We asked some of the most interesting folks in the community to open up about how they think about taking chances and the role risk has played in their lives and careers. Risk is by far the topic folks talk to us most about and we hope the responses below will help shed light on many different perspectives.

Emilio Gonzalez | Musician

I think taking risk a risk is always important, when you know when to take them. A big part of music is communication and stepping out of your comfort zone to meet another musician or reach out to someone that you look up to, might lead you to a strong connection with that person. Whenever a musician inspires me or something excites me, I feel the need to reach out and tell them how much of an impression they’ve made on me, then I kinda give them a general idea of what I do, so maybe in the future they might find more of an interest to hear me perform. Read more>>

Arnaya Needleman | Visual Artist

This is a really great question and actually something I think about pretty often. I took a big risk by leaving my career in 2020, where I began exploring my creative side and started painting as a form of therapy. It was a really important step during my journey because it was a necessary tool I used to learn how to effectively express myself. I realized that I had learned to suppress my feelings and emotions to appease people. Painting is my way of disrupting that norm.
Being an artist challenges me to self-reflect in order to learn more about who I am and give grace to the person I was. Read more>>

Rickard Claeson | Actor & Risk-taker

I believe that a lack of willingness to take risks was a significant factor in my decision to pursue a career in acting. At one point, I held a well-paying nine-to-five job that offered a predictable routine, leaving me eagerly anticipating weekends and occasional vacations. I knew precisely what each day entailed, and I executed my tasks without much difficulty. It was a secure path with few challenges or hurdles to overcome. Read more>>

Austun Reid | Content Creator & Entrepreneur

How do I think about risk…that is a very interesting question I think that for me I thrive on risk. I’m a huge believer in “Go big or go home” and I feel like you have one life to live so why not bet on your dreams and take the risk? Regardless of what the outcome may be, you will learn SOMETHING from that risk you have taken. During the duration of my 23 years on this earth I have taken so many risks some good, and some not the BEST but in the end, they all have led me to where I am today and I have learned so much from each experience. Read more>>

Madi ARTeaga | Digital Collage Artist

I am a huge advocate for taking calculated risks because they might pleasantly surprise you. Risks force us to learn and grow, whether everything goes according to plan or chaotically. My risks worked out for the best and changed my life completely. I began my risk taking in October of 2020 when I moved to Orange County, California from St. Louis, Missouri with only 2 suitcases. I risked my old life as I once knew it for my passion of pursuing artwork. Read more>>

Amaya Lanae | Heels Choreographer & Instructor / Dancer

Taking risks has brought me to so many amazing opportunities, connections, and experiences, that I never could have imagined. And from each experience has come a new set of knowledge that I continue to carry around with me for every new chance to come. It can be easy to feel those frantic nerves that come with trying new things especially when you can’t control nor predict the outcome. I found myself becoming more aware of my own anxieties and the negative core beliefs that caused me to hesitate in getting to a higher level in my personal journey. Read more>>

Jerilyn Lee | Illustrator and Designer

I think in art there is always an element of risk. Whether it is testing a new medium, trying out a different subject matter, or just simply showing your work to the world, there is always an amount of risk involved. Without taking chances in life I don’t think people would be able to grow so fluidly, and we’d all stay stagnated forever, (which would be very boring). Some of the most fun and exhilarating parts of being an artist come from “risk” factors, or making decisions that you don’t fully know what the results will entail. Read more>>

EJ Yeh | Film Director & Cinematographer & Producer

Absolutely! Taking risks, especially in the realm of filmmaking, is an inherent part of the process. Every choice, from the storyline to the cast to the style of cinematography, comes with its set of uncertainties. The looming question is always there: Will the audience resonate with my vision? Can I bring together a harmonious team dynamic? Will external factors derail my project? Yet, despite these uncertainties, risk also signifies the uncharted, the unknown, and the potential to traverse boundaries to birth something innovative. Read more>>

