The other day, Bernie Mac died. I found this really bizarre. I wasn’t a huge Bernie Mac fan – I thought he was great in a few movies like Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13, and he was a funny man. He had a great zest for life.

But, man, he was 50! It’s just awful.

This is something that I’ve written about before – I wrote about the movie The Bucket List – where we always think we have endless amounts of time left. We’re always waiting, just hanging out, and waiting, waiting, waiting.

We’re saving money to go to Italy when we’re old. We’re saving money for a rainy day. We’re going to buy that house that we really want – in ten years. We’re going to go on that vacation 14 years from now. We’re going to get that dog that we’ve always wanted in another four years.

We’re going to ask that woman out that we really like – next year. We’re going to lose those pounds next year. If you’re a woman, you’re going to feel better about men and start flirting with them – as soon as you lose those extra pounds. If you’re a guy, it’s the same thing: you’re going to lose some weight and then you’ll go meet people.

But let me tell you something: I wonder what Bernie Mac would say about all of that? Bernie Mac was just 50 and he died. 50 years old: that’s young.

Bernie Mac lived a great life. He had such a zest for life. I used to love watching him on interviews because he was always so full of life. He was so alive, so strong, and so vibrant. He took a lot of risks. He had a passion for life. He did a lot in his 50 years – but he had a lot of life left.

The real question here is: what are you waiting for?

What do you want to do right now? What are you waiting to do until you are older or have more money? Or until you have more things, or lose more weight – whatever it might be. What exactly are you waiting for?

You cannot wait. I’ve been looking to buy a house lately. I keep thinking, I’m going to buy this certain house, and I’ll buy the house I REALLY want in five years. No – I’m going to buy the house I really want right now! Why would I wait? I don’t know where I’m going to be in five years.

Now, I’m not telling you to go out there and spend your entire life savings and do something crazy, but there is something called balance. Most of us are out of whack in terms of balance. I don’t think we spend enough time doing the things we want because we keep waiting for something to happen. Or we will do it, but in the future.

Have you ever seen the movie Defending Your Life with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep? I suggest that you rent it. It’s a great movie. There is a great lesson in that film and it’s very interesting. It teaches you that you need to seize the moment.

So think about the bigger picture. Bernie Mac passed away at 50 years old. Think about the bigger picture.

What do you want to do? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to meet?

And why are you waiting?