(This post was inspired by Steve Jobs, whose 2005 Stanford commencement speech fueled my decision to strike out on my own and pursue my dream of entrepreneurship and creating beauty and whose decision to step down as CEO of Apple has sent ripples through the worlds of business and technology)

Years ago, I gave my sister an iPod inscribed with those exact words on the back as a graduation gift. It was a rhetorical question, but also a big brother’s gentle prodding to his sister to chase the things that she believed would bring her the greatest amount of joy and fulfillment in her life. I don’t know if she paid those words any heed, but against many odds, she pursued what she loves and ended up with an Emmy nomination to show for it.

My own answer to the question led me through a rather convoluted path. My professional life started off in engineering, then wended its way through a stop in b-school and onto corporate marketing gigs, before finally placing me in the position of founder and owner of a media agency that sees infinite possibilities ahead. The uncertainty of entrepreneurship strikes fear into me on a daily basis, but that fear is minuscule compared to the fear of the alternative. The prospect of looking back on my life when I’m 70 years old and wondering what would have been had I only had the balls to do what I loved cripples me….. no, it is NOT an option. I may yet fail in my quest to turn ClearSketch into a highly regarded and respected video and photography agency (that’s profitable!), but I refuse to be bound by the fear of failure and allow it to prescribe inaction.

I can barely imagine what must have gone through Steve Jobs’s mind when he decided that he had to relinquish his leadership role at Apple. What were his fears? Did he fear that Apple would fail because the people he’s been grooming to take over wouldn’t be up to the task? Did he fear the stigma of being seen as human and vulnerable when his public persona has often bordered on that of invincible? Ultimately, though, some other fear was greater than any of the others, and he gave up his position as the iconic CEO of Apple to alleviate that fear. What would you do if you weren’t afraid?