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.

Farzaneh and Bahareh Safarani | Visual Artists

Growing up choosing to become an artist was certainly considered a ballsy move. We took a chance in our passion and love for art, and pursued it with everything we’ve had. Even after graduating from college, leaving our entire support network, family, friends, and the city we grew up in was a huge risk, which we took wholeheartedly in our quest to become the best artists we can. These are surely the bolder risks that we have taken in our lives, but our daily lives are intertwined with risk-taking. Read more>>

Madison Sinsel | Artist & Designer

In my opinion, risk is a necessary part of success. Becoming a professional artist is full of risks from start to finish, from giving yourself enough time to focus on projects to making investments for your craft. It’s all risky, but without risk, your efforts wouldn’t have the chance to pay off. Read more>>

Kaila Coleman | Photographer

I think risk is a part of our every day as artists. What we choose to create, where we choose to be represented and how we choose to express ourselves in the art world are all risks we take. I was always ready to take a risk with my art and push boundaries with what I was creating, but I had a hard time taking chances when it came to publishing or galleries. The first time I started pushing the limits with my art was actually in high school. I decided to make a series of images that represented the trauma of body image in women at a young age. Read more>>

Kathleen Krucoff | Jewelry Designer & Craftsman

I think being willing to take risks is essential for personal growth. In my case, I am more of a calculated risk taker. For example, at one stage of my life, I decided to go back to college to finish my degree. My parents couldn’t understand why I would give up an established career in the insurance industry to start over in another field. Yet, I knew it was something I had to do; something I wanted to do. I finished my 4 year degree in Computer Science, which opened a whole new world of opportunity for me. Read more>>

Annie Lindgren | Nonprofit Development and Marketing specialist & Adventure Junkie

I associate risk with opportunity: opportunity for new experiences or opportunity to practice lessons learned along the way. Taking risks means embracing opportunities with the potential to change your life. It is stepping out of your comfort zone and refusing to settle for anything less than what you want in any area of your life. It can also mean ending up in situations that weren’t what you thought or hoped they would be, but even in those situations, there are opportunities. Read more>>

Professor Phelyx | Comedic Mentalist, Emcee, and Keynote

My work is, at its essence, about taking risks. I even believe that people are drawn to entertainers and project the whole “romantic artist” stereotype or identity onto entertainers because we all have some notion of the enviable risks the individual must have taken to get to be on stage or to have their work otherwise publicly exhibited. I experienced my first stage show as a magician when I was just ten years old. I am certain that I was next to awful, but it was absolutely exciting and I have been chasing that high for fifty-one years. Read more>>

Liv Cichocki-Bartlett | Mom, Social Media Influencer, & Sales Mogul

I really think that to make life interesting and worthwhile, you’ve gotta take calculated risks! I do take my time in making decisions but my French teacher in high school shared this bit of advice with us and I try to follow it always: “Unless you feel unsafe, never say no!” It’s life changing to say yes. People often wait until they’ve got some kind of terminal illness and a “timeline” for their death to pursue whatever makes them happy but I think it makes more sense to pursue happiness always – and that includes risks – ESPECIALLY when you don’t know when your last moment will be. Read more>>

Ayesha Arobee | Graduate Student & Digital Content Creator

I think risks are very intriguing. I have taken a lot of risks throughout my entire life and almost all of them have worked in my favor. From starting to studying at a boarding school in India from the age of 4 to working when I was in 9th grade to getting more jobs, to starting my blog as a passion project to coming to America for my masters. More than half of my entire life has been on risk-taking and it has worked out fantastically considering they were not “lets wing it” they were more of “if I do this this will be achieve-able”. Read more>>

Julie Young | Visual Artist and Circus Instructor/Performer

Risk-taking makes my life enjoyable and adventurous, whether that risk is being played out in my artistic career or everyday life. To make a decision that can result in a variable outcome is to take a risk- to create a new experience that opens a door to the unknown. My path in life has been adventurous and full of variety thanks to making decisions that may bring experiences of discomfort, thrill, and trust- all leading to growth. Growing, in a variety of ways, is a theme in my life and artworks. Read more>>

Minerva | Drag Queen

Risk taking is a ginormous aspect of this entire career path. The thing is, after the most recent climate around the drag entertainment industry from the Republican Party, everything is a risk. We are literally risking safety, livelihood, sanity, and so much more, just for our art. Just for our existence. Just to do what we love. Just to do our jobs Read more>>

Devin Madren | Mountain bike racer, Motocross enthusiast, Aircraft Mechanic/student pilot.

As a young boy I was pretty desensitized to risk quite quickly. My dad introduced motocross to me at the age of three and I started racing at the age of four. Pretty sure I went backwards on the track at some point my first race but I digress. My family lived on an acreage in the middle of no where in the middle of no where Iowa. There wasn’t much to do other than try to get into trouble. I had old crappy garage sale go-karts and and old van to play with. My dad tried teaching me to drive the old van in a field when I was five. Read more>>

Jared Russell | Owner and Captain of Lake Life Experience

Risk taking plays an important role in the success of any entrepreneurs career but should not be taken lightly. Throughout my career and self-employment, I have been faced with many difficult decisions. I believe that risk taking, especially taking big risks, has helped me reach success because I take the time to research and strategize the project more thoroughly. I will say that I have taken risks to build or expand my business that have not work out as I planned, but I learn the most in these situations. When all is said and done, the business is re structured or formatted and the end result is almost always positive. Read more>>

Emily Naomi | Co-founder of The Creation Dancers Agency

Taking risks has been one of the main themes in our lives the past couple of years. It started with quitting our jobs and selling everything to go on a world trip, followed by moving to a new country where we had nothing and knew nobody. Then we decided to start our business, The Creation Dancers Agency, in the midst of the pandemic, in a country that was not our homeland and it being in the entertainment industry. Read more>>

Elsa Krieg | Photographer

I didn’t know I wanted to start my own business, let alone be a photographer, until after I attended a business retreat. I had never really explored that path of business previously and wasn’t sure I was in the right place. Being surrounded by some incredible women entrepreneurs had me realize that I am a business minded person. Learning about running a business and being successful at it rejuvenated a fire in me to explore that path. Read more>>

Tanja Gorenc | Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

I’ve always been a risk taker. My motto is “You can’t grow if you don’t take risks.” So far, it has worked out pretty well for me! I started NeuroBloom without really thinking too much about it. I wanted to make my own schedule and pick my own client base and at the start of the pandemic when everything felt out of control is when I formed NeuroBloom. We had just moved back to the area of town I grew up in, so I quit my job and started focusing on my vision of starting a group practice. Looking back, Read more>>

Destiny Jones | Cake artist

Risk taking is an essential part of life! The idea that we can fully plan out our lives and expect everything to fall into place, in that order is false and can be disappointing. It was taking a risk that lead me to the small business world and that resulted in Dizzy Cakes. Every time I have a best seller or participate in seller’s markets it is risk that helped me make those decisions. To choose entrepreneurship each year is a risk and it has bettered myself and my family. I love the quote by Warren Buffett- “The best investment you can make is in yourself” and with that investment comes risks. You can’t lose when you choose yourself! Read more>>