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.

Vicki Tan

I’m a bit of a risk-taker, but it’s worked out pretty well for me! I’ve made two big career changes—first jumping into tech, then pivoting to design. Both times, I left jobs that were comfortable and had good reasons to stay. But each time I took that leap, it led to opportunities I never could have seen coming.

Here’s what I’ve learned: career risks usually feel way scarier than they actually are. We tend to imagine all the things that could go wrong, but honestly, those disaster scenarios almost never happen. And even when things don’t work out exactly like you hoped, you still come away with new skills, connections, and insights about yourself that end up being valuable down the road. Read More>> 

Iryna Romaniv

Risk is an integral part of success, and the key is always to measure the level of risk against your own strengths. Without risk – just like without the ability to take responsibility – it’s impossible to become truly independent. If you constantly rely on someone else to take that step, then someone else will eventually reap the rewards. Read More>> 

Bitota Mpolo

This is an interesting question because at one point, I would have considered a lot of things that I do on a day-to-day basis now to be risky. However, I’ve reframed my mindset to not view the things that are a benefit to me or my career to be a risk, even if it doesn’t initially pan out the way I thought it would. Declaring something to be a risk means that you’re already shifting your perspective to prepare for disappointment, and you are acknowledging the chance that it will not pan out in a positive way. Read More>> 

Curtis McGann

I think that risk taking is life giving. It may seem easy to sit in “comfortable” but in that comfortability, are we really living? Are we really doing what we were designed to do? I’ve looked at the faces of so many adults and in their eyes…the spark is gone. Life took its toll and so many people are just shuffling through each day, trying to make it to the weekend.
But what if there was something better? What if this isn’t the way we were meant to live? Read More>>

Adriana Mota

To me, risk-taking is about betting on yourself. A year ago, I took the leap and started my esthetician business without knowing exactly where it would lead. It was definitely challenging especially investing my own money but I felt it was better to try than to live with the question, ‘what if.’ Now, a year later, I’m proud to have grown from being home-based to renting a private suite, while steadily expanding my clientele. That risk has really pushed me to grow both personally and professionally. Read More>>