There is a wealth of academic research that suggests that differences in risk appetite are at the heart of differences in career and business trajectories. We wanted to go beyond the theory and ask real people from the community about their perspectives and experiences with risk and risk taking.

Rich Jones | CEO, Paychecks & Balances

When I think about risk, I think about vulnerability. It’s been a challenge for much of my life, and I finally turned it into a superpower. When I’ve played it safe, I’ve gotten safe results. When I’ve taken chances, good things have come my way along with some challenges that presented interesting lessons. I took the risk of leaving New York for a job in California and it turned out to be the best thing for my career. This opened the doors to financial progress and ultimately becoming 100% debt-free. Read more>>

Eva Vasquez | Body Contouring Specialist

Career risk is the probability of a negative outcome in your career due to action or inaction. Negative outcomes may include loss of income, failure to meet goals or a decline in your quality life. There is a relationship between risk taking and opportunity such that risk also has rewards. Choosing to be an entrepreneur is a risk but at the end its a life changing dream. Read more>>

Mackenzie Childs | Organizational Psychologist and CEO of Blink Coaching

First off, “risk” in my life looks a lot like just another stair step to reach the top. Sometimes, these stairs are a little more tumultuous than the rest (there could be several objects trying to knock you down a few steps) but it is just another item to tackle. As an Organizational Psychologist, I have studied functions of the brain from other researchers and have found that when the proverbial “bar” is raised high enough – most humans will innately strive to achieve it. I am the epitome of one of those humans, as my bar is always raised to the extreme. The way I see it, risk is a staircase in which you choose to climb and you either reach the top one step at a time or you come back down and choose a different staircase. If you can’t tell, I am very “type A” about my risk-taking! Read more>>

Norlan Zeledón | Professional Photographer / Videographer

Risks has always played a role in my business, but every risk has its reward. One of the major risks I took was investing tens of thousands of dollars into my equipment and education within my Photography niche not knowing wether I would make any return out of the business. Looking now it has allowed me to pursue my passion, make it my main job and work with big names in Houston to provide them the best quality work for their businesses. The way I think of risks is that without them I would be comfortable with subpar business, subpar outcomes all in the name of stability, but in my business risks have had a beneficial outcome in the long run. Read more>>

Josh Harris | Entrepreneur

I think risk is the best way of trusting yourself. It’s easy to do the same thing that you seen other people do because you know what the results will be. When I started to trust myself more I started seeing more progress in all areas of my life. There were plenty of mistakes I made and I’m sure there will be plenty more but I’m happy I can even make those mistakes because it’s taking me closer to where I want to be. Read more>>

Julio Vazquez | Podcaster/Content Creator

I think everything in life is a risk. Whether it’s good or bad. You just have to know how to react to the consequences of taking a risk.. I wouldn’t be podcasting right now if I let the thought of, “what if no one listens?” hold me back. Nothing in life is guaranteed, so you can’t be afraid of taking that leap. Read more>>