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.

Blackwell Smith

Any improvement you are going to make in life takes risk. You risk failure, disappointment and heart break but what you get on the other side of that fear is freedom. Risk for me isn’t really a risk anymore. It’s just a learning opportunity in the form of actions and missteps. If you make a misstep move on don’t hold onto it, don’t beat yourself up. If you have a crappy Instagram reel who cares? No one saw it. In the end you risk more my not trying. Read more>>

Robbie Tripp

My biggest advice for artists and creators is to JUST START!! So many people let years go by while they wait on the “right time”, years they could have spent learning their craft/business and moving closer toward their dreams. Time will pass anyways, you might as well spend it chasing your dream! When I first started releasing music professionally, I had no idea about anything: how to get my song on Spotify, how to sign up for royalties, how to promote my music, etc. Five years later, I’m so glad I committed to starting and figuring it out along the way. In fact, I wished I had started even sooner! Trust in your ability to figure it out as you go and stay consistent. Once you realize that it’s less of a risk to pursue your passion than it is to live with regret, it makes it an easier decision to just go for it! Read more>>

Keenan Burton

Everything after high school up to now has been filled with countless risks. Making the move from Florida to Minnesota was the very first one that started it all. Risk losing communication with friends and family, and I did for a period of time. Risking things financially when I had to pay my way through college or working long hours just to make payments on rent and other bills. Risk attaching myself to people or things that aren’t fully knowledgable of and hoping it was the right choice. I’m just some guy hundreds of miles away from home trying to make something of myself. And so far so good. We’re on the right track. Read more>>

Jayde McAloon

Making jewelry wasn’t always my job. I have a Master’s degree in education and I’ve worked as a copywriter and graphic designer since the 1990s. I’ve also been working with crystals and the metaphysical properties associated with them for years, and I wanted to explore different ways to incorporate them into my life. I started dabbling in wire wrapping in 2010 when I found an amazing stone on the beach near my home in the Indiana Dunes. People at work took notice and started asking me to make things for them, too. Read more>>

Casey Mozingo

A little under a year ago I took one of the biggest risks I have ever taken in my life. I left a secure, full-time job to pursue entrepreneurship without the guarantee that I would succeed. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t an overnight decision and I had been taking steps well over a year in advance to mitigate as much of that risk as I could, but I was leaving a job with steady income and I had most nights and weekends off to earn extra income. The first step was saving money. In 2021 I decided to start saving all of the money I earned in my sole proprietorship with the goal of having a minimum of six months’ salary at my full-time job. I reached that goal and headed toward my secondary goal of saving enough money to pay my bills for an entire year. Read more>>

Aryah Manor-Lair

Being a new business owner, I believe that within itself is the risk! I also believe that where there is no risk, there is no reward. I have been in business for myself since I was 21, I am now 23 soon to be 24 years old. The first step to knowing I was headed toward taking a risk was realizing that at my last semester of my sophomore year of college, my retail job wasn’t paying me much of anything. I asked myself, “Am I not managing my money correctly, or am I just not being paid enough?” Read more>>

Brian Jolly

When I look back at my life as a teenager or even in college, the thought of going into fitness or even owning a business never crossed my mind. Since graduating college, my background is aligned in the digital marketing & advertising worlds – it is a safe space for me to operate and learn. Fast forward 4 years post college, I had just started a new job and I had a lot of time on my hands after work. I decided to start a new goal of getting back into shape for the physical aspects and the mental clarity. Read more>>

Alex Gonzalez

The biggest risk I’ve taken in my career, by far, has been the decision to open up my law firm. At the time, I was perfectly comfortable at my old job as an associate working for someone else. In fact, I was too comfortable. As I considered the idea of opening up my law firm, I realized that I had become stagnant in my career. I wasn’t really growing as an attorney because the challenges and issues I was dealing with had become repetitive. In short, I felt I had hit a ceiling. Although, I was (very) nervous about the many uncertainties I would face as a law firm owner–uncertain finances, fear of being unable to attract clients or that I’m just not good enough–I decided to take a leap of faith. I struggled with self doubt, imposter syndrome, and confidence doubts for the first few months. In fact, I still deal with those issues to some extent. But I have a great support system and partners who support and believe in me. I believe that growth, real growth comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone. I did just that when I opened up my law firm and it’s made all the difference. Read more>>

Charminque Greer

Picture February 2020, the Covid -19 pandemic has just begun, jobs are laying off people and the medical industry was in dire need of help with the patients. I decided I should fill the void needed. I had been laid off from my outpatient job and was sitting home with a will to want to help others. Then it came to me I can offer trainings for Indic whom want to help within the medical community. Since businesses was closed and we had a limit on how many could meet; we invented Homestudy where we would come your home of course following safety precautions, protocols and procedures for Covid compliance. Read more>>

