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.

John Streit

This is a great question, and honestly one I find myself coming back to again and again.

I’ve kind of adopted a mantra over time:

If life starts to feel too comfortable, it might be time to make a change.
Now I don’t mean the comfort of kicking back on your couch after a long day, that’s earned. I’m talking about the kind of comfort that leads to complacency. When life stops feeling challenging or purposeful, when you’re just going through the motions, not thinking deeply about what matters or where you’re headed, that’s when you need to check yourself. Read More>> 

Jacob Davidson

These questions are some tough ones, haha. I guess personally, risk comes with the territory of trying something new and with that the failing or succeeding that comes with that.

There can be a million ways to describe or relate to the risk in my life and career’s or hobbies, diving headfirst into the world of art when i learned to tattoo from a great friend and mentor Chad Jones who had tattooed me very heavily before even considering something like putting mostly permanent art onto someone. Read More>> 

Abigail Johnson

Risk taking has always made me nervous. However, I am a person that is very big on you never know unless you try and work hard for it. Growth isn’t supposed to be comfortable and by taking risks myself and putting myself and my business out there I have created a life for myself that I am proud to own, and I also get to channel my creative side for it. By creating this business and taking the risks by doing so, I have learned to trust my vision and work HARD for what I have. Read More>> 

MarXus Taylor

I fully support the phrase ‘No Risk, No Reward’! Without taking some of the risk I have, I probably wouldn’t have been in rooms I have been in working with people I’ve always studied and admired. Read More>>

Susan Ker-Seymer

Risk-taking has been central to my life as an artist, a self-directed journey that remains to this day a risky proposition in terms of creative fulfillment and livelihood. From the moment I realized I wanted to pursue a creative path, I took a leap—going against the advice of well-meaning advisors to follow my instinct and study art. Art schools are designed for risk taking, so there I honed my artistic skills and resilience. My first careers in fashion and graphic design involved significant risk, as I navigated the challenges of freelancing and creating work to sell. Read More>> 

Red Rob

Taking risks has played everything into my life. Even taking the risk to turn music into a career was the greatest thing I ever decided to do. I always struggled deciding what it was I wanted to do for a living and I never realized how much of an important role music has played in my life until I actually started song writing. Having an outlet that allows you to express yourself and be heard when you never felt like people were listening is liberating and beautiful because of all the people that resonate with your work. It’s a whole different world to pursue any kind of passion for a full-time profit but I don’t regret a single second of it and I’ll always encourage others to do the same! Read More>>