Shoot your shot? Take a chance? Society bombards us with messages, phrases, examples and stories of how taking risk is the key to success, but is anything ever that simple? We asked some of the brightest folks we know to tell us about how they think about risk. We’ve shared their responses below.

Mike Mclain

The first risk I took in my art career was going back to school at the age of forty. This meant starting with community college, moving on to university for a bachelors, and finally to grad school. A friend once joked that my mid life crisis ended with an MFA rather than a sports car.
The second risk was moving to California from Illinois for grad school at the Claremont Colleges, then making the decision to remain in So Cal after graduation. How could I not? Read More>>

 Kayleigh Eilenberger

Risk plays a huge role in my life and career. When I was 22 years old I decided to take a leap of faith and move from a small town in Pennsylvania to San Diego, California. This was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made, while scary it has made me who I am today. Read More>>

Jamison Jensen

The biggest role that risk has played in my life was my move from Washington State to Southern California. I saved as much money as I could spent every penny I had to pursue my dream of being a successful working actor in Hollywood. I left everything and everyone I knew behind to bet on myself. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about the risk I took and it pushes me to keep moving forward. Read More>>

May Nguyen

Risk-taking is the secret ingredient in the recipe for any entrepreneur’s success. As a real estate entrepreneur, Airbnb owner, and founder of a 501(c)(3), I’ve learned that risk is less about diving in blindly and more about calculating the leap—but sometimes, you have to take that leap anyway. Read More>>

Bo Benton

I think healthy calculated risks are essential in wealth and career building. Everything in life can be risky, but it’s the overall plan that turns risk into profitable outcome.

For me, if I risk taking a chance on an endeavor or person, it’s because I have a gut feeling it or they in combination with my efforts will prove to have the winning combination. Read More>>

 Shuchen Wang

“Risk-taking” is a distinctly capitalist word. In capitalism, people who own means of production take risks from them in order to achieve capital appreciation. But for individuals, economic is not the only consideration—and sometimes not even a factor after basic living needs are full filled. Read More>>

Mari Salarda

Don’t be scared to take big risks in your life. You have to be able to take a stand on huge decisions that could change the trajectory of your career. One of the biggest risks I took in my life was deciding to switch my stable nursing career to a not-so-stable dance career. Read More>>

Marissa Todd

Risk almost always peaks my interest, it’s edgy, exciting, seductive. I myself find my tolerance pretty middle of the road when it comes to risk. To quote my father, “participating in life requires risk management. Do your research, be as thorough as you can, then make the best decision with the information you have at the time.” Read More>>

Mark Vidano

I think the universe wants us to take risks and grow from them. I have to wonder if one of the ways that we stay young is to keep challenging ourselves.

Producing the film TOUCHED was way out of my comfort zone. I acted, but had not produced. The work that was put on other peoples productions prior to making the film, produced the best talent to get the film made. Read More>>

Marina Piche

life is wrongly too often about risk avoidance, instead we believe that (taking) risks are what moves us forward and instead it is a process that needs to be managed. risks should not be avoided, but managed.

obviously we have failed at several initiatiaves and ventures, but these have brought us closer to success. our biggest achievements came from risks where especially friends and family considered us completely crazy… like buying a 200yo farmhouse in the French Alps. Read More>>

Vanesa Melendez Bugarin

In all honesty, I didn’t grow up fond of taking risks. I preferred a calculated approach to success—one that ensured predictable results. But over time, I realized that the most inventive, impactful, and fearless individuals I admired embraced risks and lived in a way that felt foreign to most people. Read More>>

Zai

I believe that elevation requires taking risks. It doesn’t have to be a monumental leap—elevation can simply mean stepping beyond where you currently stand. For me, one of the most significant risks I’ve ever taken was leaving behind my life as a collegiate athlete and dropping out of school to pursue my passion for cinematography. Read More>> 

Hannah Barr

Taking risks has played an integral part in my career. Deciding to pursue professional ballet as a career itself is a big risk. One must decide on that pursuit at an incredibly young age compared to when others must decide to pursue most other careers, and the percentage of people that do become professional ballet dancers (and particularly for women because the competition is much more intense than for male ballet dancers!) is incredibly small. So much of it is out of one’s control as well, due to the subjectiveness of the artform. Read More>>

Lucia Castejon Lopez

i think I wouldn´t be in the place where I am right now without risks. The reality is that taking a risk is scary and sometimes that fear makes you not take the step that you need towards the direction you want.
For me taking the risk of moving across an ocean to further expand my knowledge in the film industry changed my life both personally and professionally. It was scary and thanks to the support of my family, specially my mom, I had the chance to move to LA and here I met wonderful people and I grew professionally in a way that I am not sure if I had been able to do back home. Read More>>