Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?
by: Billy Crystal

I just finished listening to Billy Crystal's autobiography at 65 years old and whether a fan of his comedy or not, I enjoyed his book mainly because of how it made me look at my own life. Am I making choices that I will regret later in life? Am I setting long term goals that I can achieve? I took away three big ideas from listening to Billy Crystal talk about himself, some chapters even in front of a live audience:

1. You don't find real meaning by waiting for someone to give it to you
• Billy shares the secret of the revelation given to him at his Bar Mitzvah... and things aren't what they seem at face value. People will tell you what they think you should think, how you should act, and how you should feel. If you wait for someone else to determine that for you, you might not get the answer you wanted. Which means, you should just define things for yourself from the beginning!
2. Death is scary but that means you should talk about it
• Whether you like it or not, as you get older your friends and family pass away. And it hurts! The fact is everyone is getting older every day and you will never be ready when it is time to say goodbye. Billy tells you to celebrate your birthday every year and even though planning your own demise is strange, just remember to tell your loved ones how you feel as often as possible.
3. Happiness is not only skin deep
• Billy loves his family, baseball, and his comedic career of stand-up and movies. You could tell he was happy not because of the fame and fortune, but because he loved doing it and in turn had loving support of friends and family. Overall, Billy's life seems full of good choices and few regrets and I started to admire him for it... until I realized that, well, if I was going to write my own autobiography, I'd want people to remember me that way too: for all the good times. :-) And why not?!