Ben White

My whole life has been full of risks, so they’re familiar to me! When I was a teenager, I was a pretty reckless addict. I got sober at age 19, and underwent some radical changes in my life. But the wildness in me never really tamed down. When I first started to work in the Church scene at age 24, I tried to work in suburban settings. I tried a rural setting also. Those were some really good experiences for me, but it felt too sheltered, and too easy. Read more>>

Brittany Ranew

Self publishing my fiction novel this year was a big risk! It’s been a long-held dream of mine to publish ever since I finished the novel in 2013. But I let fear get in the way of pursuing my dreams! I have built a successful real estate business over the last ten years and with that comes a lot of personal growth. I finally realized that it was time to stop being afraid and take steps towards my passion. The feeling of regret for not sharing my book with the world was outweighing my fear of rejection or failure for the first time in my life. I had a story to tell and it was worth telling! Read more>>

Bill Bain

Being a professional wrestler is a huge risk in so many ways. To be successful, you have to risk your time, health, and finances to be successful. I have missed important birthdays, weddings, and other moments to pursue my dream of being a wrestler. Some people saw it as selfish, but to have any amount of success at this, you have to be willing to make sacrifices. Read more>>

Alexa Rose Carlin

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 17 years old but it wasn’t until I had the courage to take a big risk that my brand and business really took off. That was in 2015 when I had the idea for Women Empower X which was inspired by a number of events along my journey. Read more>>

Tori Ruff

A risk that I can note I’ve taken in the past will have to be resigning from my 9-5. It was the most scariest yet exhilarating experiences for me. I didn’t know much about my next step, only that Ive grown sick and tired of the everyday blues of staying somewhere that no longer served me. Oftentimes we let the fear of the unknown hinder us from tapping into the things that light us up on the inside. There are days where I am still afraid but I can honestly say that I took a chance on myself. For that, I’ll always be proud I took that risk Read more>>

Thomas Tustin

For me, risk-taking is what art is all about. I have never made a piece of art that came out exactly as it was formulated in my head. The excitement of painting comes from the painting process and the unexpected challenges along the way. Trust in oneself in the artmaking process is paramount to my practice. One of the biggest moments in the creation of art is just starting and trusting myself to figure out the puzzle that I create and being able to resolve it. Read more>>

Aly Reynolds

The biggest risk I have ever taken is moving across the country following a leap of faith in God’s greater plan. After being a full-time salon stylist in Texas for 7 years, I felt the Lord calling me to Montana. If I was going to make that big of a move, I desired to focus on building a full-time bridal hairstyling business. With the help of many friends and family members, I created an LLC and completely rebranded my business, Every Good Thing Hair Co. Read more>>

Brittany Conner

I believe my entire Real Estate journey has been a calculated risk, however my biggest risk was in the very beginning of my career. I had been a licensed Realtor for about 6 months and closed on around 6 deals by that point. I was still working another 9-5 job trying to maintain my finances while I built up clientele. I had a mentor at the time that was my preferred lender that helped me scale my business. He took me to brunch one Saturday and while we were at brunch, he proceeded to tell me it was time to go all in on my business, meaning it was time to quit my job and be a full-time Real Estate Agent. Read more>>

Jestina Mundy

I was born and raised in a suburban area in Parker, Colorado. I come from a family of business owners and immigrants so, I know what hard work and taking risks looks like. My entire family has steady jobs and careers in industries they view as stable. My parents are first generation college graduates and of course expected me to go to college. Growing up, my parents had me shadow veterinarians, dentists, and doctors while allowing me to go to a public high school where I majored in dance. I have always loved dance and started dancing at the age of 3. Read more>>

Corey Sampson

I am taking a risk being a content creator, because I am currently investing more time and money in video / audio equipment, so I can produce better content. I’m also investing more time into writing & recording new music. Some might view this as a waste of time, but that doesn’t bother me, because I’m doing something that I am passionate about. Read more>>

Robert Cobb

To burrow from Cardi B’, “you never lived unless you’ve risked your life” from her bar in “South of the Border” ft. Ed Sheehan and Camila Cabello, my personal motto is “life is an adventure” We all have one life and the chance to take risks is a privilege that few get. Whether shooting sports, on-location, fashion runways, etc, Risk is part of all of us, it’s embedded in our DNA. Read more>>

Betty Hang

The typical idea of success in my young adulthood was to secure a well-paying job at a giant corporation with health benefits, a 401k, and stability, like Disney. When I reached that goal, believing I had finally achieved “success”, I learned that the work behind the glamorous reputable title was more draining and dangerous to my livelihood than it was magical. I put my head down and made my team proud, only realizing a year later that each day looked the same to me. Read more>>

Marco “Jhny Wzdm” Herrera

In the vibrant city of Los Angeles, I Marco “Jhny Wzdm” Herrera, embodied the American Dream as the first generation in my family. Born to hardworking immigrant parents who sacrificed everything for a shot at a better life, I was determined to carve my own path in the art form that I fell in love with at the early age of 10. Read more>>

