We asked some brilliant folks from the community to talk to us about how they think about risk and the role risk has played in their lives and careers.

Savannah Simpson

Without risk there is no reward. Risk has been one of the most important factors in my career as a makeup artist and model! I live by risk as it helps create the best art possible! Read More>> 

Anna Young

Risk-taking has been essential to every major step in my career. I truly believe that without taking risks, growth and especially creative growth is impossible. If I hadn’t taken the leap to leave my stable job and start gigging full time, I never would have made my first album. That album led to recognition, opportunities, and a sense of community in Boston that shaped me as an artist. Read More>>

Bryan Puertas

I see risk as both a chance for growth and a test of resilience, like a sink or swim moment. Working in the arts, especially at an experimental space like ESMoA, I take risks every day, from deciding which programs to run to choosing the right words for a newsletter. Leaving a corporate job to pursue my passion for art and community building was one of the biggest risks I’ve taken and one of the most rewarding. Risk has always played a key role in shaping both my life and career.  Read More>>

Bozhidar Krastev

Risk is something very scary. I believe that I live my life very safely, but looking back now, it doesn’t seem like that. Coming to Los Angeles was a huge risk for me. I came without knowing anybody and only with the address of where I was staying. But the funny thing here is that I was not scared. I am originally from a small country—Bulgaria, one of the most beautiful places on this planet. Read More>>

Peter Boyadjian

I believe taking risks is essential for growth. It’s how you push past limits, discover who you are, and shape your path. Some people live their whole lives under a safety net—not by choice, but because of the cards they were dealt. For me, everything changed when my dad had heart failure when I was 18. I was a college dropout, playing in bands, and suddenly I had to step up and support my family. That moment forced me to take real risks—not just creatively, but in life. And while it was tough, it’s also what helped me find direction and purpose. Read More>>

Lamel

i love taking calculated risk, taking risk play a huge role in my creative process from pushing my sound in unknown areas to trying new genre all together. Not only that but its been a fundamental tool in my life to get ahead. I personally believe your current reality will only go as far as your willing to take it. Its essential to remind yourself that growth happens outside the comfort zone because its an unfamiliar experience.  Read More>>

Renette Hammer

I would have never opened my own studio in San Francisco, if it weren’t for taking risks. As a young woman, its hard for someone to take the risk and lend you a space to run your business, or at least that’s what I was told. However, I have found that maybe risky steps in life are the only ways to have a successful business. Even right now while I relocate my tattoo shop, its. a risk, a new larger location. That risk I am taking only open more doors, especially if I think positively. Read More>>

Tierra Lyle

I’ve never been someone who were ever really afraid to take risks when it came to my goals, and my dreams, or my career in mind. I owe a lot of that to my mother. As a little girl up to now, she has always encouraged my sister and I to go after any and whatever dreams we had or desired! They say charity begins at home, and thankfully I was blessed to have a lot of that in my household, which made me not afraid to take on the risks of this world when pursuing my dreams. Read More>>

Michelle Kahn

Pursuing a life and career in film is inherently risky. For me, it was uncertain because I come from a family of engineers and entrepreneurs— No one in my family had ever worked in the film industry, so when I chose this path, I was stepping into completely unfamiliar territory.

Deciding to dive into it was not easy. It meant leaving behind a more conventional path, embracing uncertainty, and accepting the possibility of failure. I’ve always known I wanted to tell stories through film and fortunately, my family has always supported my passion and encouraged me to follow it, even when they didn’t fully understand it. Read More>>

Kevin Curtis

Definitely risk taking is very important in success, Without the courage to take the risk to stop chasing money and start chasing your dreams. I would have never realize that it’s my passion and skills that are actually the right way to earn money and achieve happiness. Read More>>

Noa Morchi 

For me, taking risks has always been part of the journey. I don’t think you can really grow, especially as an artist, without taking risks.