Seth Collier | Artist

I think everything has had a risk factor. I definitely believe in just going for it. The worst that can happen is rejection. Just sending that email with your reel & resume can lead to endless opportunity! Taking money & time risks to invest in your career is scary but it’s usually rewarding. I plan on taking yet another risk by leaving my family/home to take my career to the next level in LA. I’ve just signed with MSA agency & have an exciting dance job opportunity coming up in LA. Read more>>

Xander Herman | Cinematographer & Producer

There are two different types of risk that you tend to take in filmmaking. One type of risk is where you are out in danger, which I usually find myself in on documentaries. This risk I was certainly more open to when I was younger. I ended up shooting a doc on a band putting on a show in Honduras, and before I went I knew there were certain risks I was taking in the process to film the doc. While we were there we were lucky enough to stay in a hotel that had a pool and one night we got a chance to swim. Read more>>

Daniella Knight | Makeup Artist

Risk has played a huge role in my career path. Rewinding back to my undergraduate studies at UCLA— I was on track to graduate with a pre-med degree. I had my next ten years planned out to the T and was so certain that I was going to be a doctor. My third year I knew I was wrong, but I was scared because what else was I going to do? My plan after graduating was moving back to Texas where my parents were. After I graduated, I decided I’d stay a few months longer to figure out what I was going to do and to stay until the lease ended. Read more>>

Sina Azari | Visionary Leader & Growth Strategist

Taking risks is essential for growth and success. It allows us to learn and to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones. It also helps us achieve our goals and to live our best lives. Some benefits of continuing to take risks is increased opportunities, increased confidence, increased resilience, and the most rewarding, increased satisfaction. When i take risks and achieve my goals, it motivates me to take on even more risks in the future. Read more>>

Matt Pasini | Autistic Actor & Trans Activist

Growing up, I’ve always been a risky kid. From jumping off the roof of my neighbor’s shed with a bedsheet trying to make a parachute, to hopping fences and sneaking around abandoned places for a sense of adventure, it’s very clear I like taking risks. I even went skydiving for my 18th birthday as a gift to myself. So, when I approached my folks about wanting to be an actor professionally when I was 13, they dismissed it as one of the “crazy ideas in my head” but they let me take film and tv classes anyway. I discovered super quickly I LOVE film and tv acting. Read more>>

Laura Jansen | Cinematographer

My career as a freelance cinematographer is pretty much the definition of risk. There’s the uncertainty of where my next job is going to come from and when it’s going to come. And of course there’s always the chance of sudden events like the current WGA and SAG strikes, which threaten my work as well. I’m someone who more often than not likes to roll the dice on things and take risks. Not because I have full confidence that it will work out, but because playing it safe is even scarier to me than taking the risk. Read more>>

Paolo Encarnacion | Illustrator and Graphic Designer

Risk-taking is very new to me. I grew up in a Filipino household, where things always had to be done a certain way, and we were raised to be thankful that we have what we have and to not ask for more. This came hand-in-hand with keeping our heads down when seeing or hearing wrongdoing in our environment and not attracting any attention to ourselves. This was especially the case because it was on a visitor visa when my family brought me in from the Philippines. Read more>>

Dennis Messner | Cartoonist, author, illustrator, writer, & storyboard artist

While living in Chicago, and working as a graphic designer, I entered a Nickelodeon Storyboard Talent Competition, which I shockingly won and which gave me the opportunity to pitch a children’s animated TV series idea to a producer at Nickelodeon. I moved to LA, but the pilot wasn’t picked up. From there, I just started pitching animated TV ideas, not knowing AT ALL what I was doing or how I was supposed to do ANY of it. I’d like to say this was all fearless risk-taking, but naive might be a better word. Read more>>

John Rose | Artist, Sculptor and Painter

Making the decision to become an artist and then making art every day that is first… I grew up on a council housing estate in Northern England in the 50’s and 60’s and going to art school was a huge risk coming from my background. But then I started taking more risks, first hitch hiking through Europe and realizing there was so much more out there. Worked as a lecturer in several art colleges in England, moving from city to city always trying to find the next best gig. Read more>>

