21 People Who Took Huge Risks In Their Lives, And How It Turned Out For Them
Recently, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about the risks that ended up paying off big time. Here are some of their responses:
1."People might not consider this a big risk, but in this day and age? I do. I threatened to quit my job unless they gave me a big, fat, HUGE raise. I hadn't had one in three years, had been pretty much ignored, unappreciated, etc. I got an offer for another job for $5 an hour less in pay; however, I knew they gave their employees annual raises and bonuses through the year."
"I told my manager 'BYE,' but they met my demands and have been a lot better since. Know your worth, research, and have a backup plan in case. I'm happy this paid off for me. Don't get me wrong, I was a nervous wreck. Thought I was going to puke the whole time on the phone!"
2."I went through a gut-wrenching breakup and was severely depressed. The same month of my breakup I found out my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I fell into solitude; it was a very dark time for me. My mom finally got sick of it and told me to get off my ass and get back out there. My friends signed me up for Tinder. I was showing my mom, and she started swiping for me. It was a memory I'll never forget. She swiped on this guy who I would never go for in my past, but he was adorable and seemed like the typical 'nice guy.' He responded, and we got to chatting."
"The day of our date I was so sick and told my mom I wasn't going to go. She told me to 'suck it up, put on some blush, and get out there!' Best advice I've ever got. We have been married for five years, together for nine, and have a beautiful 3-year-old son. I found the love of my life all because I put a bit of blush on and sucked it up. That swipe was the best thing that's ever happened to me. I only wish my mom was still here to see how happy I am and meet her grandson. But before she passed, she knew he was the one and would always take care of me. Thank you, mom."
3."I took a year off of work to focus on my mental health. I was incredibly privileged to be able to do this, but even then, it was a huge financial struggle to only have my husband's income. It put us into some debt that we are still paying off. But I have no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be here if I hadn't done that. I was suicidal prior to me quitting, and I don't know how I would have come back from that while working full-time."
4."Leaving my fiancé. His whole family life and behavior was toxic. I gave him the ring back and was so glad I left when I did. I'm now happily married with two kids, and it paid off big time."
5."I was a woman in a college print journalism program for nearly three years when I decided to make the switch to mechanical engineering. I had grown disillusioned with the changes of print journalism at the time, and I wanted a career where I didn't have to be poor and sell my plasma for grocery and gas money (as I did throughout college)."
"So, off I went. Through one and a half years of remedial math required to even get me to the beginner engineer classes, through receiving my first F’s and D’s in my academic career and learning the hard lesson that sometimes you give it your all and it's not good enough. But I was stubborn, and I wanted it.
Now, six years out of college, I am an engineer making six figures. My employer treats me well. I love my job and my team. I feel I do meaningful work, and I've learned that even though this field wasn't what I was naturally 'good' at, it taught me a completely new way of thinking and approaching problems that changed my life."
6."While living in Florida, my Canadian boyfriend proposed (we met at university in Florida) and suggested I immigrate to Canada. I moved to Canada and married that man in 2007. Honestly, it was a huge gamble. I gave up my job, my house, everything I knew for 29 years of my life."
"And since then, every year that goes by, I swear it is the best year of my life. We have a home full of love with our awesome son, pup, and kitty, and I love my job. I love my family so much. My husband is my best friend in the world, and we work to make our home a warm and loving one for our son (and pets, of course).
Now, I couldn't even imagine living in Florida with our family. NO, THANK YOU."
7."Six years ago, I arrived in Mexico with what I could fit in my pickup truck, a residency visa, and a flailing transcription business. I was fleeing a bleak future in rural Canada where the lack of internet access kept me from growing my business. I couldn't afford to live anywhere else. I was tired of not having healthcare access. I was tired of fighting for internet. A housesitting gig for seven months in Mexico gave me an opportunity to securely arrive flat broke as I'd have time to save money for my own place."
