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.

Kayla Griffith | Photographer & Videographer

Risk is a huge factor for me. I have a reputation of not thinking things through but just going for what feels right. I’m the kind of person who jumps straight into the pool rather than dipping my toe in first. That’s exactly how I went about starting my business. I didn’t think through the logistics of things, I just decided to go for it. Read more>>

Markia Ash | Beauty Business Consultant & Pro Lash Artist

When I think about risk sometimes it scares me because I am a person who has to plan everything out in hopes of success at the end. Risk scares me because I like to settle for safe, although lately I have found myself full of faith to take on the risk ahead of me. Taking risk in my life and my career has led me to so much success at the age of 23 that I never new I could accomplish. It started with being the first in my family to go off to college with no idea what was ahead of me, but I knew it was a risk I had to take. Read more>>

Nick Ross | Co-Owner of Electric Shadows Productions

Risk is a key element in any form of business. If you aren’t taking risks, you aren’t learning as much as you can be. There will be wins and their will also be losses but once you can accept that everything you do produces either a positive, negative, or neutral effect then risks start to make sense when you learn from past experiences. Taking risks are what provides an above average life. They make me nervous, a little worried but at the same time extremely excited and motivated to reach the end result of the vision and see things through. Read more>>

Anna N’Jie-Konte | Founder, Financial Advisor

Risk is something I’ve had a complicated relationship with throughout my life. I was raised by two risk-averse parents who prized security and a “sure thing” more than anything else. Their messaging around risk and our capacity to bounce back from failure pushed me to seek security for a long time. Read more>>

Tasha Rogers | MSgt, RDMS, Boutique Owner

I’m a Sagittarius so I love taking risks. After graduating college in 2011, I packed up my car and moved from Washington State to Texas, where I only knew one person, to pursue a career in the Texas Air National Guard (TXANG). That career bounced me from San Antonio to San Angelo and finally to Houston to be an enlisted aircrew member. I grew up in a small town, so moving to Houston was scary for me, but I knew it would open so many doors and offer me amazing opportunities as long as I put in the work. After several years, in 2017, I decided to go back to school to study Diagnostic Medical Sonography to. Read more>>

Mattea Williams | Composer

Although taking a risk is always a little scary, I feel like it almost always results in either a success I wasn’t sure was possible or an opportunity to learn more about what doesn’t work for my target audience and why. Both of which, are steps forward! I think about risk now in terms of those two outcomes. I will take a specific risk based on whether I am trying to learn if something works, or if I have a goal in mind that I am not sure I can reach or that I’m not sure how to reach. Read more>>

UgoBoy | Visionary, Recording Artist, & Entrepreneur

We take risks everyday. I like to calculate mine. Weigh out the pros and cons before acting. I wouldn’t have made any progress in my career without risk. There has to be an immense level of self belief because nine times out of ten the people around you won’t believe you. The safer bet might be agreeing with them. But if you don’t take the risk you’ll never know the truth. Read more>>

Craig Vincent | Coach, Photographer & Fantasy Game Designer

Risk, on some sort of scale, is a part of everyone’s lives. Unfortunately, most people aren’t taught how to approach risk and I’m not sure I was either. I got through some of my risk fears by doing multi-level marketing when I was younger, which is brutal on people who are worried about rejection – something I was and still am in some regards. But by doing that you’re taught to look at risk through a lens of numbers – you have to fail a certain number of times to be successful. So you’re told to go out and fail a lot. The more you fail the more you will succeed. Read more>>

Raul Chapa | Student & Shoe Enthusiast

Risk is something very common in the shoe business. Every time you buy a shoe, you are taking a risk that the shoe may not sell and you could lose money. Personally, I think that by not taking these risks, you are leaving out opportunities to make money no matter what the price would be when selling the shoes, and that is why I like to go after every shoe because either way there is potential and sometimes big risks lead to big rewards. Read more>>

Albert Ok | Content Creator/USA Speed Climbing Team Hopeful

Risk has always been something that I think about often. The more I expose myself to risk the more I gain experience and comfort with taking risks and the fear of risk is lessened. I view risk as something that can be trained, the more you expose yourself to the stimulus the easier it becomes to accept risk and follow through with it. From an outside perspective it might seem that I take a lot of risk by dropping everything and chasing after goals and dreams, but from exposing myself to so much risk as often as possible; Read more>>

Monique Abbs | Photographer | Entrepreneur

I believe taking risks is necessary in life. We never know how great we are, or what talents and skills we truly have unless we decide to take that risk and see for ourselves. If it weren’t for me taking risks, I don’t think I would be where I am today, honestly. It has helped me grow as a woman and a person, and develop the skills necessary to be successful as an entrepreneur and business professional. Read more>>

Lavonta Nixon | Realtor & Photographer

When i think risk, i automatically think about the “pros & cons” and “risk” vs “reward.” Also, in order for me to take risk i believe any and every moved need to be calculated, well thought out and well planned to the best of my ability. I’ve been working on myself lately turning bad habit into good ones, getting uncomfortable and putting myself into places that would challenge me to get out comfort zone but in a good way. Growing up it was just my sister, mom and i. My mama was always working so we at the house chillin low-key a-lot. We didn’t really get to go many places because she was out “bussin” her bubble to make ends meet. Read more>>

Jay Gonzalez | General contractor

I think taking risks is very important in my career and in life. I feel that no great rewards are achieved without taking risks. I knew that if I wanted to own my own business and provide for my family in greater portions I was going to have to let go of the steady paycheck and the mentality of working for someone else. I took that risk so that I could build a brand not only for my career but so that my kids could grow up with my same mentality of being your own boss and becoming the best in the business. Read more>>