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.

Candace L. Strother | CEO

Taking risks has stretched me beyond my comfort zone and allowed the biggest opportunities for growth to take place in my life. I quit my corporate job in 2017 to pursue the growth and development of QueenLyfe Inc. I didn’t have all the answers but I know either way something major would come out of that risk. I was able to really see what I was made of, entrepreneurship can reveal all of your grit and insecurities at the same time. I sacrificed so much by taking this risk; job security, benefits, and my social life. But I knew the sacrifice would result in either our organization’s success or my development. It totally allowed me to understand how important it is to have structures and systems in place for your business to sustain. Read more>>

Deneil Simone | Dancer & Student

Taking risks is the most important thing you can do in my opinion. You literally don’t know what you can and can’t do until you try, there’s no way around that. And as a growing dancer the best thing you can do is just put yourself out there. Even if it’s scary or uncomfortable, because that’s where the most growth comes from. I wouldn’t be where I am today without just jumping in and seeing what happened, and trusting that I can figure it out. Being an artist is always risky and competitive. But what is for you will always be for you, so why not? Read more>>

Brandon Dean Lamson | Meditation Instructor & Poet

I embrace risk, seeing it as presenting opportunities to grow beyond my self-imposed boundaries. As an artist, I’m continually seeking to take risks, vowing not to repeat what I have already done but to experiment and to be open to the fortuitous interventions of chance. I also attempt to risk being more open with other people, which entails listening and vulnerability. We are at a moment amidst the pandemic and the call for social change when many of us feel inspired to act upon our understanding of how deeply we are interconnected. The way that I tend to my health is not merely a personal issue, but directly impacts everyone in my community. When I passively watch people of color being systematically oppressed and brutalized, I participate in that oppression. Read more>>

Peter Bryant | Corporate Advisor

I think about life as a journey where we are constantly faced with uncertainty, opportunities(known and unknown) and the need to make trade offs. As a result the ability to accept and in fact embrace risk has played a huge role in my personal and professional life. My mother, who was a holocaust survivor and than a refugee, told me, and its something that only recently I have understood its significance “always walk through an open door, it may not be the right door but it leads to the right door” never over think it and just do it! So personally that led me at the age of 21 to migrate from New Zealand to Australia with one bag of belongings , $200 and no job and than in 1996 migrate from Sydney to Denver originally for ten years and in 2020 here we are in California with 2 american daughters of which one is a sophomore at SMU in Dallas! Read more>>

Brooke Sinclair | Chief Executive Officer & Founder

Everything happens for a reason. In my mind at least. Everything either happens or doesn’t happen, for a reason. Therefore risks are simply unexpected outcomes. Whether you call it destiny, fate, or free will we each walk a path. Good or bad, risks are the results of the decisions we make. In Avengers: Infinity War, Dr. Strange foresaw millions of possibilities for the best possible outcome. However, there was only one scenario with a positive outcome and that is how I’ve always viewed risk. Some risks in life are necessary evils in order to succeed. Being an entrepreneur requires shrewd decision-making skills. Good or bad, positive or negative. A risk is the result of a decision made and nothing more. Positive outcomes are referred to as luck, good fortune, or a calculated bet that paid off. Read more>>