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.

The Virgo’s Church Virgo & Chef Sandy V | Chef’s, & Pastry Chef

The definition of risk is a situation involving exposure to danger. We take risk everyday we get up and put our food on the line to be critiqued.. Risk are required to succeed in business and our personal goals. Our food has fed a plethora of families by taking risks. We have spent numerous hours in the kitchen, taken several losses but every risk we have taken has been rewarding rather good and bad. We have learned from them all and continue to learn and grow from each risk we take daily. We continue to keep God first and be a vessel to everyone we encounter. Read more>>

Brittanee’ (Bri’) King | Owner and Founder of NVSME

Like the old saying goes, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t shoot!” Right!?! Taking risk to achieve goals requires a certain amount of strength and courage to face fear of uncertainty. However, in the long run, going through this process helps us to grow to become more resilient and confident. If you can think it, dream it, or visualize it then it can become a reality! Being able to train your mind to use your strength and exude enough confidence to take a risk is a huge accomplishment and very life changing. The fact is most people tend to avoid taking any risk, being bold enough to take risk gives you a competitive advantage. I am glad that I was able to build the skill of taking risk because it has allowed me to pivot and adapt with new ideas and inventions. Even more importantly it has also help me overcome fears while generating new leads, and possibilities. Read more>>

Jatziri Barron | Visual Artist & Muralist

I see risk as the currency of success, but a type of currency that when paid you get more in return than what you give. It’s all about the perspective of course! When we take chances we open the door to opportunity… sometimes we end up where we wanted and sometimes completely different, but we always arrive to a place where we can evolve either in knowledge, perspective, professionally… you name it. In my career for example, becoming a full-time artist was a risk that I was really scared of taking, but that I couldn’t afford missing. The moment I changed my perspective from a problem-finder mentality to a solution/opportunity-seeker one, was when I opened myself to abundance. If it wasn’t for taking the chance, I would still be working as a full-time server wishing I had more time to do what I actually love. Read more>>

David “OD” Garcia | SlumpedSessions Network

Everyones journey is different so people have to risk different things. Granted that risking doesn’t always mean rewards or success but thats what you have to do, If it was easy everyone would be doing it. I began the journey to create a media network with ZERO experience in the field. I had never done photography or videography. I’ve never done interviews or been on camera so it was a MAJOR learning curve. I have a family with 2 kids (one at the time of starting) but you can imagine what it was like having to explain to my family that I don’t want to work in the refineries of Baytown anymore and this was what I wanted to do. Risk is all I had to fall on, I dived head first into learning everything I could and investing in the equipment needed. I met some two great people, Qvest and Rob that have helped so much with everything from shoots to really being teachers in the journey to learn videography. With diving in it obviously had some negative effects but again that comes with risk, I’ve lost jobs and really struggled to make this work. Read more>>

Lina Cuartas | Author, Artist, Podcaster

This is a very propitious question, although I was intrigued by the quality of the options. Perhaps my recent week inspired me to choose this particular question. We just survived the Odd Days of Winter in Texas, and I was transported to my days in the Amazon. I had to gather wood for heat, I had to boil water with lemon peels to make it potable. We became a commune to survive, and made the best of what we were given. This is how I have always lived. I grew up in a country where surviving the day was the task at hand. Complications were the norm, and I think I developed a very resilient nature and mentality. I also grew up with the tales of my Mother’s near-death experiences, and so my existential tendencies were heightened to an extreme. My guiding light has always been that I can not take any day’s gifts for granted, and I was certain the golden beads of my life could run out anytime, so I lived intensely, thus, risk was a given, not something to be avoided. Read more>>

Yshmael Ilagan | Tattooer

My whole career is a risk. It’s either you make it or you don’t. Being a tattoo artist, you have to apply yourself and stay consistent. You don’t apply yourself, you stay in the same spot you’re in. YOU HAVE TO keep picking up your machine. Read more>>

Lindsey Chapman | Virtual Executive Officer

I think risk is a necessary part of reaching your full potential. I was a painfully shy child and one day it hurt so bad I made the decision that I was going to go out of my way to confront my fears and take risks. Taking risk is a skill that can lead to great failures and great rewards. Most of my success is born out of my ability to fail over and over again, learn from it, make it better, then succeed with it down the road. Read more>>

Imani Harvey | Klean By Kaylan

Personally, risk are essential. Every risk i’ve took in my career and life has always led me to a brighter place. Those risk put you in a place to either grow or deteriorate and every single time i have grown. Read more>>

Laura Childers | Neurotherapist of Brain Based Solutions

In my life and my career, I will use my intuition as well as my knowledge to make a decision to pursue my next endeavor. In my current role in my career, I found the possibility that the brain could be healed as intriguing and exciting. So, I become certified in Neurofeedback. Then, I realized that a diagnostic assessment called the QEEG (quantitative EEG) would allow me to identify issues in the brain that would make it difficult for neurofeedback to work. Some of these issues are: sleep issues, metabolic issues, slowing in the brain, markers that cause learning disabilities, ADHD, addiction and the ability to more closely find possible roots to long standing problems. I can also use it to help, more precisely choose Psychiatric medications. The risk in all of this…I have invested in equipment and mentoring by leaders in my field to be good at what I do. And I have done this consistently for years. I am now, also a Diplomat in QEEG technologies. Read more>>

Lola Ojo | Artist, Jeweller, & Loctician

I think of risks as another form of keeping myself very open-minded. It helps me think more creatively and research intensely. Read more>