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.
Max Wasa
I developed my ability to take risks early in my career. I was the youngest of five and found that in order to keep up with my much older siblings I had to be able to take a fall and recover quickly and efficiently. Each and every day we face challenges that could put us at risk .Not only with work and play but emotionally and financially as well as physically. Read more>>
Marla A. Matime
Life is risky! I believe that every day I have an opportunity to make a great life and sometimes, oftentimes, it involves a risk. When I started my consulting practice, I was coming off of being a stay at home mom and really just wanted to be a freelance writer, covering local news and updates from my community. Read more>>
Julio Diaz
I developed my ability to take risks through a combination of calculated decision-making and a willingness to step outside my comfort zone. Early on, I recognized that growth often accompanies uncertainty and challenges. By embracing new opportunities, learning from both successes and setbacks, and maintaining a proactive mindset, I cultivated a sense of resilience and adaptability. Read more>>
Michelle Mazzarella
Becoming a circus artist taught me to not only take risks, but even more so how to mitigate them. Sometimes you’re feeling off and you put an extra crash mat down, not planning on actually needing it, but being very grateful in the one instance that you did. Once or twice, I’ve had to exercise the muscle of saying “no.” It sucks, and you feel terrible in the moment, but you never regret doing it after the fact. Read more>>
Krisztian Pivarnyik
I developed my ability to take risks by embracing the unknown. Being the first in my family to leave our home country of Hungary behind, I moved to America right after high school. I had no one in America in the beginning only a dream of running my own law firm one day. After law school, I chose to open my own law firm rather than following the conventional path of working for someone else. Read more>>
Vanessa Michelle
My ability to take risks actually came from a long period of unhappiness. Around 2016, I was finally in my first adult job. But I was severely unhappy. The reason why I was unhappy was because I had just graduated college and I was trying to find my way in the real world, as they say. At the time, I put so much pressure on myself to be the perfect student so that my family would be proud of me and think of me as a success. All that pressure led to a lot of anxiety and restrictions in my personal life. Those restrictions resulted in me being unhappy and unsatisfied with my life. Read more>>
Brittany Gramm
Risk embodies the fusion of curiosity entwined with unyielding boldness. Picture curiosity as that childlike wonder within and boldness as the audacity to be courageous, even when faced with uncertainty. Life’s tough knocks might try to shatter our childlike faith, nudging us towards a so-called “realistic” outlook. Read more>>
Devone Jones
While I was growing up in Far Rockaway, Queens New York, I didn’t have many resources. The lack of resources motivated me to look for opportunities outside of my environment. In order for me to achieve that, I would be taking a risk. At a young age, I would search for knowledge and experience all around me. As an adult, I put myself in environments to learn from and become a better person. Read more>>
Amanda Butler
Over the years I’ve found that there’s often a greater danger in not changing, not doing something different, not trying something new, than in actually taking the risk of stepping outside my comfort zone, especially with regard to work and career. My father worked at the same job for over 30 years. Read more>>
Lisa Monday Gomez
I have always been a risk taker, I believe that anyone can do anything they put their mind to. If you want it get it!
Joy Jama
I think I just naturally feel that if something feels scary or uncomfortable but like the right thing to do – I should do it. Read more>>
Amethyst Jonquille
I was never really a shy kid. I grew up performing in musicals, ballets, talent shows, etc. Having grown up in those environments, I was constantly needing to take risks and push myself far out of my comfort zone to succeed. I don’t know that I ever learned to let my fear push me away from anything or stop me from trying. The only time I can think of where I was truly too nervous to push past it was in an audition for a bilingual commercial.
