Scared, excited or both?

A friend has made the decision to leave the devil he knows for the devil he doesn't.

Through Facebook and this blog, he has vicariously followed my journey over the past few months, as I transitioned out of full-time employment and into the discovery zone.

So his questions to me made perfect sense:  "Are you ever scared? Or are you just excited? Or are you both?"

Though no one had posed these questions in quite that way, it took me barely a second to answer.

"I'm not scared."

I felt no need to hedge, to backpedal or to seek reinforcement.

The pressure, inflicted over a lifetime by my Depression-era parents—to prioritize the so-called security of a well-paying job over all else—was gone.

For the first time since starting my business, I realized I'm not scared now. But I used to be.

There's a surprise! On a daily basis, I experienced more fear while working for a 150-year-old institution than I do working for myself.

As an entrepreneur, If I don't earn enough to feed the beast, I will curb her appetite. Or I will seek new sources of nutritious food. Or both.

What matters now is that I'm a writer. And I am writing again. 

"Go boldly forth and conquer," I said. 

"And thank you, my friend, for asking."