How did you develop your ability to take risk?

Risk-taking is at the heart of making a difference, but often we’ve been conditioned to avoid risk as much as possible. So, we asked some successful risk-takers to talk to us about how they developed their comfort with taking risk.

Tahirah Goins-Nall

I have always been a risk-taker. My grandmother has joked since I was a child that I have always been “busy,” and she’s right. I have never met a conversation I don’t like. I have always loved adventure. Read more>>

Kelly Croop

Risk taking and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. Now, that doesn’t mean I love taking risks and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. No no – it is scary – that’s why it’s called a risk. But the key to entrepreneurship is recognizing that a risk is just a choice and you can always pivot. Read more>>

Sinéad D’arcy

Throughout my life, I’ve struggled with people pleasing. The definition is a person who consistently strives to please others, often sacrificing their own wants or needs in the process. This was me. I cared so deeply of how others perceived me. One day, I woke up and decided I was done. Read more>>

Dianna Whittaker

Covid was the biggest enforcement I had to put in the effort to get going on what I really wanted. I seen the people in the hospital where I work at the time just passing away by the minutes and I just thought, what is it that you want and could be happy doing it. That’s how I found my answer Read more>>

Nancy Jamar

My business was flagging during the recession and I pulled back on spending, thinking that was the smart thing to do. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The store became static, stale, and essentially, I had stopped giving people a reason to come in. Even though customers weren’t spending very much, they still depended on coming in and seeing something new, something to inspire them. Read more>>

Daniel Capellaro and Dave Wood

When Dave and I first decided to form XIXI it was more out of a feeling of necessity. There were so many bad experiences we both had with various artists, producers, labels, and publishers. So many of them were following the same trajectory releasing and promoting music and artists that sounded the same from a fear of not fitting in with what was is “Current.” Read more>>

Zaniya Johnson

What you may call taking risk, I call stepping out on faith. I come from a very spiritual household, every decision I make or risk I take, I pray about it first, ask God to guide me, then I just do it. I know when and when not to, he always gives me the answer, whether it’s in a dream, from a relative or a complete stranger, that tells me all I need to know to take that risk. Read more>>

Tamara Goodwin

Short answer to this is living life! Seriously, if you are truly living life you’re going to be forced into taking a risk at some point. Sometimes the risk pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s the beauty of it though. Life is an incredible experience, and it’s going to play out how it’s meant to. Read more>>

Brandon Love

The nature of what I do involves risks. So, it was essential that I became comfortable taking calculated risks. I practiced the concept from a young age while buying and selling different things, but I began to really learn about calculated risks in business school at Loyola Marymount University. Read more>>

Nikki King

There are few things you can control in life. You can’t control what people think or say about you. You can’t control the past or the future. You can’t control the weather, time, or even death. But you can control how you show up for yourself and what you choose to do with your precious time on earth. Read more>>

Christa Shelton

I believe my ability to take risk came from fear of regret. From a very young age I have made it a point to be intentional about pursuing the things I want in life, so that I don’t run the greater risk of looking back and wishing that I had. Read more>>

Julian Curi

Avoiding risk is borderline luxurious. Artists know this better than most. Read more>>

Neveah Valdizan

I developed my ability to take risks through determination and resourcefulness. At 13 years old, I aspired to create music, but I lacked traditional tools. With just a smartphone, I used apps like GarageBand and my own creativity to make my dream a reality. I became a self-taught musician and released my first album as a freshman, setting a world record as the youngest musician to create an entire album on a smartphone. Read more>>

Shawana Davenport-Chapple

I worked in Hospice health care for many years. It was very hard especially through the Covid pandemic.We were working with limited manpower due to no one wanting to risk their life for such little pay.Two specific incidents happened(I was denied a raise, after training 4 people who were hired making above my salary.) Read more>>

DaJuan Bennett

I developed my ability to take risk from not giving up and being optimistic. Being a risk taker is not easy task, most people won’t take a risk because they are nervous of the outcome. Taking a risk you have to be open to challenging yourself, have confidence, but most importantly have faith in yourself. Read more>>