Heloíne Moreno
Taking risks in life is part of who I am as a person. I was born and raised in Brazil, at the age of 23 I decided to leave everything behind and move to the US on my own. That was one of the biggest risks that I’ve taken so far but not the first and only. Read more>>
Danielle O’Malley
About 12 years ago, I was living in a tiny room in Oakland, CA. I had made so much art and I had nowhere to put it. I hated the idea of paintings just sitting in my room. It made me sad, like why do I create if I can’t show them to anyone? I wasn’t so interested in the insular world of art galleries, I wanted to connect with everyday people. So inspired by the DIY spirit of the Bay Area, I just started putting my art up around town. Read more>>
Jennifer Harris
I grew up in Kingston projects in Birmingham Alabama. I don’t really remember my childhood and I believe that is due to my childhood trauma so I blocked a lot of things out, but there are some things I remember vividly which aren’t happy memories. The feeling of contentment never sat well with me, I didn’t want to be comfortable with life. Read more>>
San Martin Rodriguez
When I was younger I seemed to be the risk taker in general, as I grew older I realized that my “risk” taking was not appreciated as my teachers and principles would let me know I needed to tone it down. When I was finally at an age to understand the rewards of taking risks I soon found out that the only way to learn and grow is by taking these risks! Read more>>
Sarah Saturday
My short answer to this is “aging.” In my late teens and early 20s, I wanted so badly to get validation from the outside world and to get noticed for what I was doing. I was very driven by my ego, which is to some degree natural at that stage of life, but I was looking outside myself most of the time, trying try to find myself reflected in the people around me. I did risky things, but that is very different from taking risks. Read more>>
Truee K
The only time you’ll figure out if it works or not is by taking a risk. From my point of view, risk is everything in order to get comfortable. You don’t know what you haven’t tried, and you won’t learn with out taking a risk. It could either be a blessing or a lesson, whether from a mistake or an achievement. Read more>>
Monica Willbond
My risk-taking abilities are definitely still in development, but the past couple of years have really been key in conquering those larger risks. If you think about it, every decision in life is a risk, it’s just the scale of that risk and the subsequent reward, or failure if I’m being honest. The pivotal point for me was after having children. Every decision after that seemed so much riskier since it wasn’t just myself and my husband to consider, but the impact my decisions would make on my children. Read more>>
Big Sis
I feel that risks are necessary for success. I developed my ability to take risk by believing that if you don’t take risks you could be stuck doing the same thing the same way for forever and Im really big on continuous elevation. Read more>>
Kimberly Genevieve
When I first moved to Los Angeles, risk felt like a natural part of who I was. Even though I was fearful, I somehow learned early on to push through pain and discomfort to get where I wanted. My vision was much more powerful than the pain I carried, so it almost became an obsession for me to get where I wanted. My approach wasn’t always the healthiest, but it was a lot of fun for a while! Somehow, I just thought that if I got to where I wanted, it would heal me… Read more>>
Robin Strachan
I grew up in a small city in southwestern Pennsylvania with parents who rarely strayed far from home. By that, I mean their activities all took place within a 20-mile radius of home. Without meaning to be different, I became someone who overcame a fear of going outside my comfort zone, and became a road warrior. I was able to overcome fears about driving in strange places, in heavy metropolitan traffic, and long distances by…doing it. One success led to the feeling that I had already overcome fear once. Read more>>
Dalida Arakelian
Practice. My intent of creating good is like a light, chasing out darkness. I use my intent as a barometer to assess if a risk is worth taking. By focusing on the positive impact my actions can lead to, the fear of rejection, failure, or disappointment that comes along with risk-taking feels small. Read more>>
Ebony Williams
I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska – sure there are moments for opportunities but for those who are creative and go outside of the box, we’ve had to create our own moments. Because of where and how I grew up, I had no choice but to take a risk. Read more>>
Matthew Wurnig
I developed the ability to take risk by never wanting to live with regrets. I would way rather try something and fail at it versus not trying at all and saying “what if”. Failure helps you grow. If you live in fear because you are scared to take risks than you most likely won’t unlock your full potential. Read more>>
Tamala Austin
A risk-taker is someone willing to take a leap and willing to fail. A risk-taker is a rule breaker, change maker, disruptor. The status quo is not good enough. For me being a risk-taker is all about my Faith! I do not allow certain ideologies such as, “It’s Never Been Done Before”, “I Am The First To Do It”, “I Don’t Have The Money”, or “Where Do You Start”, stop me from taking a leap. My faith has propelled me to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Read more>>
Christy Williams
Honestly? I got fed up. I was working job after job that paid minimum wage or a little above it, with a college degree that no one cared about. I would work really hard at a customer service job (those were the only jobs I could get) and a year later I would get a ten cent raise. It was really defeating because, yes, jobs give us purpose, but particularly when you are working for another person or corporation, the motivation ultimately is money. To make a living. Read more>>
Mackai Sharp
When I turned 18 towards the end of the pandemic, I moved across the country and enrolled in flight school. I was in a very existential place and I was deeply afraid I would not make enough to sustain myself as an artist. It was a surreal experience. I learnt a significant amount about myself in those months at school. Read more>>
Sherri Tilley
A highly successful businessman once told me, “If you don’t ever want to make a mistake, then go find a place to sit down and don’t get up.” Conversely, if you ever want to accomplish anything, you have to get up, get moving, and resolutely accept the fact that you just might initially fail before you ultimately succeed. Fortunately, taking a carefully calculated risk does not have to be a fearsome proposition. Read more>>
Armando Ortuño
I was always a strong believer of the saying “If you can see yourself doing it, then you can do it”. The reason why I bring this quote up is because I know many of us growing up or even as children we tend to get overwhelmed with where we’re going in our lives. We can get so caught up in the moment that we will eventually get stressed out and ultimately come to a stage where we panic and are afraid to make any decisions because of risks. I learned in my personal life that the more you do, the more wisdom you get out of it. Read more>>
