Embracing risk is one of the most powerful things anyone can do to level up and maximize the probability of reaching your full potential. Below, you’ll find risk-takers across industries sharing their stories of how they began to embrace risk.

Anna East

My mom always said, “No one is gonna come knocking on your door.” She meant that if I wanted to do something, I had to step into the world and announce that I was interested in doing something. People can’t read your mind, but in my experience, they are paying attention. If you feel you need to take risks in order to shift your life, then there is a good chance the universe is just waiting for you to step forward. Read more>>

Blair Goldman

Taking risks has always propelled me forward, whether I’ve succeeded or failed. In 2021, I took a risk to enter a fashion competition that ended up completely shaping the trajectory of my career and life for the better. Though I was uncertain about the money and time commitments at first, I said ‘yes’ which ultimately led me to dozens of opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise found. Though I thought the ultimate best case scenario was winning the competition, it led to so much more. I became an Artist in Residence, found (and lost!) dream jobs, and discovered a newfound passion for teaching. For me, the most rewarding part of taking risks is knowing that even if I fail, that experience will open my world in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I heard a great phrase recently that “there are no wrong doors, only doors.” This has been the case for me even when–and especially when–I’ve failed. That said, risk can sometimes require an amount of privilege that I’ve been grateful to have. Leaning on what you do have, learning to ask for what you want, and saying ‘yes’ has been such expansive way of life. Read more>>

Marlena Wright

Growing up in small town Mississippi, routine was pretty much the norm for me. It provided a sense of safety and community, and coming from a close-knit family, it was expected that I would conform to the usual path—go to college, get a stable job, work for 50 years, and retire. Dreams didn’t pay the bills, so pursuing anything outside of that structure seemed impractical. Read more>>

 Joseph Vaglio Jr

The first is a steady diet of failure. Early on in my career, I was terrified of failing. This gripping fear limited my willingness to take the types of chances necessary to develop a creative mindset. Once I realized and accepted the power of so called ‘failure’ as a impetus for learning and growth, my path to success started to open. This is an easy concept to understand intellectually, but hard to endure emotionally. However, over time you develop ‘emotional ‘scar tissue’ that helps weather the inevitable storms required for true growth as an artist and entrepreneur. Read more>>

Maria Camila Jaramillo

By being true to myself. I can say I have taken several blind leaps of faith throughout my life. Over and over again I keep proving myself I am capable of overcoming every obstacle. That everything works out in the end. Yet, I can’t deny I keep getting afraid every time a new challenge presents itself that requires to take a blind risk. However, I have the full, complete, and total confidence that, if that leap of faith is in line with myself, my beliefs, and what I truly want and desire, there is no way in the universe that it won’t work out. Life rewards bravery, and that is a lesson I never want to stop learning. Read more>>

Paul Rogalski

Taking risk just came natural to me, especially with choosing a career in music.
Being a professional musician can go in so many directions and you have to be open for those different opportunities that can come your way.
As a musician there is touring on the road, studio musician being hired for playing on other peoples recordings, writing your own music and performing live and nowadays giving it away on all the social media avenues. Also working with different people and personalities or egos or complete generosity and creative connections. Read more>>

Tamzin Lurlay

When I started college I was an art major. Art had always been my first love and I was excited to explore new ways of creating art and developing my voice. However after finishing my first 2 years, I needed to take time off to earn money to finish my degree and I began having second thoughts. It’s not that my love for art was waning, in fact I was still enthralled and I enjoyed honing my abilities in both 2d and 3d art. I was worried about my ability to support myself financially; I was only the second person in my family to attend college and I needed to be able to earn my living. In 1991, I switched to Elementary Education, finished my degree, and found a job teaching. I spent the next 20 years in education and my art was relegated to volunteering to paint signboards, creating t-shirts designs for local nonprofits, and doing art with my kids. I always believed myself to be fundamentally a creative person but it just wasn’t in the cards for me to pursue art as a career. Read more>>

Prathyusha B

I had a job where I had to go every day and do the same thing over and over. It was good in the beginning because I learned something new contributed some value to it. But after a few months, I felt stagnant, comparing myself and realizing there was nothing new. I kept living the same life everyday, which made me open to challenges, atleast in my professional life. Cause thats where we spend most of our time consciously. Read more>>

Kara Payton

Risk is defined universally as the exposure to danger, harm, or loss. As a career artist of 20 years with no guarantee of where your next month’s rent, client, or opportunity is going to come from–dealing with risk is the undertow of daily life. Read more>>

Lara Grosso

I am a person who will never turn down an opportunity. I have a tattoo that says, “Take a Chance.” I got that tattoo about 10 years ago. When I was a kid, I was actually scared to take chances on many things. But when I was a teenager, I took more chances than I should have. I say that because many people did not want to see me succeed or become someone in life. There were people in my life who tried to help me, but nothing came of it. Where I am today, I am thankful for it. Read more>>

