[I wrote this for the NPR series of the same name; they didn’t use it, but I still think it has some value.]

I believe that we should always try. I’m not sure where exactly I learned this belief–probably Mom & Dad–but I seem to have held it all of my life.

My life hasn’t always been a success. Honestly, I’m not sure if it’s a success now or not; I’m too busy to take much time to contemplate it. I just show up each day and try to do the best I can; hopefully, it’s enough.

It’s funny: I wanted so badly to submit an essay to this program that I agonized about it for weeks. What could I write that would really be valuable? What would be world-changing? What would be so compelling that they would have to air it? In the end, I decided that I just had to try, and let the producers decide whether my essay had any merit or not.

And that’s what helped me to decide what my subject would be. For me, it’s always about trying.

We have a rule in my house at dinner time: you have to try a bite of each item on the table. You don’t have to clean your plate, and you don’t have to eat all of your veggies; you do, however, have to try a bit of asparagus or a small mouthful of salmon. For a six-year-old, that is a lot to ask. My son constantly surprises me, though, and often enjoys the ‘weird’ foods we make him eat.

I think it’s important to try things, though, and I want him to learn that more than just about anything else.

When I was graduating from high school in the top ten of my class, I was torn between wanting to please my father and a desire to pursue a love of acting that I had discovered along the way. I played along for a while and went through the motions of working on a college degree in one of the sciences, but what I really wanted to do was move to Hollywood and attempt to make it as a film actor. My dad did his best to discourage me of this dream, but he couldn’t shake my wish to try. In retrospect, I find this somewhat ironic, since it was his inability to do what he wanted that gave me the courage to fly in the face of adversity.

My dad wanted to be a doctor, but was driven by his mother to become a draftsman instead; why, I’m not really sure. Something about living within one’s station, I’m sure; that’s the kind of thing that Scottish commoners are often taught. Dad gave in, and gave up his dream. He ended up a police officer in the greater Detroit area for many years, a job I’m certain he sought because he couldn’t find anything better to support his rapidly-growing family.

It was a living, to be sure, but one he gave up as soon as he possibly could; he took retirement in his mid-40s, and held a few more jobs after that, though nothing earth-shattering. I sometimes wonder what he might have accomplished had he been encouraged to follow through on his desire to enter the field of medicine, but I’ll never know now.

At any rate, I moved west. I went to college to learn the art of acting, and developed into a passable actor. After a number of years working in live theatre, I moved to the east coast to find a way to break into the big-time. I tried to find my niche, but had only modest success. I tried my best to live my dream, but finally decided to give it up when my son was two years old. I’d had some very good opportunities, but realized that, if I was going to make it, I would have made it by now.

But I tried, doggone it. I really tried to make it happen. I gave it my best shot. Were there things I might have done differently that would have changed the outcome? Possibly, but we’ll never really know the answer to that question. Success, especially in entertainment, can be such an ethereal thing. The real answer is that I would never have had even a chance of success if I hadn’t tried.

I’m still trying. I’m writing now. My film script was rejected by the Sundance Film Festival judges, but I tried. I gave it my best shot.

I became an actor to change the world, but the world stayed the same. That’s not my fault. I still believe that I can change the world, though I’ve altered my thoughts on how I can bring that about. I’m starting to see that it’s my kid who is going to shake things up. This son of mine, who has a bright mind and an irrepressible sense of humor; he’s the one who can change things.

By the way, I was afraid of being a father, too. And look at the success I had with this kid: this kid who can change the world. All I had to do was try.

You have to try.