Moving from Israel to LA was probably the biggest risk I’ve ever taken. I had a stable career back home as a professional dancer, but I knew I wanted more. I wanted to challenge myself, to be in a place where the industry is happening, where I could push myself creatively. Read More>>

Timothy Young

I think risk is a scary thing in any aspect. I look at it as an unknown space where anything can happen and you can’t predict what the outcome might be. For me and my career I’m trying to build is very risky. I mean, I dropped out of college because I decided to go for modeling and try to make it my career. Also, they don’t have classes on modeling in college haha. I’ve risked leaving my friends and family back home in Utah to pursue this career here in Los Angeles. Read More>> 

Amanda/Mandy Tannen

I don’t consider myself a huge risk taker… unless it has to do with pursing creative fulfillment. I am an over-thinker and love to weigh all sides of a decision. But, when I do take risks, it is mostly because when it comes to following my talents and passions, it’s a no brainer. I know that if I don’t follow a creative opportunity I’m excited about that I will regret it. For me, they don’t come very frequently. The biggest risk is that I try not to think about money when it comes to these decisions, but ask myself if I will regret not doing it. The money will figure itself out. Read More>>

Esther Andries

I’m not afraid of risk. But I never go into it blind. For me, it has to be calculated.

When I launched my first business, Divers, a healthy food bar in Antwerp, I didn’t just write one business plan. I wrote two. One was the dream scenario if everything went well. The other mapped out the worst-case scenario — how long I could keep things running, when I’d need to pivot, and at what point I’d pull the plug if it didn’t work. That second plan gave me so much peace. It let me move forward with clarity, not just hope. Read More>>

Kayla Becker

About a year ago, I left my job at WWE after eight years of being in the thick of live TV and larger-than-life storylines. No plan. No parachute. I just decided to bet on myself, to see what I could make happen without a giant machine behind me. Spoiler alert: it’s been equal parts terrifying and hilarious. But I knew I had to step off the conveyor belt to see what else was out there for me. Risk has basically been the main character in my story since then. Read More>>

Sarah Jayne Brown

Every major turning point in my career has come from a risk — emotionally, financially, and creatively. I’ve chosen to tell stories that scare me. I launched a crowdfunding campaign without knowing where the money would come from. I write scripts that straddle genres and center complex women, even when I’ve been told they won’t sell. I write them anyway, knowing that they reveal a piece of myself. That kind of vulnerability has been both a risk and a superpower. I used to be afraid of taking chances. But every time I do, I get closer to the life I’m meant to live. Read More>>

Amanda Litzinger

Risk is an interesting topic for me. I’m frequently admired for being a risk taker, but I believe there’s actually more at stake when playing it safe vs. going after what you want. I’ve always been into self help/ entrepreneurship and one concept I learned about when first getting started is opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is the value of what you give up when you make a decision, wether that’s time, money, or other resources.  Read More>>

Isabella Peña Giraldo

Taking risks has been a key part of my personal, emotional, and professional growth. I firmly believe that risk is what pushes us out of the familiar, challenges us, and allows us to discover what we’re truly made of. Many times, our inner fears and limiting thoughts hold us back from pursuing our dreams. But when we confront those fears and dare to take the leap even with uncertainty we realize there is always something valuable on the other side: growth, learning, and strength. Read More>>

Cesia Martinez

Taking risks hasn’t just been a part of my journey—it’s shaped the very core of it. In my late teens and the start of my early twenties, I found myself in the routine comfort of retail jobs. It was stable and familiar. I was always in a miserable state working these jobs. I knew I was meant to make art and wouldn’t be satisfied unless I did so. Read More>>

Olga Move

For me, risk has been at the heart of almost every big decision in my life and career. I took a leap when I quit my job and left university to pursue the stage. I moved to LA with just one suitcase and a dream. I even walked away from a huge online project with 7,000 students to focus on building my personal brand. All of those choices were scary. They meant stepping into the unknown, facing fears, and trusting myself even when nothing felt certain. Read More>>

Jesse Henry

I love this question. The thing about risk-taking is—it’s bold. And it’s not for everybody. When you take a risk, there’s always the possibility that there won’t be a reward. But that’s part of what makes it powerful.

I also don’t believe in the idea of being “ready.” Ready isn’t a feeling—it’s a decision. You decide to go for it, even if it’s uncomfortable. And in my opinion, there’s no sense in taking a risk unless you’re truly willing to see it through. Read More>>