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.

Star London | Clinical Director & Owner

My husband and I decided in 2018 that we would start our business. Our goal was to deliver home based services to special needs children, especially those with Autism (ASD). I had been in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for almost 15 years at this point. Read more>>

A A Ron Ogden | Health and Fitness Professional

I love facing fear! It is a challenge that often triggers discomfort, irrational thoughts, and even paralysis, feelings I have experiences as I have subjected myself to life-threatening and business developing risks. I frequently engage in rock climbing and canyoneering and I am extremely afraid of heights. Read more>>

Andrew (Andiroo) Baker | Musician/Producer

Music has been a major part of my life since I was six years old – starting with piano lessons. I learned extremely quickly and my family knew I was a music prodigy and had a gift within the first year or two, seeing as I had been playing high-level, classical piano pieces by the time I was just eight. Read more>>

Angel Johnson | ICONI Founder & CEO

Risk-taking has been a fundamental part of my career and personal growth. I view risk as an opportunity to step beyond the conventional boundaries and achieve something transformative. My approach involves carefully evaluating the potential benefits against the drawbacks, ensuring that any risk I take is calculated and aligns with my long-term goals. Read more>>

Keva Morris | Hairstylist and Entrepreneur

I think calculated risks can be very rewarding. In my case, the risk I took was to leave my corporate job and get my cosmetology license at 31 years old while raising two kids with my spouse and suffering from SLE Lupus. Read more>> 

You Liang

I grew up in a conservative town in central China, in a rural area near Wuhan. Because my father became a migrant worker in Southeast Asia, I also wandered around the world growing up. One year after I entered a university in Scotland, the epidemic broke out in Wuhan, it was also the year I came out to my family and they were furious and rejected me. Read more>>

Veronica Musser | Tattoo Artist

I have come to find there is no reward without risk. I grew up as a competitive figure skater and learned that with fear and risk comes growth. Figure skating taught me a lot of lessons about the importance of venturing into the unknown in order to learn more. Read more>>

Eve Tilley-Coulson | Corporate Litigator & Content Creator

I was raised to believe that I could do anything I wanted. Though a slightly optimistic and skewed perspective, it has pushed me to take on any challenge (or risk), and believe I could both do it and succeed at it. Through this lens I have started multiple companies, run multiple marathons, applied for jobs that I technically wasn’t qualified for and grown in those roles, and began a successful TikTok. Read more>>

Diana Tremaine | Fine artist working in a contemporary realist style

I think taking risks in service of one’s passion and truth is really a must for growth and achieving one’s goals. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in fine Art in 1989, I stayed in Los Angeles for many years pursuing my art career. In order to make that work financially, I always had 2 jobs – both teaching and working at galleries – while simultaneously pursuing my own art. Read more>>