How do you think about risk? What role has taking risks played in your life/career? Check out responses from hidden gems from our community below.

Jonathan Moon | Music Producer | Photographer

I feel that risk-taking is endemic to every facet of our lives; that security and stability are largely illusions, and that the artist is the one who has seen this enough times to internalize and synthesize it into a lyrical mirror for mass reflection. Comfort is akin to death. Read more>>

Sydne Samuels | Arts Administrator, Educator, Production Assistant & Director

A year ago I had never been away from home, had never lived alone or traveled by myself or even taken the subway. Immediately after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, a school only minutes away from where I grew up, I took a huge risk and moved to New York City. Read more>>

Scarlet Mann-Knapp | Artist/ Photographer

Honestly, risk taking has been the theme of my entire adult life. From saying yes to the pregnancy with my first born son at age 18 to making the move from Arkansas to Los Angeles, alone, on my 21st birthday to gorilla-style shooting nudes all around LA and the country throughout my art career. Read more>>

Arvind Subramanian | Cofounder at Contour

I think risk is just the ratio of downside to upside. If the disadvantages significantly outweigh the advantages, it may not be worth it. Historically, startups have been viewed as an inherently risky venture. Chances of failure are nearly 100%. But I’d argue that today, startups are less risky than working at a large company. Read more>>

Janice Kenyatta | Author, Entrepreneur, Retired Educator/School Administrator, Risk Taker

Risk taking is a scary notion for many people. Not taking some risks throughout one’s life can lead to a dead end in major areas that impact your career, your education, and your personal life. Risk taking involves making some sort of change, and this is precisely what frightens many individuals. I have always embraced and looked forward to change, therefore I consider myself a risk taker. Read more>>

R.J. Parker | Artist/Musician

I believe risk is essential for growth and development, risk removes us from our comfort zone. That being said I haven’t always had the best relationship with risk taking, for a long time I prided myself on being very calculated about taking chances which I still believe is important but I do think there was a lot of doubt and apprehension included in that, that I didn’t acknowledge.  Read more>>

Yasamin Rezai | Actor & Scholar

Risk? To me, it’s the very essence of art and creation! As an actor and an artist, I literally THRIVE on the edge of risks and the adrenaline it brings to me. I’m all about calculated risks, though, not haphazard gambles_ even when sometimes it doesn’t seem like they’re calculated from outside.  Read more>>

Matthew McMenamy | Artist, Songwriter, Producer

First and foremost, thank you for having me. When it comes to risks and risk-taking, it’s pretty much the crux and my entire career. I wouldn’t be half as far, if here at all, if I hadn’t taken a couple risks and listened to the people in my hometown. It was a major risk moving out to LA from my quaint rural Texas town. Read more>>

Lena Frechen | Owner of a Social Media Agency

I love the saying ‘If you don’t take risks, nothing will change’ and I live by that quote. I moved to Australia when I was 18 and worked for a Charity Organization for a couple of months in Sydney. After moving back to my hometown and graduating from College I knew it was time for the next chapter so I packed my bags again and moved to NYC 🙂 I didn’t know anyone when I moved, but I was ready and as we all know, great things never come from comfort zone. Read more>>

Josslyn Banh | Actress, Singer, Entrepreneur, & Golfer

I believe that if your wondering if you should take the risk, take it. This risk could change your whole life in a good or bad way. If it affects you in a negative way it’s fine, just keep going and never give up. If you don’t take risk how would you ever grow and develop? We all start from somewhere and work hard to get to the top. Like me, I had to take many risks to get to where I am today. Read more>>

James Kong | Tattoo Artist

Risk… they must be taken. I feel like every big decision evolves some sort of leap of faith.. Risk played a huge role in my career because trying to become a professional tattoo artist was not an easy road for me. To start off you do not have many clients, you are not making much money, and the competition in the tattoo industry is especially high in Los Angeles.  Read more>>

