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.
Sean Bjordal
Safe: a word that was all too common in my younger years, and, to this day, is a word that sometimes creeps into my adulthood forcing me to take a step back and realize life is too short to be anything but. Life is a journey and there are too many chapters left unwritten to live in the unknown rather than the safety of what is expected. This is not to say life would have been single file and ordinary had I not acted on risk throughout my life, but my gradual instinct to jump on opportunities with a one way ticket as a teen has created a life of wild adventure, figure it out moments and championing challenge. Read more>>
Jasmin Fuentes
Taking risks can be very intimidating, especially when they are life changing. Most of the time we do not know what the outcome may be which is a main reason we all hold back. We’re afraid of failure..and that’s normal. Fear to fail and disappoint can be crippling. Read more>>
Dr. Stevi Gould
I was not always a risk taker. Taking risks involves not only courage but vulnerability. Over the years, I have encountered personal and professional obstacles that have forced me to reevaluate my priorities in life. Read more>>
Capo
I honestly feel it’s something I developed from my youth. Naturally I am not a risk taker it makes me extremely uncomfortable and I prefer to really think things out and calculate my moves before making them. But as a kid I was always taking risks from skateboarding to jumping off high places and never really thought about the consequences. Read more>>
Kenna Paige
When considering risk-taking, I adopt two distinct thought processes: Read more>>
Devon
I’ve always been a risk taker and a big idea person. I grew up in a chaotic and abusive home as an only child so my imagination had no limits and was oft times my best or only friend. I’ve been an avid reader since I was around 5 years old. My books could take me anywhere. to the point that I started to believe I could go anywhere and do anything. Read more>>
Beth Heckel
In 2007, I visited Uganda with my daughter, a journalist. She took me to a UNHCR Refugee Settlement Camp in western Uganda. I grew up in a town of 2,000 people, mostly farmers. There were not a lot of risks growing up and I was not interested in taking them. Read more>>
Aly Mattoon
I have never thought of myself as a “risk taker” but I now understand that it’s all about timing and using unexpected events as stepping stones. I was recently given the opportunity to take the risk and next career step of opening up my own studio after the space I was renting at closed down. There was a bit of panic , scrambling, exploring, then realizing that I was ready to take the risk. Once I fully embraced my next move I found a space that felt right and the risk transitioned into immediate growth. Read more>>
Niree Kalfayan
Life is all about choices. We can choose to stay where we are or we can choose to have new experiences and see what we can learn from them. I’ve always had a curious and somewhat adventurous personality which has supported my ability to continually take risks. Read more>>
Franki B
Well, when I was a kid my mom had to work a job she didn’t really care for it was just a means of providing for us. There were lots of ups and downs
for us like not having electricity some nights or eating ramen but some of the ups was her getting me a used guitar from a pawn shop. Read more>>
Diego Ornelas-Tapia
I didn’t start taking risks until the Summer of 2017. Prior to that time, I was like Chidi from The Good Place or George McFly from Back to the Future, heck, even Connell from Normal People: I was my own worst enemy. I suffered from immense insecurity and anxiety, and I analyzed things so much so that I became paralyzed. Read more>>
Eslee Hernandez
I have often been afraid to take a step; many times in my life, I’ve feared success. Success often comes with hard work and challenges. There was a time when I regretted not taking a certain risk, and that feeling of regret took a significant toll on me. I now wonder, “What would have happened if I had taken that step and risked it?” Read more>>
Aliyah Bonnette
I developed my ability to take risks from my mother. Watching her start a business on her own and become successful was on of my biggest influences to this day. Watching her consistently do what it took to provide for us no matter how tired or overwhelmed she was showed me that fighting for the things you want and care about have benefits in a real and tangible way. Read more>>
Tierra O’Neal
I believe that the ability to take risks is not just a skill; it’s a mindset, a philosophy that has evolved throughout my personal and professional journey. It’s about embracing the unknown, pushing boundaries, and daring to go beyond our comfort zones. Read more>>
Danecha’ McKisset
I wasn’t always a risk taker. I used to be very afraid of trying things without being certain of the outcome. As I got older I realized that my apprehension was holding me back. I’m the person who over analyzes things which isn’t particularly bad but you have to know when to shut it off. Read more>>
Sade Stafford
I reached a pivotal juncture in my life where a profound desire for change consumed me. I envisioned the woman I aspired to become, yet I struggled to manifest that version of myself. As the adage goes, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly while expecting different outcomes.” Read more>>
Jess Belfry
Risk 15 years ago vs risk now has changed quite a bit for me. Early along my entrepreneurial journey, I was having to take risks out of necessity. I didn’t have a lot of experience to know if a risk would have any reward. Read more>>
Kellice Mitchell
One day, out of nowhere, enough is enough. A Facebook meme said “one day, you and your childhood friends played together for the last time and nobody knew. ” This was my finance career. I went to work on a Monday without knowing that it’d be my last day in corporate America. Read more>>
NICHOLE KOLB
Starting a new career at any age can be difficult, but doing so at 40 may seem crazy. My story starts 10 years ago. I had a successful career in the legal field as a paralegal for about 20 years. While I enjoyed my career, I always felt like I was missing something. Read more>>
