Legend holds that Cornelius Vanderbilt had built a massive fortune in the steamboat shipping industry, but then realized the railroads were the way of the future and invested almost his entire net worth into railroads.  The gamble paid off and made Vanderbilt one of the wealthiest entrepreneurs ever.  But risks are inherently…risky.  How do you think about risk and how has it affected your life and career?  Some of our community favorites share their perspective below.

Kevin Knight | Entrepreneur and Philanthropist

Life is about risks and rewards… higher the risk, higher the reward (and higher the consequences!) I’m a poker player and gambler at heart, so I tend to take higher risks. I think the belief of, “I can do anything I set my mind to,” and knowing my mom will always have my back, has given me the confidence to shoot for the stars. Read more>>

Lika Steel | Fashion Designer/Business Owner

I see risk as opportunity. Beyond the external opportunity and recognition risk-taking can bring, it also provides an opportunity for internal growth. The greatest lessons of my life have been learned through taking risks. I moved from Europe to Israel after college, without family or friends, and had to build my life from scratch. When I met my husband seven years ago in Tel Aviv, we didn’t speak each other’s language. He spoke English and I spoke four different languages but not English. I learned to communicate without words, that expression of emotion is the underlying purpose. I launched the LIKA STEEL brand three months after my family and I moved to Austin Texas, I wasn’t sure if I will succeed, but I had a strong passion to design and to step in to the American market. Read more>>

Tyler Hughes | Fine Artist and Portrait Painter

I’ll begin with a quote by David Bowie, “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth.” Risk is what any creative pursuit is fundamentally rooted in. When sharing your work with the world, you have to put yourself out there and hope that others will respond well to what you’re expressing. It’s a very vulnerable place to be, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I think that by choosing such a risky career choice, it keeps me motivated to try and succeed further along in my business so that I can maintain a consistent studio practice. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world like the old masters did, where art was among the things that were held in the highest regard. Read more>>