Tackling the Fear of Self-Employment

Q: Among the big hurdles to self-employment are self-doubt and fear of failure. How did you deal with them, and what's your advice?
A: You know what? I never had fear. What was more fearful for me was going to a job every day that made me unhappy. That was what worried me every day about my future. . . . I know it is an obstacle for a lot of people, and again I think the answer to that is networking, meeting with some people who are in the business that you want to start and finding out how they get past that because it can be scary, especially in these uncertain times.
--from an interview the Plain Dealer recently did with an old writing buddy of mine, Mary Mihaly.