"I got a great deal on a rental property, and the lower cost of living let me get ahead a little bit and take some continuing education to keep growing my business. The pandemic motivated me to continue my education and to move into a related field that paid a lot more money. Today, I am a permanent resident, financially secure, and I own the beautiful house that I was renting. I speak Spanish fluently and live in a secure and thriving part of Mexico, so I am staying."
8."I got pregnant at 34, left my dead-end job, had the baby while getting a bachelor's and a master's. Now, my son is 16, and I am a lead project manager for international funded projects and own my first house in Europe. It was a rough road, and I was broke as a joke for some years, but now, I am living the DREAM!"
9."Eight years ago, I was sent to a mental health hospital in another country. My own country does not have private healthcare, and I was fortunate enough my parents could afford to send me somewhere else. I stayed there for two months and then told them I wasn't coming back."
"They didn't support this decision at first. It took about two years for them to accept I was, in fact, never coming back. I got a job, a flat, and completely changed my career. It was the best thing I ever did, and it saved my life."
10."I needed a change — major change. I was burnt out managing restaurants in Boston, so I found a tenant for my condo that I owned and sold everything that didn’t fit in my car. I drove cross-country to California wine country by myself. It worked out because I was able to have steady work selling wine during the pandemic, paid off $10k in credit card debt, and then sold my condo for a massive profit in the middle of COVID. I will never go back to restaurants. I spend more time with my family on the east coast now than I did when I lived an hour away from them. My lifestyle has completely changed, and I am financially secure. It's a great feeling."
11."Going back to school in my 30s. I've still had career ups and downs, but I'm overall much happier in my current field, and I make more money."
12."I drove by a beautiful old home in an adorable town an hour away from where we were living. I decided to stop at the open house and had the agent draw up an offer that day for my husband and I to sign the following weekend. My husband had no clue I was looking at houses because I wasn't. He was fine with it because he trusted me (I have a degree in architecture), and we lived there happily for 14 years, fully restoring this old mansion to its former glory."
"Then, I found a gorgeous house online at 2 a.m. and emailed the real estate broker. It was 1,200 miles away in a city we had only visited a few times. It was entirely different in every way. At 2:20 a.m., I told her we'd take it.
And we did. We're still here 12 years later and wouldn't dream of leaving.
It might've been risky, but my husband's risk was greater. Two houses, not inexpensive ones, and he signed on the dotted line because I loved them. The fact that it worked out twice? What are the odds?"
13."Traveling to another country twice on my own after years of traveling with my family."
14."I was working at a place for years and got promoted to a lower level manager role, but was still only making $14 an hour working 30 hours a week. Around this time, I went back to school to earn my master's degree in a program that was all evening classes. My plan was to work during the day and go to school at night. The business was open 'til 8:30 p.m., though, and we had a lot of high school and college-aged kids that worked in my department."
"One night, one of these high school kids didn't show up for their shift, so I was called to come in to cover, but I was in class so I didn't answer my phone. The manager above me gave me an ultimatum: I can't put school before my job, my job has to come first. So, I chose school, and I quit that job with no other backup. Thankfully, I had amazing parents who could help support me. I finished my master's degree, and it took me a while to job hunt, but I've now landed something that's a career, not a job, and I'm making a really decent living."
15."I was going through my first quarter of grad school for my master’s in speech pathology, and one of our courses consisted of mainly clinical practicing hours. My clinical supervisor was a complete ass. She only pointed out the things I was doing wrong during my therapy sessions with clients, and never offered any help or support; instead reminding me of the strict grading criteria and what would happen if I got anything below a B. If you get two or more B-'s, you're automatically out of the program. I was so stressed out I was barely eating or sleeping, and having panic attacks throughout the day, but I decided to power through."
