a platform called Twitch. This was a shocking feat for me. As time went on I continued teaching, but poured more and more of myslef into content creation. Read more>>
Gabriel Sweet
One significant risk I took in my creative journey was to transition from my well-established role in fashion photography to exploring the captivating realm of food photography. This shift was more than just a change in subject matter; it was a daring leap into uncharted waters that required me to redefine my artistic direction. The catalyst for my venture into food photography was my inherent passion for food. It wasn’t solely inspired by my travels, although they significantly informed all aspects of my life. This deep-seated passion ignited a desire to capture the essence of food through my lens, blending my love for photography with my appreciation for culinary artistry. Read more>>
Andrea Marcum
I’ve been leading yoga retreats all over the world for over twenty years. Bucket List locations are tempting, but when I’ve taken a risk and gone somewhere not-so-noteworthy, there is a special kind of magic. Slovenia, for example, is not necessarily at the top of the list for everyone, but those who came there with me a few years back will tell you that it should be. Read more>>
Kelly and Shannon Gustafson
The biggest risk we have taken was when we showed for the first time at NYNOW in February 2020. (Amazing timing right?) At that time we had just launched k.Patricia Designs and we immediately jumped right into the tradeshow world without any preparation or knowledge on how to properly operate a booth. We assumed we would figure it all out along the way and we would be swimming in wholesale orders. Unfortunately, Covid was the only discussion at the show and we ended up with a total of three orders. Only one of them fell through. Kelly (daughter and head designer) was truly devastated and swore she would never show at a tradeshow ever again. Shannon (mother and marketing wiz) however kept k.Patricia afloat and pushed us to keep trying tradeshows in the future. Read more>>
Danielle Branche-Brown
In order to get myself, my career, my business where it is, I have had to take many risks. The most recent and maybe the most powerful one was choosing to create alignment in my business instead of just having it be something that fills in the gaps of pain in the world. Once I begun healing my own codependency and really dug into my past traumas, I was able to realize how much of my business was not aligned with what I actually WANTED to be offering the world. It was created out of a need, out of a place of woundedness. It was a way to “fix” people’s relationships and “heal” people’s wounds. Read more>>
Ashtyn Barbaree
In 2018, I took a chance by contacting European venues and then traveling abroad with my trio. Emails were sent, fingers were crossed and I was ecstatic when I started getting responses. The stars aligned when we received a Walton Family Foundation grant through The House Of Songs to cover our plane tickets from the USA to Europe, but I was still solely responsible for booking the shows, communication with venues, logistics, etc. I was google translating contracts and was too young to rent a car, so we took trains, buses and planes. Each place was so beautiful and inspiringly different from home, even going to the grocery store was an adventure. Read more>>
Aisha White
The biggest risk in life that I took when my position was eliminated from my job I worked for 15 years. Not a risk, no, but the next step was. I had to decide if I would get another job in a similar industry and potentially risk this happening again or take a risk and go out on my own. I went with the latter. And wow has it been a ride. Best risk I have ever taken. I have taken control of my destiny and my talents. Read more>>
Bridgette Audrey
Throughout my life, I’ve lived by the motto “take the risk or lose the chance”. This has pushed me outside my comfort and beyond capabilities I didn’t even know I could do. I believe my first call to duty as a risk taker was deciding to take on the career as an Actor. I was about 4 -5 years old when I knew this craft was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. From then on I’ve gone onto many performing arts schools, workshops, masterclasses, thespian competitions, plays, and a conservatory of arts to study my craft. In 2020 I decided to move to LA the moment I got a job on set of a Hollywood production as a key PA. Read more>>
Elijah Wade
One thing about our human experience is that risks are inevitable. Each day we are given the chose to mange how risky we choose to live our lives. Personally, the route I have chosen has created great opportunity for risk however, equally rewarding. In 2021, I was laid off by Amazon due to our company bankrupting. I had to vision and no plan for myself and my two children. I took a HUGE risk and unknowingly created a safe space for people to come and connect with other, using art at the medium to bridge people together. Paint N Sit ATL was born from such a risk. I had no job and n0 funds but, I did have a heart to give and serve the community. Read more>>
Mikaela Henderson
The biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life is what I’m doing now. Dropping out of college and quitting my full time traditional job to become a self employed artist is not an easy task, and you 100% never know what is coming next, but I like to look at that as a positive. The next thing could be that you land a partnership or collaboration with a huge organization and make incredible original art with them. Or, it could be a huge breakthrough and you create your own masterpiece. The point I always make is, I would rather have taken this risk and failed versus never taking it at all and going through my whole life wondering “what if”. Read more>>
Jesse Vasquez
