We recently connected with Gedalia Schorsch and have shared our conversation below.
Gedalia, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
How did I develop my ability to take risks? The short answer is practice. But the reality is that I enjoy taking risks and I think there’s a lot to learn from the process of taking risks.
I think risk often gets a bad rap and I see risk as an opportunity. And I also believe that my ability to take risks comes from many years of practice taking different kinds of risks. when I was younger, for example,I would climb everything, from playgrounds, to fences, to houses, to trees, and many many times people would really and truly freak out and lose their ever-loving-minds when they would see me in action. As an adult I practice parkour and gymnastics, run a woodworking business, and attempt to raise a child, managing the different kinds of risk that come up in different ways.
What fascinates me is how the idea of risk is internalized from such an early age. if something can have negative, usually physical, consequences, like falling out of a tree and breaking your arms, then fear builds up because of the consequences. but we rarely really try to understand or examine this relationship between our fear and the risk that states us in the face. One thing I’ve learned is that there is truly always something you can do to manage risks and create more positive outcomes. For me, this conversation is really important.
There are two things present in any risky situation. There is the PROBABILITY of something bad happening and then there are the CONSEQUENCES IF something DOES go wrong. But this is key. because for most adults, and thus for most kids, they see and learn that consequences must be avoided at all costs but they never learn how, so they avoid the risk, period. But there is so much more to it. and managing that risk is extremely rewarding.
In addition to woodworking, one of my hobbies is parkour. The whole point of parkour is managing and understanding yourself and your personal relationship with risk. Ask any skater to show you their shins and you will see firsthand how people live with consequences while trying to manage the risks. This is a skill that takes practice because understanding the difference between probability and consequence is important. Once you get good at finding that sweet spot between probability and consequence, then you can make better choices. And isn’t that life’s ultimate goal? but the default of just avoiding risk because you are too afraid wasn’t the way I wanted to live in the world. so I practice. I practice small, and I practice slow. And these are two ingredients for keeping the probability low of having big consequences. and the more I practice, the better I get at managing risks. The goal for me isn’t to avoid risks but to get better at deciding if I want to assume the risks and the consequences. For parkour that means checking surfaces before running on them, measuring distances before jumping across them, and going slow before I go fast. With my business I reduce the probability of consequences by keeping spreadsheets of important data points, communicating openly and honestly with clients and potential clients. I live my life with my eyes open because risk is something I have a great relationship with because I understand what is behind it. and the more I open myself up to it the more I learn about my own boundaries and what feels comfortable for me.
At the end of the day you have to practice. My ability to take risks comes from years of practice. I enjoy the feeling of evaluating the risks and making educated choices about my options. It feels empowering to accept risks and then see positive outcomes. My service to others is to start small and build up your ability to assess risks. Learn from mistakes and fine ways to do better next time.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I started Wild by Design because I love making things with my hands. My brand has grown into a fully custom furniture and art studio where I bring my clients’ dreams to life, combining live edge slabs and clean, elegant lines. I strive to create art that will serve the needs of my clients.
As a designer I would like to create more concept based art and furniture that would provoke conversations around protest and inequality. I try to strike a balance in my practice of creating client centered objects and also creating objects that have a point of view. I strive to lean into this more, working with local artists to create public works that resist capitalist, profit-focused results.
My goals going forward are to create public pieces that raise questions about the way we accept our world and about the ways in which we can make a difference. I want people to feel empowered in their lives to take action and I hope to create more of that through my work.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three qualities for me would be focusing on business, even if I’m resistant to it. It’s critical to understand how money works in order to make choices. I’m not the biggest fan of this learning but it has been really critical for the day to day functioning of my business. Other important skills for me are really more about being a well rounded person who lives a rich life full of unique experiences. I have a three year old and the patience that comes with watching him grow up often reminds me that it takes time to see results and being so focused on the end really detracts and distracts from being present and enjoying the day to day. My advice is to stay grounded and rejoice in the process.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Absolutely! I would love to collaborate in any and all ways. I am a maker and my background is in architecture so I have software skills and hard skills and I’m always looking for people to work with. People with big ideas especially are amazing to work with because we can get excited about a vision and work together to bring it to life. Filmmakers too are amazing to work with and I am always looking for people with these skills to bring the projects to life. If you are reading this and want to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out on Instagram I can be found @itswildbydesign.
Anybody who wants to build anything or create any type of creative project I am interested, please reach out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Itswildbydesign.com
- Instagram: @itswildbydesign
- Other: [email protected]
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