Taking Risk is essential, but how much, when and why? Taking risks effectively is as much of an art as it is a science and we’ve asked some of the brightest folks in the community to tell us about how they think about risk taking.

Amber Sovorsky

All of my best life choices have stemmed from saying YES to something outside of my comfort zone. Doing the bold thing has always yielded the most reward. From moving solo across the country to pursue adventure elopement photography to my first backpacking trip that lasted 20 days– taking a risk always changes my life in the best way! Read more>>

Waladi Ali

When I think about risk, I immediately and exclusively think about this past summer of my business. Whether it be purchasing supplies to venture out into unknown territory, or releasing the project of my dreams, plenty of uncertainties were daunting, and present. Read more>>

Devin Patrick Hughes | Conductor, Music Director, Symphonic Catalyst

You have to go for it. When you dream big, or have a vision to make your community a better place, or the world a better place, there will be many obstacles in your way. One can easily give up, or listen to critiques, and get sidetracked. If you are clear on your vision, purpose, and can always keep the big picture in place, there is no limit to how positively you can change the world. Read more>>

Melissa Stewart | Holistic Day Spa Owner & Skin Therapist

Taking risks in my life has always been about having trust and a belief in my abilities and willingness to walk thorough fear. I grew up in New Orleans as the 16th of seventeen children and I had to fight to be seen and to be heard. I was a high school drop out at 16 years old but I got my GED at 18. I then went on to complete a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Loyola University in 1994. I was the only person in my family to complete college. I was used to being the underdog and I had to learn to be scrappy and how to figure things out. Read more>>

Zoe Vlastos | Group Facilitator & Natured-based Psychotherapist

I love this question! I’ve actually been thinking a lot about emotional risk recently. I see going to therapy as taking a risk because when we do something different, when we create change, we are risking what we know for what we do not yet know. A lot of us have fear around the unknown – the dark, uncertainty, not knowing what’s going to happen next. It’s such a brave thing to choose to step into the unknown. As a therapist, this is one of the risks I see people taking every day – moving towards knowing themselves more deeply, and being truly seen and known. Read more>>

Naaman | Upcoming Artist

Being a Music Artist starts with taking risk. Taking risk has been the biggest theme for me as an upcoming artist, from booking my first studio session at 16, to getting on stage and performing for the first time, it’s all about risk. For me, that is the thrill in creativity, you never really know how people will interpret your art so taking these risk always can either be really good or really bad & from experience 9/10 they are always rewarding afterwards. I feel like I’ve always been rebellious and very risk taking my whole life between my fashion, music and personality, I tend to live on the edge at times and that translates to me taking the risk I do in my music, fashion and creativity. Read more>>

Sarah Jones | Intuitive Astrology & Tarot Reader

Risk taking is an integral part of entrepreneurism since you must stay relevant with the current trends and needs of your clientele and this requires taking chances on products, services, or marketing styles that may or may not be successful. To me, life is meant to be lived through trial and error since this is one of the best ways to learn. In career and business, you experiment with a product or service, receive feedback from your clientele about it, and then decide whether to launch it on a large scale or not. Read more>>

Liz Tinker | Master hairstylist and business owner

“No risk, no reward” has always resonated deep within. I truly believe the future belongs to the bold. Now, more than ever, it’s easier to do the bare minimum or nothing; discipline and hard work are rare to see these days! I look at taking risks combined with implementing consistent daily processes as the full equation. We only fail when we stop taking risks and executing the daily disciplines. Read more>>

Dr. Quinn Denny | Industrial Organizational Psychologist

I studied courage and positive mental state, known as Positive Psychological Capital, PsyCap for short, as part of my dissertation for weeks upon weeks. When I think about risk, I think of courage. Someone can take a risk without exercising courage, yet it is those risks that people take that represent some kind of perceived possible loss that we most often associate with courage. That is why, in general, we respect risk takers, and particularly when they succeed. Read more>>