There is a tragedy in our world today. Most people aren’t living their dreams, and the reason is simple: fear. They’re scared to be who they are.

When you endeavor to find your life’s work, there is a lot at risk:

• You could fail.
• You could lose the respect of your friends.
• You could go broke.

You could mess up in a hundred different ways. But—and this is important—you could also succeed. And until you start living into your calling, you’re robbing the world of a gift.

We typically wait until the end of a person’s life to give a eulogy, to say nice things about someone. But why wait? Why not start now—when the words can have the most impact?

Earlier this year, my family celebrated my father’s eightieth birthday. It was a fun celebration with friends and family.

Inside of every tragedy, there’s always a little comedy. Last week, in the wake of the sad news about Michael Jackson’s untimely death, his former attorney, Brian Oxman, appeared on Fox & Friends. He made some startling claims about Michael’s prescription drug use.

Then he said, “I warned everyone that I could. I said to family members that one day, that Michael Jackson was going to wake up dead.”

Last night, my daughter Mary and her husband, Chris, came over. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we sat out on the porch and talked. We reminisced about their wedding among other things. We laughed. We even cried. It was a rich, full time.