"I figured, even if I didn't like being an SLP and didn't end up in that field, I could get other good job offers in other fields as long as I had a master’s degree. I am glad I stuck it out because right out of grad school I got hired at an elementary school and just fell in love with the kids. This is my ninth year as an SLP, and I have worked with kids from every grade (pre-school all the way to high school) and really love forming relationships with them and seeing them grow and improve; and the pay and school breaks definitely don't suck."
16."In 2018, there was a big shake-up going on at the organization I worked at, and I realized that other people had way more control over my financial future and career trajectory than I did. So, I decided that I wanted to find a way to become financially free. Because I live in a VERY expensive area, we decided we wanted to subsidize our rent/mortgage by buying a two-family [home] and essentially split the cost of the mortgage with our tenant. We realized this was a way to our financial freedom, so we started buying distressed properties out of state (closest one was 900 miles away!)."
"We had no experience, no knowledge of how to buy, renovate, and manage real estate properties. We made a lot of mistakes and hit many speed bumps, but fast-forward to today, five years later, my husband and I have become work optional, left our W2 jobs, and have the freedom to spend time with our family. And now, we are in the process of DIY renovating an 1850s farmhouse in 90 days!"
17."About 18 months ago, I applied to what I thought would be my dream job and quit my job in special education before I was 100% sure I got the position (I did). I had been at the same school in basically the same position for almost seven years. I was burnt out, frustrated, and had no upward mobility. I ended up hating the dream job pretty quickly, and after a year of misery, on a whim I applied for a position at a nonprofit organization that didn't really sound like my thing, but it was better than sitting in my office feeling ineffectual five days a week. Ten days later, I was hired without knowing too many details of my new role. Holy cow, I love it."
"Just a few months in and I've been more productive than the entire year at my dream job, and I am treated (and paid) better than I was at the school I worked at for seven years. My job is hybrid and fully flex time, so being there for my family is easy (something I didn't know when I accepted their offer). I have the opportunity to open a program for unhoused young adults that will be the first of its kind in the state and actually serve people who are marginalized, which is what the dream job should have been.
If I hadn't taken the leap and left my special education job for my dream job, I would have never been brave enough to walk away from a so-called dream job that made me miserable."
18."I worked two casual jobs at hospitals. I was getting so sick of juggling the two of them that I decided to just quit one. I kept the one in the major city because my husband and I were house hunting and wanted to move closer to our hometown. The very next morning after I quit the job, further away from where I wanted to live, the manager of the job I kept called me and offered me a full-time position! What a coincidence!"
19."I grew up in a very small town in Mississippi. I visited big cities before, but I was so sheltered that I never thought I would actually leave the state. When I was 22, I moved to Florida to do the Disney College Program. I loved it and this state so much that I took a really crazy risk. I went back home, did one more semester of school so I could do the college program again, quit school, moved back down here, and just never left."
"I had about $900 to my name at the time. This year makes eight years I've been down here now, and even though I'm pretty much ready to find another state to call home, I'm forever grateful that I took such a chance. Everything could've went horribly wrong, but I'm so blessed that it didn't."
20."Leaving to a new school. I was never really happy at my previous school, and one day, I saw an ad that the school I am at now was taking applications, and I thought, 'I might as well take the chance.' I am now happier than ever at my new school, and I have so many friends, and the education is so much better."
21."For my whole life I've lived in the same small-to-medium city. My wife was from there, both of our families live there, we had a tight-knit group of long-term friends, and we had genuine love for the town...but also felt very stuck in a rut and unfulfilled."
"I got offered a promotion that required moving 1,000 miles away, but would offer me a lot of great new challenges and opportunities. My wife and I both felt incredibly conflicted about it, but ended up taking the leap.
It's been VERY worth it. I didn't realize how badly we needed some major change. We're both happier at our jobs and having lots of new experiences we couldn't have had in our old town. And after three years, I'm making almost 50% more than I did before, with no additional cost of living. We still miss our old family and friends, but overall, we're MUCH better off all around."
Have you ever taken a big risk that worked out? Share your experience in the comments!
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
