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.

Damita | Singer/Rapper/Songwriter and Actress

Without risks, there’s no evolution nor opportunity for success. You have to be confident in your artistry, brand, and or business. You have to be willing to endure trial and error in order to grow and learn and with that comes taking many risks. You can’t be afraid of “failure”. The only failure is remaining stagnant and giving up on your dreams, but if you’re willing to take the risks of “just doing it” you’ll find endless opportunities. Throughout my career, risk-taking has played a major role in my life. I take risks whenever I perform, walk into unfamiliar spaces, or release new projects. Everything is all uncertain. Will the rest of the world receive the authentic, vulnerable parts of me, my artistry? It’s frightening, but I’ll never know the impact I’ll have if I never take the risk. Read more>>

Korri Danielle | Brand Developer

When thinking of risks, you have two options. Success or failure. You will either pass the tests you face in life or fail them. The best part about failure is that most times, it can be attempt it again. I’ve always liked challenges in my life. Growing up, I was always with my cousins and majority of them that were my age, were boys. There was no way I wasn’t going to let them “little girl” me. I was tough, I at least tried to be adventurous, but I never turned down challenges. Over the years I’ve accepted challenges of all types, but I never allow a risk stop me from overcoming reaching my goals. Read more>>

Emma Page | Salon Owner and Author

I think there’s a degree of truth to the saying “no risk, no reward”. You have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone and gamble something if you don’t like where you are in life. When I opened my business, I risked comfort, consistency, and financial well-being. The rewards have far outweighed the risk in this case. Even when I’ve gambled and lost, so to speak, I always walked away with a life lesson and the feeling that I bet on myself. I think embracing risk has been a huge part of both my life and career, overall. Read more>>

Diana N. Patterson | CEO, Best-Selling Author, Playwright, Producer, Certified Life Coach, Leadership Consultant, Educator/Trainer, Motivational Speaker, Child Advocate

My thought process regarding risk taking is simply this, in life there are no risk, only opportunities. I firmly believe that every one of our aspirations are birthed from that space within us that ignites our passions. We cause a disservice to our assignment on this planet when we are not willing to take a leap of faith and go for our dreams. I have two of my own quotes that are relevant to this question. One states, “My secret to success is simple, instead of leaning into the multiple reasons why I may not succeed, I lean into the one reason that says I will” and the other is “Never give up on your dream, obstacles are just God’s way of saying I gifted something within you that will birth greatness out of you”. Read more>>

Channing Muller | Marketing Consultant

I have always been a big “go with your gut” person. Some of the decisions I’ve made in life didn’t always make sense to others. Decisions like: Leaving a perfectly good, enjoyable job to uproot myself to another city without a job in hand. Starting a business after I got laid off rather than finding a new job with a predictable paycheck every 2 weeks Moving to a new city with zero connections (x2) Downsizing from a 3-bedroom house I owned to a 2-bedroom apartment I rent in a totally new city On paper these may not seem like the “rational” decisions. They seem like “taking a risk.” However, each and every time I KNEW in my gut it was the right decision for me so it didn’t seem like a risk at all. Read more>>

Nivea Bodison | Photographer, Filmmaker, Artist, Entrepreneur

Being a creative, everyday is a risk. When creating weather in photography, filmmaking, my art, or recently music creation there has always been a risk because the audience could not see the vision intended but it never broke my pursuit. But indeed the risk eventually comes reward because one day someone sees the vision and believes then comes others that fall in line and also believe in the vision.With the risk of being a creative comes that reward once you gather consistency and ability to stay true to creativity. Risk for me brings about self confidence, it’s me believing in my ideas and creativity enough to share them with the world. Risk is essential in my everyday life to think outside the box and stand firmly with it. Read more>>

Cathy Tully | Author of Cozy Mysteries and Chiropractor

In my author business, sometimes it all feels like risk. If you’ve ever heard the concept that ‘thoughts are things’, this plays itself out in a big way while creating a written work. From short stories to full-length novels, you are creating something based only on your thoughts. Yes, we can go down rabbit holes with research, but in the end it all comes from the writer’s imagination. Putting your thoughts onto ‘paper’ and then sharing them with the world is the first big risk. Then you have to decide how to distribute your work. It takes a lot of self-confidence and determination to get a book out there, and then to find and agent or publisher (if you are traditionally published) you risk rejection and self-doubt. Read more>>

Brian Pearson | Podcaster & YouTuber

I find that taking risk is a great way to improve and learn new things. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take so I always go for whatever I put my mind to. Read more>>

Marlon Allen | Founder

Risk is where it starts. My career started with a lot of risk and betting on myself as I started working within industries that normally have no define career, summer camps, cruise ships, etc. Shifting into tech with a risk as Covid ended what was a cruise ship career with Disney Cruise Line. Moving into tech opened the door for a new risk, start-ups. That is where I learned about balance between risk and reward. Working with companies with no true record of success but a vision for it, that is what I live for, great visions. This led me to starting Compass Music Group. Read more>>