Marrin Costello | Jewelry Designer + Brand Architect + Podcast Host

This is always one of my favorite questions to answer. And in full transparency, just as I believe that Marrin Costello Jewelry is just getting started and our biggest opportunity has yet to present itself, I also firmly believe that my biggest failure has also yet to rear its ugly head. While we can never control the uncontrollables, what we can do is remain malleable in the face of adversity. Read more>>

Serv Khodavirdian | IT Professional | Web Designer & Entrepreneur

In reflecting on my career, I recognize that taking calculated risks has been fundamental to my professional development. For instance, when our first-ever client requested a website built with WordPress, I was initially panicked because, until that point, I had only developed custom websites using direct coding. Read more>>

Sari Megan Kern | Pink-Haired Pancake Queen & Mompreneur

Gambling and adrenaline are deeply ingrained in my nature. From learning Blackjack with my dad as a young child, to training as a cave diver in university, I’ve always sought the rush of uncertainty. Yet, I understand the difference between reckless gambling and calculated risk-taking. Read more>>

Keegan James | Song artist and professional dance skater

The idea of taking a risk is something I started pondering very early on in my life. Every decision we make in our lives has a risk factor, but the depth of the consequences is something that can be subjective based on the values and priorities of the risk taker. I looked up the definition of taking a risk and it says “to do something that may result in a loss or failure”. Read more>>

Brendan Monahan | Photographer & Aircraft Maintenance

I think taking risks is very crucial for one’s growth personally and professionally. I definitely think learning and exploring what the unforeseen things that might come up but the positive of taking said risk can lead to some of the greatest memories and moments in a person’s life and career. Read more>>

Danielle Robinson | Esthetician

When it comes to taking risks I have the mindset of it’s either you do it or you don’t. Opening your own business is a risk itself, every day it’s opened you’re taking the risk but it’s your dream so you do what you can do to make that dream become a reality.  Read more>>

Noel Lay | Wedding and Elopement Photographer

Risk taking was the basis of my career as a wedding photographer– I literally dropped out of a PhD program to pursue it. Let me explain–I had never done professional photography, and barely knew how to work a camera, but I knew it was something I wanted to do (even though I was scared). My husband and I had done a few wedding videos, and I knew I loved weddings and people. Read more>>

Uneak Music | Music Producer & Mixing Engineer

Risk is a double edge sword. It can open you to great opportunities or lead you to major loses. However, as a creative entrepreneur, risk is a necessary component of my life & business. I am well acquainted with risk in all aspects & seasons. It has played a significant role in my life. It has honestly shaped me for the better. From my family’s migration to the US, risking it all to bring me to this beautiful country to business ventures I collaborated with, without risk, my life would be completely different. Read more>>

Cat Mahatta | Musician, Educator, & Filmmaker

Risk is relative to the society we grow up in and I have spent most of my career convincing my students and musician friends, as well as myself, that much of what we believe to be risky is essential to the act of authentic creation. I took the classic professional risk of quitting a full-time job to build a freelance music teaching business based on this ethos and it has sustained me for a dozen years.  Read more>>

Alexander Perelman | Graphic Designer & Art Director

I view risk as an integral part of life and work. Although I’m naturally calm and prefer everything to be under control, my inner voice sometimes urges me to seek thrills, whether it’s hang gliding, whitewater rafting, or mountain climbing. These adventures give me an adrenaline rush and reboot my nervous system. Read more>>

Kwame King | Author, Cartoonist, Musician, Mentor

Certain risks are meant to be taken. Particularly the good ones we feel strongly in our spirit – be it financially, emotionally, or spiritually beneficial. When the opportunity for something we manifested presents itself, and its collective potential causes a positive inclination in energy, we often do an injustice to destiny by reducing the instance down to “a coincidence.” Read more>>

Shaka Smith | Actor, Host, & Fitness Expert

I view risk as an essential component of growth, both personally and professionally. In my career, taking risks has often meant stepping out of my comfort zone to pursue opportunities that align with my values and ambitions, even when the outcome was uncertain. Read more>>