Imagine growing up in the dark indifferent California prison system during the tough-on-crime era when there was no hope or opportunity for rehabilitation, restoration or release if you were a life-term prisoner. I had gone in as a juvenile and sentenced to multiple life terms for an attempted murder and a drive-by shooting. I read a lot because it was my only escape. Literature gave me an alternative to the painful monotonous reality of prison life. Ever year my hopes would rise because there was always some rumor of criminal justice reform for youth offenders or sentence reductions for multiple sentences but after a decade of letdowns I gave up and stopped following the news. It’s painful to live a life grasping for any semblance of redemption just to end up disillusioned and disappointed. Read more>>
Maura Whalen
Starting my business was a risk! I credit a dear friend who advised me to not think but just do it and start small. Had I known what I know now, I’m not sure I would have taken the plunge but sometimes one just has to jump and find her wings on the way down (or, in my case “OUT”). The gardening metaphors for my floral business are endless but truly resonate. From germination 9 years ago, I budded, crept, faltered and am now blooming. Read more>>
Rachel Canelo
Leaving my hometown; Providence, Rhode Island to move across the country and open a business of my own in such a short period of time was a major risk. Starting a youtube channel and displaying my day-to-day life to a world full of strangers was a risk. However, I understood that great things never came from comfort zones but rather from being comfortable with the uncomfortable; the unknown. I spent 10 years in the corporate world, feeling unhappy and stressed out, overworked, and underappreciated. It was during this time that I decided to take a leap of faith and venture out on my own as an entrepreneur. Read more>>
Beatriz Chanes
Cultura Life Design’s journey began in the midst of unprecedented times – the start of a global pandemic that was reshaping the world as we knew it. It was a time of uncertainty and challenges, but it was also an opportunity for innovation, creativity, and taking risks. As a family with a shared passion for art, design, and the rich cultural heritage of our Chicano roots, we had always dreamed of turning our creative pursuits into something more. The pandemic brought unexpected changes to our lives, including job uncertainties and a newfound appreciation for spending quality time together. It was during one of these moments that the idea of starting our own business took root. Read more>>
Barbara Palmer
In 2016 I had worked for the same corporation for 39 years. The Company was very good to me, and I enjoyed my position. However, I felt it was time for me to leave this “good paying job” working for someone else so I could fulfill my dream of assisting newly diagnosed breast cancer patients through their journey in a more impactful way and perhaps pursue other ways I could help my community and even perhaps the world. I sat at my desk one day in August 2016, and wrote on a piece of paper that I would retire in the first quarter of 2017. I took this piece of paper home and hung these words on a wall in my bedroom. Read more>>
Valerie Ojeda
Ha ha ha ha ha! As a performer, you learn to jump at EVERY opportunity, no matter what. You say, “YES” to the job, then figure out how to do it later. This is a story about my very first live presenter job back in 2003. I had already been working as an on-camera host, trade show hostess and brand ambassador, for several years, when I received a phone call from one of my agents. She asked, “Do you have any experience using ear-prompter as a presenter?” I immediately and excitedly responded, “YES!” She informed me that she would be submitting me to a new client, to present at CES. The SECOND I got off the phone, I spewed out some gnarly, drunken-sailor type expletives and ran to my computer to look up: WHAT IS EAR PROMPTER? I literally had no idea. I had never even heard the term before. Read more>>
Afi Green
So, In 2020 during the high of the pandemic, I was laid off from my position as Kitchen Manger at Shared Commercial Kitchen, I wanted to stay in the food industry, so I took a huge leap of faith like many people. And start my own company called DIY Kitchen Diaries Cooking Classes, where I would share quick and easy vegan recipes. I started doing Facebooks livestreams once a week, showing you how make many of my favorite foods. Then in 2021 I got a contracted job with a community garden center The Greater Newark Conservancy, where over the last 2 years I teach their Family Fun In The Kitchen Class once a month. Read more>>
Iren Kamyshev
Moving to New York wasn’t just a relocation; it was a testament to the power and risk of the desire. New York was a blank canvas, one where I could uncover the forgotten layers of my identity, breathe new life into my creativity, and embark on an uncharted adventure. The risk was unquantifiable, yet I embraced it fully, declaring my presence in this bustling metropolis. In the shadow of skyscrapers, I arrived in New York a year before the pandemic, in March 2018. That initial year was a chaotic symphony, yet every discordant note played its part in composing my growth. Amidst the whirlwind, three freelance dance productions and an internship at Pentacle illuminated my path. Read more>>
Abby Aceves
Seven years ago, I was in my hometown in México, with a part-time job and a creative career as a fashion designer. I suffered a life-changing health condition that required surgery ASAP. This is when it hit me and I started questioning myself about all the decisions I had made in my life and everything I wanted to accomplish. After recovering from surgery, I quit my job of 4 years, sold all of my belongings and move to the US to pursue my dream of being a visual artist. It took me several years, but I can now call myself a full-time artist! Read more>>
Meirav Zur
