People think I have so much courage. In reality, I think that I'm far more afraid to live an unfulfilling life than most. My old-age worst-case-scenario would be sitting in my rocking chair -- or, worse, laying in a hospital bed -- wishing that I'd gone for it more.
When I was younger, I was so afraid of that scenario that that one fear overrode my many fears about leaving so-called security (in the form of corporate life) behind. You only live once, so you've gotta go for all the gusto you can. (Well, that's what the Miller beer commercials of my childhood taught me. Later, I'd learn that gusto is actually pronounced GOO-sto, Spanish for pleasure.)
So here I am, going for the gusto -- most of the time, anyhow -- now, as a firmly middle-aged woman listening to many of my peers wish out loud that they had made more courageous choices earlier in their lives. (It's never too late, I tell them.) Yes, there are trade-offs to freelancing -- paying my own benefits, in some ways living more conservatively, not knowing my future cash flow -- but I find that the satisfaction and self esteem I have built while overcoming my fears is worth the sacrifice. Maybe I am courageous after all.
Do you have a fear that is greater than your fear of following your dream? Tell me about it in the Comments section below.