BIZZY

The biggest risk I’ve taken was putting myself out there as an artist. Not a day goes by where I’m not so incredibly thankful that I did. It was so scary and vulnerable, but I have never felt more me in my life. Read more>>

Kasha WildBird

Big risks equals big rewards… I took a huge risk by listening to my wild intuition and following my dream of moving to Hawaii. I packed up all my belongings into storage space and without knowing anyone in Hawaii ,I moved to O’Ahu to look for a tattoo apprenticeship. After enormous efforts on my behalf and 4 grueling interviews with Dodge Distad (owner at Koi Tattoo shop) I successfully completed my 2 year apprenticeship at Koi Tattoo. I am forever grateful to those who have helped me along the way. Read more>>

Marcus Martin

One major risk I’ve taken as far as being a comic coming from Canton,Ohio is taking a risk and just jumping right into comedy because there weren’t any type of mentorship’s regarding comedy so I basically took a risk and just jumped right in and had to practice and perfect my craft by experience from each show Read more>>

Akre Morfin

There always will be risks in the life, we can to pretend that we don’t need to assume them but sometimes life tells you it’s a time to jump, to move, to reborn. Taking a risk in the creative world isn’t an easy election, You know, in the content creating world you need to feed the creativity with new experience and stuff for to exit to the habitual and common way, it’s necessary to learn to see the world with another eyes from another perspectives. The passion about new places, nature and culture is the perfect feed for to try new things too. After 14 years with the DREAMWISHMAKER media I choose to go outside of the comfort zone for to explore new areas and to propose new things for to bring more and better contents. Read more>>

Antwan Floyd

In the heart of Hollywood, I, a young writer from Minnesota, dreamt of selling my screenplay. Despite the allure, the film industry’s doors stayed closed. Undeterred, I found a new passion—novel writing. Rejections fueled my determination, leading to the creation of 13 novels and numerous short stories. Where Hollywood turned me away, my literary works found success. I returned to Minnesota not with a sold screenplay but with a collection of 13 published novels, proving that sometimes, detours lead to the most fulfilling destinations. Read more>>

Bella Shih

The decision to study abroad and change career paths marked the most significant risk I’ve ever taken in my life thus far. My journey into motion design began with a background in journalism and video editing. I earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication in Taiwan, where I first delved into the world of filming and video editing during my college courses and part-time job at a TV news channel. The more I explored video production and storytelling, the deeper I fell in love with it. Eventually, an exciting opportunity arose for me to work as a video editor in a digital media company—a chance to work in a field I was truly passionate about. Read more>>

Sarah Cowley

One of the most significant risks I’ve taken is opening my Chinese medicine practice immediately after finishing school. The reason the stakes were so high for me were because a) it was still in the immediate “post-pandemic” climate and b) because I decided to open my practice in a city where I truly only knew a few people, most of which were my classmates who were also students of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Read more>>

Heather Tapia

A big risk I have taken was hosting a huge Solo Art show at my home with just a month to plan and execute the event. I decided to share my world and my vision/ creativity by turning my entire home into an Art Gallery! It was quite a challenge because I created all of the invitations and hand addressed them with a personal note to each guest, created the entire line of merchandise and completed new art work for the show. Read more>>

Randi Lavik

I am the former Co-Host of TNN Radio with Jimmy Alvarez, Sundays, on Community-Supported KX FM 104.7 Laguna Beach. Our shows go out locally via our FM signal and worldwide via our station Apps and several listening platforms, including iHeart, iTunes, and Amazon. Read more>>

Sudesna Samanta

For me choosing to quit my job and following my passion was a risk. I worked as a web designer before deciding I wanted to pursue illustration for further studies. I left my country, and everything behind as I decided to follow something I absolutely I love doing. Honestly, as difficult as taking a leap of faith is, I have learned so much! Read more>>

Bearden Douglas

I guess taking risks is the nature of the entrepreneurial journey we partake in. Especially if your in the business of selling your creativity. The product your selling is your brain after all! You risk just not really feeling creative some days you know? Nevertheless, I wouldn’t trade the struggles for any other. Okay, so one risk in particular. Read more>>

Alexandria Vazin

I think choosing to pursue my creative interests as my career instead of going and getting into the field I went to college for was a huge risk. It continues to keep me on my toes and motivates me to keep working towards the goals I want to achieve with Acro Strip as a show and more because I want that risk to be worth it. Taking a risk like that I think sometimes is the only way to feel , at the end of the day, that I didn’t leave my dreams on the table and do whats expected of me. I tried to live a life and have a career thats mine and that i’m proud of at the end of the day and 20 years from now when I look back on my life. Read more>>

Shey Jennings

I can definitely say that taking risk are one of my favorite things to do not because I’m a thrill seeker but because it’s necessary for you to evolve as a person. Read more>>