Strength and Sacrifice

I've been thinking about strength and sacrifice lately. Friends have often called me brave and strong. To be honest, I've never felt these two traits ever. I often think of myself as cowardly and weak, especially in times of great challenge. Such a great challenge was presented to me last night by, none other than, my hubby! He's been telling me for almost 5 years now (on and off) to take my 'talent' to the next level and start a business. And I've been putting it off forever. But I've been taking a look around me and I've begun to think, just now, that perhaps he has a point. You really have to give him credit for his efforts to convince me. He's been throwing Reader's Digest success stories and links to entrepreneurs articles at me for weeks now. I listened, of course, and the main points I remembered (which I honestly have already know for a while) were:

1. Nothing that is worth anything is easy.
2. No pain, no gain.
3. In the beginning it is always hard and there is always sacrifice.
4. Believe in yourself.
5. Work like a demon.
6. Pray like crazy that God or all the Gods (whichever you believe in) will reward your efforts with success.

Almost all the success stories have at least 4 of these points in their scripts. I have a problem with the sacrifice part. I always end up asking myself if it's worth it. And, for those who know me well or who have been following my blog, you would know that my mommy guilt is strong, always trying to break the surface of my tightly-reigned self-control, and always throwing a million unanswerable questions at me. And I have to admit that, right now, fear is joining forces with my mommy guilt in waging a war against my strength and sacrifice. And so back again I am to the point of- I really don't feel strong or brave, but I know I have to BE strong and brave if I want to take my hubby's advice and move to the next level.