by Rick Beneteau

(1) A Hero is someone who the moment prior to becoming one was a reckless, irresponsible dreamer.

I wrote the above while in deep reflection, mulling over whether I was truly prepared to take on the mammoth job of successfully launching an Internet marketing company. Having survived several start-ups of this magnitude, albeit not in the cyber-world, I knew this undertaking would be one that involved much more than just plain positive thinking.

However, as part of the process, I did return to my favorite "success" books, reading through them like familiar old friends. This time though, I experienced a new "awakening", not from what I discovered in the books, but from what I found was sorely missing in most of them.

Please bear in mind that I believe with all my heart in statement (2) above, however, for the sake of this article I will refer to "achieving success" as the actual attaining of ones "goal of success".

The majority of books and other motivational materials fail to address the piece of the proverbial puzzle that is most often the single determining factor between achieving success, or not. If this key element were included as such, the infinite collections of you-can-make-it resources wouldn't be such an easy sell. The omitted "truth" would put the reality of achieving success in the cold hard light that it should be presented in.

This required ingredient has little to do with the stuff we should think, but has everything to do with the potentially high cost of "doing".

I am referring to Sacrifice. Ask almost any successful entrepreneur what sacrifices he or she has had to make and they will without hesitation tell you they paid, "a big price".

The reality of Sacrifice can include the following:

Sustained periods of time when 18-hour days are the norm, when one hardly knows what day of the week it is because they all seem the same. Days turn into weeks and weeks, months. Entire seasons pass with little notice. I often refer to this as The Fog.

Pivotal moments when one wrestles with their own mind over whether their goal and their plan were after all, valid. Self-doubt can be a success killer.

Replenishing of the deep inner-strength required to fend off the effects of setbacks - bitter disappointment, discouragement and quite often, disillusionment. Whether one can bounce back from the devastating effects of a major setback can be the single determining factor in achieving success.

Financially, let's not discount the fact that one will generally spend several times more than what they in their original optimistic mindset had set as "the budget". Under funding is among the first reasons why start-up businesses fail. A smart business plan will allow you to not only survive personally, but will provide for implementing contingency plans.

Physical suffering can often accompany one on the ride to success - the stress-related effects of weight loss or gain, fatigue, even depression. Mental and physical resiliency is a rudimentary quality to achieving success.

Too often, the largest sacrifice that an achiever has to make is irreparable damage to relationships in his or her life, when the gift of focus and determination is perceived as, or becomes, obsession. The "perfect balance" may find a home in books and on the lecture circuit, but reality has it that true understanding and support by loved ones are rare commodities. Countless families have fallen apart because the entrepreneurial spirit was alive in a household. Although this subject is deserving of much more attention than I can give it here, communication is the key that will see relationships not only survive, but flourish on the road to success.

I find it amusing when someone just blurts out a quick and disparaging remark about a successful person. The "yeah, he's got it easy" kind of envious, thoughtless blurb. I've been known to rebut more than once, "if you only knew". Thing is, they have no idea what it has taken this person to achieve success. Unfortunately, it's a concept they will probably never "get". And a result they will probably never achieve.

The road to success is often a steep and rocky one. There are mountains in your way, not on the roadmap that you must be prepared to climb. This is the stuff that true entrepreneurial heroes have to face. The ones who are willing to fight the fight and often pay the high price.

By the way, and for the record, I did decide to start my Internet marketing company and I'm pleased to report it is doing just wonderful. I'm also duty bound to say that many of the above sacrifices have been, and will continue to be made along the way.

Greener valleys lie over the horizon for all of us. But before you leave, know that Sacrifice is the Missing Cornerstone of Success.

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