In our experience, most folks, including ourselves don’t have enough of an understanding of risk and the role it plays in our lives and careers and so we have made a concerted effort as a team to have conversations about risk with our interviewees. We’ve shared some highlights below.

Kaitlin Marcellot | Founder, Marcellot Digital Marketing and SHUGIE

Risk excites me. I’ve never chosen the “traditional” path when it comes to business. Instead, I have always followed what excites me and makes me feel alive. I lean heavily on my intuition when deciding what to do next and how to do it. I decided from a young age that I didn’t want to dread my job or work, I wanted to feel passionate about my career, and what I was doing, and (most importantly) to believe in the impact I was making in my industry and with my clients. I believe that in many cases, listening to your heart over your head will lead to the most rewarding and thrilling changes in life and in business. Read more>>

Susan Marie Frontczak | Storyteller and Living History Scholar

When I took a year’s leave of absence from Hewlett Packard Company to pursue full time Storytelling, many co-workers and friends said to me, “You’re so brave!” That sounded very odd to me. I didn’t feel particularly courageous. When I asked them, “Why do you say I am brave?” I got one of two answers: Either, “You’ll never make enough money to live on.” Or, “You like telling stories as a hobby. It won’t be fun anymore when you are doing it all the time.” That is, from their point of view, I was headed to certain failure. OK, one would have to be brave to choose to leap into inevitable doom. Read more>>

Devon Cozens | Therapist and Social Work Faculty

I think that a high tolerance for (calculated) risk has been the single most influential factor in my career so far. I have never been particularly afraid of hearing “no” in professional or academic settings and this has allowed me to make some pretty big reaches that have turned into huge opportunities. I want to name that this experience is largely, if not entirely, rooted in some of my more privileged identities (white privilege, ability privilege, educational privilege, etc) and that these identities have allowed me to move through these experiences without barriers that many face everyday. Read more>>

Ali Evans | Wedding Photographer & Dance Studio Owner

Taking risks has been the name of the game for me ever since I started my photography journey. I started shooting 11 years ago, and I was just a senior in high school. Not long after, I realized my dreams for photography felt somewhat out of reach. Had I stopped then, I would have missed out on some of the best experienced of my life. Instead of staying comfortable, I chose to reach out, make connections, and go to events that felt way more “black tie” than I felt I was. Sure, I felt out of place at first, but the more I immersed myself with likeminded creatives and others who valued their craft, the more attainable my goals felt. Before I knew it, I was standing stage-side with Mac Miller, Kid Cudi, Logic, Lynard Skynard, and traveling across the country to shoot weddings. Read more>>