Today’s guest author is Mike Tekula, a writer & web developer at UnstuckDigital.com in Long Island, NY. I met Mike via Twitter quite a while ago now, and after one night of discussing how easy it is to lose motivation, he sent this post my way. Although it may seem a bit off topic, I knew it was a powerful post with an important and timely message. I urge anyone who is struggling right now (be it with your job search or just your sense of purpose) to not only read this post but share it with those you wish to remind, “never give up & it will all be worth it.”

Running your own business is stressful at times and joyful at others.  It can be a drag one day and a source of great motivation the next (depending on which side of the bed you wake up on and what is thrown at you in the waking hours).  But one thing that I have found it be on a relatively consistent basis is lonely.

Not lonely in the sense of needing a hug, but lonely because at the end of the day the important stuff is up to you and only you.

If you don't want your business to grow and don't seek out the methods to make that happen, it won't.  If you lose heart and stop looking for the light at the end of the tunnel, or at least the next torch to set afire, your momentum is already gone.

You can't look to employees to guide the way –that's your job. And your family and friends, though they love you dearly, probably get sick of listening to you talk to yourself by talking to them.

And when times get tough and the outlook is dim, it's easy to blame yourself—because, well, there's nobody else responsible.

The question we all need to answer on a regular basis is this:  “Why?  Why am I doing this?  What was it again that I chose to seek out in starting this thing?  Was it wealth? A renewed sense of purpose?  The ability to earn an honest living on our own terms?" Answering this question of why as consistently as possible until it's your mission, your mantra, can be tough—but it's essential.

"No risk, no reward."  Empty words.  We know this statement is true because it's obvious.  Reward is created by scarcity—the few who push harder and longer than the rest, and in smarter places, reap the benefits.  Risk is an inseparable part of going where others are unprepared to go.  Tired clichés that touch upon this do little.

Stories, on the other hand, can do everything.

                               A Story for You—The Definition of Determination

I learned for the first time today of Temba Tsheri—the youngest person ever to climb Mt. Everest.  He reached the summit at the age of 16 years and 14 days.  He did this apparently after losing five fingers to frostbite in an earlier attempt.

Sixteen years old. Hard to imagine. When I was 16 my biggest concerns were girls, getting my schoolwork done and still having time for band practice in my friend's basement.  Big ambitions seemed like things I could put off until I was grown.

I haven't been able to find much in the way of details on Temba's story.  I found this picture of him, taken long after he made it to the top, but little else.

What was it that spurred him on?  It wasn't money—few, if any, are paid for the climb.

What would I do to save one of my small fingers - let alone five of my ten digits? Climbing after suffering such a thing might seem irrational, even insane.  But something tells me Temba has few regrets.

The greatest rewards transcend the material. It dawns on me that exterior forces of motivation, such as money and respect, are simply not enough to drive an individual to the top of the tallest mountain in the world.  Those who make the climb must do so out of an interior drive so strong that the risk of death, of leaving the material world, is not a strong enough deterrent.  Or maybe it is the risk that motivates—the closer the danger, the more alive we feel.

But unlike cliff or skydivers, I don't see mountain climbers as thrill seekers.  The reward of standing at the summit, I imagine, is not the thrill of the danger but the triumph over the struggle of the climb.

I don't mean to compare my own struggles with those of the few brave and strong enough to challenge the faces of Everest.  On the contrary - it is stories like Temba's that remind me that my own goals, and the risks they carry with them, are not nearly so insurmountable as they seem even at the worst of times.  And for that I am thankful.

Thanks for sharing Mike, for those of you looking to link up with him you can find him on Twitter--@miketek.

Also we will be periodically posting motivating stories like this here at TheOnlineBeat in an attempt to remind our readers that we are all facing the current challenges together. Feel free to contact me directly if you would like to submit something for review at joanna@theonlinebeat.com.