Sarah Fishbein

In my late 20s I met a photographer who, a year or so later, would become my life partner. At our first dinner we seemed to talk about everything, but one thing in particular that stayed with me was the suggestion to “Do something everyday that scares you.” Intrigued with that spirit, I wrote the quote in my journal that evening. I wanted to take on that challenge the very next day and I have faced each risk fearlessly with that concept in mind, Read more>>

Deanna Marie

I think back to when I was a child and we moved into a new neighborhood when I was fairly young, I wanna say around six years old. I didn’t know anyone. I saw all the kids in the neighborhood playing together when I would drive down the street with my parents and I felt a little out of place. Read more>>

Brinton Freeze

I developed my ability to take risks by choosing happiness. I grew up playing basketball and although the sport brought me joy, the environment wasn’t for me. I was great at something but left because I knew it wasn’t where I was meant to be. Leaving basketball for tennis was the best thing I ever did for myself and taught me that leaving something is hard, but the joy that comes from choosing yourself is full of lessons and growth that would never have been possible prior.  Read More>>

Nefertiti Gold

I developed my ability to take risks because I realized that my fear of failure was nowhere near as powerful as my fear of regret. I knew that if I didn’t at least try to pursue my dreams of making music and carving out a space for myself in the entertainment industry, I’d spend my life wondering what if. That thought alone was more terrifying than any potential setback I could face by taking a chance. Read More>>

Roo Ryder

Growing up, I was definitely a child who was more cautious and preferred to do things on the safer side. When you become an adult there are many times where you have to start taking risks to further your career, advance relationships, etc. so I had to try to start adapting. I found it really difficult at first because of all of the “what-ifs”. What if I don’t get the job? What if the relationship doesn’t work out? That simple phrase “what-if” is what stopped me from pursuing some of my dreams. Read More>>

Cyndi Richards

You know that saying, “the definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results?” For the first 12 or so years of my career, I was doing exactly that. I grew up with chronic migraine headaches. When I get a migraine, I have to eat something, drink water and something with caffeine in it like Pepsi, take my meds, and lay down in a quiet dark space. Migraines are considered chronic when you get 15 or more a month. You can imagine how much that kind of thing can impact your life. Read More>>

Justine Beauregard

When I first heard this question, I thought, “I’ve always been able to take risks. It was developing the courage to follow-through that really changed my life.”

I convinced myself for many years that I was a risk taker. Really, I was just playing it safe by taking small, calculated risks. Read More>>

Sam Al Esai

From realizing that regret is the strongest pain I could feel. I’d rather take the risk and fail and learn from it than never do and sit up at night wondering what if. Read More>>

Kai Hill

Risk feels like a natural doorway between phases. At a certain point when I was just starting out, the risk of staying stagnant, of not moving forward felt just as scary as taking the leap. Now at every new stage as I grow, the time to take a new risk arises regularly at the end of each plateau. You level up, you learn and grow into your new level, and then at a certain point, you run out of room to grow in that level and ‘Risk’ is the key to the next one.  Read More>>

Luke Henderson

It’s become apparent to me that the potential for joy is on the other side of risk. Risk gives me the opportunity to bridge the gap from where I am to where I could be. Thinking and talking are wonderful, but action is the only thing I’ve seen that actually solves the questions of, “What if?”. Read More>>

Stefany Benitez

My ability to take risks is deeply rooted in the example set by my immigrant parents. I watched them work tirelessly, often sacrificing their own comfort and dreams, to create a better life for their children. Their resilience, determination, and unwavering belief in the power of opportunity have always been my greatest inspiration. Read More>>

Geo Louis

A lot of people don’t know that I was a musician, singer, and songwriter first. I started performing and writing music with adults at a really young age, and by 15, I was already in rooms where I had to put myself out there in a big way. When you’re that young and surrounded by people with way more experience, you don’t really have the luxury of overthinking—you just have to step up. That forced me to shed a layer of fear early on and take risks creatively, socially, and professionally. Read More>>

Soraya Schwarzenecker

Taking risks is something I have to consciously choose to embrace and develop every day. It’s not always easy, but I’ve realized that the biggest regrets people often have aren’t about the things they did—but the things they didn’t do or try. One of the biggest risks I ever took was moving to Los Angeles. Leaving behind my family, friends, and everything familiar to pursue a career in acting was both exciting and terrifying. But I knew that if I didn’t take that leap, I would always wonder, what if? Read More>>

Joseph Dahlhausen

It’s scary to try something new. The way that I thought of it was that I would have grown old and regretted what I didn’t do. Starting out, I didn’t think that I’d have enough money and that maybe I was making a mistake. But if I didn’t take risks to start my own business, then I would have ended up in a dead-end job, hating what I did, and being just another cog in the machine. People at my former job were miserable.  Read More>>

Nathan Burrell

I developed the ability to take risk over 25-years ago. I always knew I had the entrepreneurial spirit, but I didn’t know yet how it would materialize. Thinking back, I remember graduating from college with my 4-year business degree from Jacksonville University, and I was ready for that job everyone promised me once I got a good education. Well, on my first interview out of college, I was told I didn’t have the experience for an entry level position. My reply was, “how can I get the experience if you don’t give me the job.”  Read More>>