I think pursuing any career in the arts naturally involves a lot of risk. Most people don’t realize that for creatives, risk is daily and ongoing. I knew going into the arts professionally would be risky in terms of sustainability (how will I earn a decent income through random gigs as opposed to a “regular” 9 to 5 job?), but I’m a creative and I have a need to pursue it. When I first started out in acting, I was living in Israel and quickly felt it more risky to stay in the typical route of newbie actors trying to get and pass auditions, maybe get booked, and basically wash-rinse-repeat. I found a niche consumer need and created a play. Read more>>
Gerda Carina
I’d like to think I’m more of a risk taker than someone who stays in their comfort zone. I always say “yes” first and then see how I’ll be able to achieve the wished outcome. As a creative all I do is take risks. I was a successful portrait photographer for over a decade, 15 years and a few months ago I started painting Gold Codes. I took a risk at starting something completely new, from zero. Read more>>
Nan Seymour
In late September of 2021, I listened to a previously broadcast program on RadioWest and heard Dr. Bonnie Baxter describe the imperiled state of Great Salt Lake. Like many listeners, I was shocked to learn that we were at the precipice of an ecological collapse. As a poet and citizen, I felt called to give the lake my full attention. When the life of someone you love is at stake you stay with them. During both winters of 2022 and 2023, I led a day and night vigil on Antelope Island for seven weeks, parallel to the Utah State legislative sessions. I lived in a borrowed camper at site 56 on Bridger Bay. Read more>>
Emily Lewis
I am a full-time entrepreneur and spiritual business owner, and I wouldn’t have gotten here without taking some huge risks! I decided to pursue entrepreneurship and my dream of being a successful spiritual business owner while I was working in a corporate job. I had what many would consider to be a “dream job,” I worked for a Fortune 500 retail company in the fashion industry, and had a great salary and great benefits. But I was completely unfulfilled, my health was taking a toll from the stress of the job, and I knew that if I stayed to work at that company I would completely burn myself out and suffer some major health consequences. Read more>>
Manny Griggs
With great risk comes great reward. Always count the cost but more importantly believe in yourself always. If you don’t believe in yourself how will they? At the age of 18 I decided to join the world’s greatest Air Force, giving me a basic life starter kit. For seven I devoted my life to something that was safe secure and filled wit structure. In 2021 I decided to take the risk in becoming my own boss by building my own brand through expanding my social presence with comedy skits and motivational videos. It wasn’t easy because the hard work didn’t start paying off until my 4th year cresting content. In 2021 I had no 0 subscribers on YouTube that number is now 4000 and growing with a reach of 500,000 and over 2 million views. Read more>>
Martina Monti
Choosing to move to the United States to pursue my acting career has been the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. I’m originally from Italy, but I always wanted to move to Los Angeles. Leaving everything behind to start a new life it’s not an easy choice. I know I could’ve stayed home, close to my friends and family, studied at a local university and worked and lived in the same city where I was born. But I also know that this choice would have never made me happy. I always felt the need to live an adventurous life, and, without risk, there is no adventure. Exploring the unknown, facing all the challenges of living alone abroad, working in an industry in which you don’t know when the next job is going to come can be scary, because it doesn’t give you any certainty. Read more>>
Troy Meeker
Growing up, I dreamed of being a school choir teacher. I know, its certainly not on the top of many lists when you talk to a 7th grader, but it was for me. Choir was my home, and I was inspired by the idea that one day I could create a similar feeling for others. So, it was quite a surprise when after 16 years of teaching in the classroom Phoenix Children’s Chorus made my part time job, of the last 9 years, full time. Now I was faced with the questions many artists and creatives encounter. Can I really do this for a job? Will I make enough money? What if I fail? Am I good enough to do this? Would I be able to walk away from a stable job with benefits and retirement to the uncertainty of a nonprofit? Read more>>
Sandra Pelley
For years I’ve been known as an inner peace mentor, then dragons started to make an appearance. The inner peace mentor side of me has helped many people discover their limiting beliefs, expectations and childhood traumas that had been holding each of them back. Such an individual journey! The similarities with my own path through life is the main reason I was able to help others. I went through a radical change in who I am, when I discovered it was me causing most of my problems. That is what I have helped others see for themselves too. Look at what you think others are doing to you, then ask where you are doing this to yourself. Yes, read that sentence again… Read more>>
Anisett Jacques-Willis
Let me tell you about a risk that lit up my life—a chance I took with my heart leading the way., I worked as a clinical social worker/therapist , building a comfortable life. But a voice inside asked if I was truly reaching my potential. As I balanced my stable 9-to-5 job and my passion for wellness and travel on the side, I felt an itch for more. So, I made a choice. I decided to take a break from my job and set off on a two-month journey through Southeast Asia. No schedules, no obligations, just me and my dreams. I saw the risk as a gift I was giving myself and that was time. Time to push in discovering your potential deeper, connect deeper with the world, and curate travel experiences others can gain elevation from. Read more>>