Rob Simons | Writer + Photographer

Life’s a risk, but to become truly great at something, anything, I think you have to take chances and “live recklessly” — as Joan Didion said. You have to be willing to put it all on the line. Growing up, my dad was a judge and my mom a school teacher. My brother is a corporate attorney. It would have been easier for me to take a more conventional path. But I’ve always had this need to tell stories — to make sense of what it means to be alive. Read more>>

Cornell Hawkins | Business Professional & Style Blogger

Deep down I am very cautious person who likes to analyze all possible outcomes of a situation so I can make a logical decision. When it comes to risk taking, the ultimate deciding factory is “is my greatest possible lost greater than my greatest possible gain”. Being open to taking a chance on myself has allowed me the opportunity to enter spaces I never thought I could, travel to destinations I never heard of, and form life long friendships with people around the globe. Read more>>

Kemmii | Performing Artist

Risk is necessary for growth. I’m a huge learner of experience and most experiences that involved benefit on the other end, included risk. My goals of becoming an amazing performing artist will not come by running from every obstacle that faces me. I have not much to lose and everything to gain. Read more>>

Lauren D Zbarsky | Photographer

I think taking calculated risks as well as risks based on intuition are integral in achieving success in business, art and life. I’ve taken many risks throughout my career as well as within my personal life. The one thing I can say without a doubt is that I’ve always learned so much each one – lessons about relationships in business, how to navigate certain situations, how to be strategic. Every risk I’ve taken, no matter how it played out, I’ve come out richer in experience and always grateful for the opportunity. Read more>>

Ana Paz-Diaz | Salon Owner, Yogi

Every entrepreneur would agree that if you dont take a risk you will never find out. Risk came in my life before I could make decisions of my own. My parents brought me to this country to be closer to family and that was the biggest risk they ever made. Being illegal in this country for the formative years of my youth and early adulthood made this huge risk one i would have to embrace. I had to make my own decisions take my own risks with the life I was handed. Read more>>

Dan Sprogis | Art Director & Visual Development Artist for tv, film and video games

I think the saying “no risk, no reward” rings true in my career. When I decided to pursue art and animation as a career, I had to make a lot of sacrifices, both financially and personally. I left my family and went deeper into debt during a time when there was a lot of uncertainty in the future. Animation jobs were hard to come by in 2008, the year I applied to Sheridan College in Oakville, Canada. This would be my third undergraduate degree so debt was piling up, and there was no guarantee of a job after leaving school. Read more>>

Indrani Desouza | LA- based Acting Teacher/Set Coach

I believe that taking risks is the life blood of anybody that is pursuing a career in the arts. If you don’t take the risk, you’ll never get to the beautiful rewards. Read more>>

Amber Coyle | Actress

My big dream of becoming a successful working actress and the path that led me here entails a high degree of RISK. No pain, no gain. No guts, no glory. Those statements absolutely ring true for my personal experience and commitment to my career as an actress. I can certainly advise and guarantee that any actor not willing to take risks won’t get very far in this industry. Read more>>

Denise Madrigal | Celebrity Makeup and Hairstylist

Risk taking is perhaps the biggest test in my career. It makes me question whether I want to be comfortable and stay comfortable or challenge myself and grow, learn, etc. If you don’t take risks you won’t know what’s on the other side of that. I honestly wouldn’t have made it as far as I have if I didn’t take risks and say yes to things. Read more>>

elvis sharp | Actor

Taking risks has pushed me to move and go farther. Risks have helped me move out of my comfort zone and opened more doors and opportunities. Read more>>

Jmar Panther | Photographer & Creative Director

I think of risks taking as a good thing. My life has been full of decisions & risks.
I believe risk equals reward , take that step , make that sacrifice & see what happens. Ive taken risks in career bending moments & they’ve always played out in my favor , I’m thankful. Read more>>

Rosa Castillo | Esthetician & Small Business Owner

Risk equals opportunities. The greatest rewards can come from unexpected places, sometimes taking risks are necessary to achieve loftier goals. We often fall, but we get back up. There is always something bigger waiting on the other side of experience. Some of the greatest business models started with taking a risk, usually with a continuation of risk taking in order to achieve the next level of success. Read more>>