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It is actually riskier not to take chances, according to Mark Zuckerberg: “In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Taking advice from some of the most successful people in the world can help you understand what risks to take when advancing your career. Here are tips from seven famous people that took risks and don’t regret it.
- See Effective Tips on How to Decide on a Career Change for more information.
- Vera Wang - Starting as a competitive figure skater and then taking a big leap to switch careers to the design industry was a big change but worth it. She first tried for a magazine editing job at Vogue but didn’t get the job, so she tried her luck as a design director at Ralph Lauren. This opportunity allowed Wang to explore the design industry and start her own highly successful bridal fashion company that has expanded into other areas, making her one of the biggest names in the industry.
- Elon Musk - He made a fortune off PayPal, so it was expected that he would continue down the same path of creating another successful internet company. However, Musk wanted something different. He took the millions he made from PayPal and invested in two of his own companies, Tesla and SpaceX. Operating these two companies at the same time turned scary financially for a time, but now both are thriving companies.
- Christine Barberich - Her ideas were almost before the times, but she didn’t give up. She had dreams of building a style-minded website back in 2004 when Facebook had only been up and running for a year. Move forward another year and she left her stable job at Conde Nast to make Refinery29 a reality. This was a big risk, but it has turned out to be very successful.
- Beyoncé - It may not seem like a risk for a celebrity as well known as Beyoncé was in 2013, but it was definitely a risk when she decided to drop a surprise, self-titled album without any prior promotions. The possibility of negative feedback and a failed album were great, but her risk was worth it, helping her build a name for herself.
- Sylvester Stallone - The screenplay for Rocky was written in under four days from personal experience. Producers loved it and were willing to give Stallone big money for it, but he would only accept an offer that allowed him to play the lead role. This left him with a smaller paycheck than he would have earned from the screenplay, but the fame he received from the film helped him land other acting jobs.
- Bill Gates - Dropping out of college is a big risk, but Gates took this route and was lucky enough to be successful. He does not encourage others to take his route, but the point behind his risk is that sometimes a great risk reaps great rewards.
- J.K. Rowling - Can you believe that Harry Potter was a risk? Rowling spent a lot of time pitching the first book to publishers, trying to find someone that believed in it as much as she did. She finally landed an agent and a year later got the call that the book was going to be published. Once that happened, the story of Harry Potter took off.
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