I heard an interesting speaker today. John Rivers is an entrepreneur from Orlando. He’s had two careers.

The first was a high-profile career in pharmaceutical sales. He grew to be a CEO of a company with more than $2.5 billion in sales. He retired as a young man because he realized he was working more for money as compared to working because of any particular joy he was deriving from his job.

What he discovered that he loved was cooking barbecue. He discovered that passion when he cooked some brisket in order to raise money for a family that had a young daughter with a brain tumor. The first time he did it, he and his family cooked for 450 folks, made a lot of money and a passion was born.

For several years, he ran a “barbecue ministry” out of his garage. As his reputation grew, the ministry grew larger and larger. Eventually, his neighbors became concerned about the amount of smoking meat that was on the grill and he decided to build a restaurant to cook for his ministry and to feed others who had grown to have an appreciation for the food they had tasted at his fundraising barbecues.

It was a great, inspirational story filled with examples about how the combination of a faith in God aligned with a genuine passion will lead you to a joyful life.

I was emcee of the event and could see that the 280 people watching him were focused on every word. He challenged people to pursue their goals. He speculated that most don’t because of the fear they have. He said that in his experience, most people sideline passion because of the fear of failure. It reminded me of a great Quincy Jones quote that goes, “I’d rather say ‘I’m sorry’ than ‘I wish I had.’”

Is there anything that you know you are supposed to be doing that you haven’t tried?

I love my work. I love my teammates. I was reminded today about how fortunate I am. Thanks for letting me work along side of you.