You can't please everyone...

Something happened to me today that irritated me to the point that I'm still thinking about it at 1:30 in the morning.

Won't go into details. It doesn't matter and I don't want to embarrass anybody.

But I couldn't help but think of the late, great Rick Nelson's words from his 1972 hit "Garden Party":

And it's all right now, I've learned my lesson well,
You see, you can't please everyone, so you got to please yourself...

If you have a passion in life, something that makes this world a little brighter, go for it. No, wait. Don't just go for it. Grab the brass ring. Jump in with both feet. Feel free to insert your own cliche here.

There are folks in this ol' world who are going to attempt to rain on your parade. Forget about it. Others will be suspicious of your joy or try to make you look foolish. Ignore them.

If I had ever been worried about such things, I wouldn't have had a third of the blast I've had on this road of experience. I sure would have never squished into a polyester jumpsuit and sang "Burning Love" in front of 1,000 people.

Whatever else I may be, insincere isn't one of them. The words I put down always and forever come straight from the heart. You can take that promise to the bank.

And if I laugh too much, or sing too loud, or act too crazy for your taste, just move aside. Trust me, you're not going to stand in my way for long.

Embrace your passion, folks. Make it yours. Life is tough, sure. But it's also a lot of fun. Beauty is all around you; you just have to know where to look.

So the guy with the sappy music turned up too loud, the fella who cries over a sad old song, that crazy bloke who goes on and on about some movie he's seen or book he's read or music he's heard?

Yeah, that's me.

If you don't like it... well, I don't particularly care whether you like it or not.