Well, I guess I would be remiss if I did not comment on the passing of Michael Jackson. I know that he was not big—he was only 120 lbs (55 kgs)—and he was not particularly tall for a man—5’ 11” (180 cm), but he had a world wide following and his life, much life his death is a tragedy wrapped in media sensationalism.

I will admit he had some great music. Thriller was an incredible album. I like a lot of his earlier stuff. “Ben” I think is still his greatest song. But I believe the stories of his sundry inclinations and acts of pedophilia and that will tarnish his immortal image until the end of time.

But he had an issue that a lot of us face, low self-esteem. Sure, he was a giant superstar and had hundreds of millions of dollars and was seen by billions of people. But the only thing he seemed to have confidence in is his music. And how can we tell this? Well, I think his plastic surgery is the most definitive way. He was never happy with his looks and had so many surgeries his nose literally fell off.

So if a man with the resources that Michael Jackson had is so lost that his life ends this tragically, what hope is there for the rest of us? Well, the short answer is plenty. Michael Jackson did not use the resources he had. The thing about mental health (and having a good self-esteem is part of that) is that you have to want to be healthy. Michael Jackson, as much as I am sure he would have liked to have been mentally healthy, he did not want to be. And that is the difference between him and what we can aspire to be.

All of his money, fame and talent could not make him healthy, because he chose not to be. He chose to live the childhood that was deprived him early on and as a result, made himself miserable. He made bad choices. His friends and advisors were not working in his best interest. He died with about a half of a billion dollars owed to creditors and he listened to doctors that wanted to pump him full of drugs.

As a result his children grow up without a dad and the music that he filled the world with goes silent.

Mental health and self esteem building is important. We can all learn that from him. If only he took the time to explore that possibility himself.