Are you a risktaker?

Are you a risk taker? Do you think you have a stronger appetite for risk relative to your friends and family? We asked some folks from the community about their approaches to risk and have shared their thoughts below.

Mo Shareef | Business Owner – Producer – Filmaker

As a young person, the idea of taking risks is pretty exciting to me. I feel like I have the freedom to take chances and see where they lead. For me, risk-taking is all about grabbing opportunities and pushing myself to try new things. Read more>>

Sayre Crabtree | Film Producer & Screenwriter

When it comes to taking risks, I start by reminding myself everything is inherently risky. Every time I get in my car or walk down the street, anything could go wrong. If I asked myself whether getting my daily coffee was worth the risk of potentially being robbed or worse, I’d say of course not. Yet here I am, sipping my coffee. Read more>>

Hadar Cohen | Artist & Educator

My relationship with risk has evolved over time. When I was younger, I loved taking risks and letting life guide me into the mysterious unknown. Though overtime, I found taking risks harder. Read more>>

Abigail Elizabeth | Photographer and Videographer

I would say that risk and risk taking is a very big part of my life and career. Risk management plays a vital role, just as much as it is knowing when to take a big ‘jump’ or risk. Read more>>

Cassidy Dansberry | Accessories Designer, Image Consultant, Artist, and Creative Director

Risk-taking has played a huge role in developing my life journey and career, as it’s been about betting on myself with an unshakeable mindset. In life, you have to push through at all costs. No matter how over the top your idea might be to others or yourself! Read more>>

Zoya

Taking risks is half the game. Betting on yourself and jumping into the unknown can seem crazy to others or even to yourself, but if you have the heart for it, it can completely change your life. Read more>>

Brianna Hernandez | Esthetician

I love a great risk. To an extent of course! The feeling of the unknown really excites me. If I didn’t take the risk to “cold turkey” open my own business, I would still be working for someone else. I am so happy at the fact that I chose to make that leap and figure it out as I go. Read more>>

Ilaria Serantoni | Cinematographer – Director

It’s a fundamental part of growth: if you don’t think outside the box, there’s no evolution, and this applies to every aspect of life. Obviously, we have to fight the fear of uncertainty. I left my country to work in the film industry. As difficult as it was and still is, I don’t regret it. Read more>>

Andrew Chayra | CEO of The World Is Small

The saying goes high risk high reward. Starting a business is one of the biggest risks that a person can take in their life. It’s like jumping out of a plane with no parachute and hoping you land safely. Read more>>

Megan Costello | Big Wave Surf & Music Photographer

I think being a creative is all about risk. It’s a world that isn’t usually handed to you, so you’re always carving your own path. For me this meant moving to Hawaii to pursue surf photography with $2,000 to my name and hoping for the best. It did work out because the universe usually rewards a risk-taker.  Read more>>

Joe Silva | Caterer/Photographer

Risk is scary, yet, exciting. I worked in the medical field for 18 years before giving my two-weeks notice to pursue my passion full-time, so I think I know a little about risk lol. I left in September of ‘23 and I’ve had zero regrets. If you work hard and have a great support system, anything is possible. Read more>>

Jingyao Huang | Visual Artist

Becoming an artist is an endless adventure in itself. Immersing in art creation brings great joy, but financial and life challenges inevitably follow, which are necessary experiences for a full-time artist I think. Every profession involves risks, but I believe that art is resilient. Read more>>

Victor Ha | Visual Development Artist

The greater the risk, the greater the return. I never would have imagined that I’d have a career in the animation industry. As an adolescent, that was not on the list of “things I could be as a grown up” – not even an afterthought. Read more>>

LordxLam

I think of risk taking in the same manner people might think of energies or any similar phenomenon we can feel but can’t see. This thought process allows me to separate risk from danger. Taking on risk feels uneasy. You get butterflies, your nerves heighten, you experience anxiety. Read more>>

DJ Furth | Film Director

Somewhat calculated risks are essential to creating anything fresh or really just anything worth making. If something feels too safe then I generally interpret that as being something not worth pursuing. All of the best work I’ve made was a direct result of listening to some inner inclination and following it despite it being real risky. Read more>>

Eugenie Spirito | Sculptor

Great question. To me, risk is all about creating the life one wishes to live. Without risk-there is no dreamlife. One of the first risks I took was when I had just graduated from college. I knew somehow the man I was suppose to marry was somewhere in NYC not in L.A. where I grew up. Read more>>

Lourdes Marie Gan | Asian American Writer, Spoken Word Performer and Community Organizer

In my perspective, taking risks in your personal and professional life provides the utmost courage. Risk taking is imperative to an artist’s growth, especially when you come across an idea or a goal that no one else desires to validate or believe in. You truly have to treat risk as a motivating factor because it provides that fuel to keep going, keep dreaming and transform a simple thought into the brilliant fruits of your labor. Read more>> 

Manuel Fuentes | Actor & Model

How I think about risks is more of an all or nothing type of mentality. My vision always has been to pursue an artistic career path and I understand the difficulty of it. This risk has taken me to meet my idols I use to watch on my phone screen, it is the surreal moments I’ll never forget. Read more>>

Jason Goldman | Producer, Songwriter, Musician

As a musician, especially as a producer, songwriter, and jazz musician I’m always trying to come up with new and interesting ideas to use in music. This involves taking a ton of risk. Whether it be taking elements from one genre and combining it with another or improvising on a jazz song, trying to stretch my ears and my abilities, its a necessity for me. Read more>>

René Gibson | Tattooer/ Artist

well, what set me apart from others when I was starting out is it was a new style of tattooing that didn’t really exist at the time, I’ll forever be proud of the fact I taught myself how to tattoo, I didn’t do a tattoo apprenticeship, and that my tattooing then eventually gained me an 0-1 working visa in the USA ( the artist visa) coming from a small country like New Zealand America seemed so unattainable, so achieving that access from a career I’d made for myself is something I’m very proud of. Read more>>

Julia Seitz | Digital Student Storyteller & Aspiring Communications Professional

Risk is an inevitable part of life and ultimately one we should embrace, rather than run away from. Some things will land, others will fail, and regardless of the outcome we can always LEARN. Risk often has a negative connotation but can be viewed as positive or neutral if we reframe our thinking. Read more>>

Lauren Aigner-Westervelt | Tattoo Artist & Fine Artist

I believe that taking risks is imperative as a person, and especially as an artist. After I graduated college with my BFA in Graphic Design, I moved to New York City. I was already curious about the tattoo industry at this time, but I was applying for junior designer positions. Read more>>

Aaron Lieber | Film Director & Cinematographer

Risk is in everything we do in life and learning how to calculate it is key to finding successes. But I think a lot of us over think risk and fail to take the leap of faith that risk requires in order to get the results we desire. Read more>>

Zosia Garcia Sledzinska | Photographer & Producer

I moved to LA with two suitcases, so I would say risks plays a big part in my life, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen but here we are. At times it was difficult but it has been an amazing journey. Read more>>