Tomas Ordoñez
My biggest life changing risk was leaving my country (Argentina) to come live in the US. Being away from your family and friends is not easy. We are social beings, and to move out to an unknown place means a huge risk from that perspective. Luckily the risk paid off, and I can now say I have made great new friends who I consider family. I took this risk to enhance my own capacity of generating a positive impact in the world. I knew that the network I wanted to build was going to be 110% more powerful and influential if I were to set base here. Read more>>
Meghan Larimer
Risk taking has been important to me from the start. I moved from a small town to New York City right out of school and without a job. Flash forward almost 10 years, my whole life is here and I think it’s the best decision I ever made. I spent some time traveling alone in my early 20s. That felt so scary to do the first time but led to a sense of independence and love for travel that challenges me. I think the biggest risk I’ve taken was leaving a comfortable job to pursue my own business. I had been dreaming of working for myself for years, slowly taking steps to do so but never feeling like it was the “right” time. Finally in 2021, something told me to do it. Read more>>
Jessica Ordaz
After being born and raised in Omaha, NE for 24 years, my fiancé and I moved to Wichita, KS. As we settled into our jobs, we both new that we wanted to start a business together. I had always wanted to be in the beauty industry but financially I had never been in a place where I could afford it. My fiancé and I had a serious conversation that ultimately led me to enroll into Esthetician School at Eric Fisher Academy. This was the start to our business idea, our wellness clinic. After having worked since I was 16, this would be the first time that I would have no income. Read more>>
Dave Vescio
Taking risks is what makes you feel A-LIVE. Taking risks is that fine line between fear & glory and fear & failure. Taking risks is what makes you become the hero or heroine of your own story. Taking risks is where life truly lives at. So, always take risks. Always push forward. Always go for it! Because 100 years after you die, no one is going to remember you anyways. You’ll ONLY be remembered for the ideas that you helped spread to others. Because in the end you’ll just become another gravestone, in another graveyard, full of other dead bodies, that no one will ever visit again. But what does matter is that you have lived your life to the fullest. That you didn’t allow others to get in your way, of your own dreams, and you went for all your dreams instead. Read more>>
Heidi Mortenson
I am a Licensed marriage and family therapist and owned a business for 10 years. I was married with almost 3 kids. It was 2018 and my business wasn’t going great and neither was my marriage. I was a “Christian”, with a cross around my neck and going to church weekly. But I wasn’t happy. My husband and I went on a date night and on this particular date night in April, my husband said “I think God wants me to leave my bank job to run your company.” My husband does not use words like “God said”. Ever. Never has he before that and he hasn’t since then. However, it was said and I believed it was God. We took a leap of faith and became a 1 income household for 4 years. Read more>>
Michael Gazzo
I think taking risks has been, for better or for worse, a staple in my life. Growing up, I always admired those who went against the grain but had difficulty finding what that meant for me. I had an internal battle of trying to fit in and be likable, while following my own compass. As the years went on, it became clearer and clearer that I was not able to make some of the safer choices a lot of my peers were able to make about money, relationships, career and generally life. The first big risk I took was moving across the country to pursue a career in music. Read more>>
Sara Quiriconi
Living in Miami during the pandemic, I was comfortable in the city, to say the least. It started to be “the” city to be in, with many moving from the Northeast — my original home — to the southern point filled with year-round warmth. I took a moment to stop and ask myself, where do I see myself being the most fulfilled 5- 10-years from now? Was I on that right path to get me there? I was already acting, hosting and producing living in Miami. However, I knew there was more. The Hollywood sign wasn’t moving to Miami anytime soon, so I decided it was time to start planning to position myself in the best possible place to make those goals in 5-10 years take root and come to life. Off to Los Angeles in pursuit of being a full-time actor, host and producer I went! Read more>>
Nikki C
The biggest risk that I’ve have ever taken was on myself. And when I say myself, I mean my business, Gemini Goddess Body Contouring and Spa. I was so afraid to fly like a Bird and let my wings be free. I was so afraid that people would judge me, Because I was a Plussize diva, and that they wouldn’t believe in the products and services due to my weight. But after much encouragement, I found my way and now I am the successful owner of Gemini Goddess Body Contouring and spa, and I owe it all to you. Read more>>
Katia Koziara
It’s a great question. I think one of the toughest elements of this industry is that you’re always looking for ways to continuously put yourself out there and remain relevant. It is trying to constantly be convincing people of your worthiness and to raise funds and enthusiasm for the next project. I would say the risks that I’ve taken and the hardest choices to make have often been times when I’ve decided to say no to a project. It is difficult not to fear that as soon as you reject a project that you will never collaborate with those creators again. Read more>>