Taking risks is an essential part of growth, innovation, and personal development.
While the prospect of venturing into the unknown can be daunting, it often leads to the most rewarding experiences and achievements in life.
The following collection of quotes from various thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries highlights the importance of embracing risk and stepping out of our comfort zones.
These words of wisdom remind us that without risk, there can be no great reward.
As you read through these quotes, let them inspire you to face your fears, seize opportunities, and push beyond your perceived limitations.
Remember, as Erica Jong aptly put it, “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
Best Risk Quotes
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot
“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” – Unknown
“The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.” – Maimonides
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
“To win without risk is to triumph without glory.” – Pierre Corneille
“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” – David Lloyd George
“Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” – Warren Buffett
“You must take risks, both with your own money or with your company’s money. Risk-taking is essential to business growth.” – Lillian Vernon
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.” – Leo F. Buscaglia
“The trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong
“It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks.” – Philip Adams
“There are a million and one reasons not to take a risk in life. You could lose money. You could prove your parents right. You could look dumb on Instagram!” – Wit & Delight
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” – Denis Waitley
“You can’t get to the top of the mountain without falling on your face a few times.” – Unknown
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” – Søren Kierkegaard
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk.” – Mark Zuckerberg
“Leap, and the net will appear.” – John Burroughs
“You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is.” – Will Rogers
“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” – H. Jackson Browne
“Risk more than others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible.” – Cadet Maxim
“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” – George S. Patton
“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.” – Ray Bradbury
“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” – Paulo Coelho
“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.” – Billy Wilder
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” – Seneca
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
“Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” – David Lloyd George
“Only those who play win. Only those who risk win. History favors risk-takers. Forgets the timid. Everything else is commentary.” – Iveta Cherneva
“Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” – Ray Bradbury
“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso
“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” – Joseph Campbell
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” – William G.T. Shedd
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” – Joseph Chilton Pearce
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” – Molière
“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” – Helen Keller
“Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t waste energy trying to cover up failure. Learn from your failures and go on to the next challenge. It’s OK to fail. If you’re not failing, you’re not growing.” – H. Stanley Judd
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.” – J.K. Rowling
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
“The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You’ve got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances.” – Patrick Warburton
“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinions of others, for those voices. Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.” – Katherine Mansfield
“When you take risks you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” – Ellen DeGeneres
“If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“The only safe thing is to take a chance.” – Mike Nichols
“Necessity is the mother of taking chances.” – Mark Twain
“The dangers of life are infinite, and among them is safety.” – Goethe
“To reach a port we must set sail. Sail, not tie at anchor. Sail, not drift.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” – Stephen Hunt
“Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.” – Oprah Winfrey
“If you don’t take risks, you’ll have a wasted soul.” – Drew Barrymore
“The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.” – Vincent Van Gogh
“You can measure opportunity with the same yardstick that measures the risk involved. They go together.” – Earl Nightingale
“If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn
“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.” – André Malraux
“The successful man is the one who finds out what is the matter with his business before his competitors do.” – Roy L. Smith
“People who don’t take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year. People who do take risks generally make about two big mistakes a year.” – Peter Drucker
“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” – Unknown
“I don’t believe in pitfalls. I believe in taking risks and not doing the same thing twice.” – Guy Laliberté
“There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can be no community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, and ultimately no life, without community.” – M. Scott Peck
“Pearls don’t lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.” – Chinese Proverb
“Everyone has a ‘risk muscle.’ You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.” – Roger von Oech
“Progress always involves risks. You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” – Frederick B. Wilcox
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.” – Seneca
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” – E.E. Cummings
“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.” – David Lloyd George
“You can’t steal second base and keep your foot on first.” – Frederick B. Wilcox
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Ken Robinson
“The only way to find true happiness is to risk being completely cut open.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.” – George S. Patton
“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” – Alan Alda
“Risk is essential. There is not growth of inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable. Once you find out what you do best, why not try something else?” – Alex Noble
“The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.” – Arnold Palmer
“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.” – Pablo Picasso
“The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.” – William Jennings Bryan
“Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” – H. Jackson Browne
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.” – Søren Kierkegaard
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” – T.S. Eliot
“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” – Mark Zuckerberg
“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” – Erica Jong
“Take risks: if you win, you will be happy; if you lose, you will be wise.” – Unknown
“The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.” – Maimonides