Fossett lived his life to the fullest
Dreams.

Steve Fossett pursued his aspirations.

Most multi-millionaires would be content to watch Green Bay on the plasma screen or take the Mastercraft out for a spin, but Fossett wanted adventure.

To many, his around-the-world jaunts were foolhardy. A solo balloon flight encircling the globe is a risky venture, even today, but the commodities broker always wanted to push the limits.

Luck always seemed to be on his side. Then he disappeared in the summer, somewhere over the rugged Nevada desert, never heard from and never found.

In an age when everything seems to have been done already, Fossett carried the spirit of Charles Lindberg Sr. and Amelia Earhart around the globe.

Fossett saw the danger, but wanted to pursue his dreams. He had swum the English Channel. He'd completed the Iditarod sled-dog race. He'd scaled great mountain peaks. He led an exciting life. It's hard to imagine that he left any regrets.

Another dreamer - the son of Indian immigrants - wanted to be governor of Louisiana.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal was defeated by Kathleen Blanco in his first race to become his state's chief executive, but he didn't lose his dream.

A few days ago, he smashed 11 opponents. He will became Louisiana's first non-white governor since Reconstruction, decades after his parents moved there from India to pursue the American dream.

Jindal, a 36-year-old Republican, avoided a runoff and will be the nation's youngest governor. His initial dream realized, Jindal will pursue another dream: Ending Louisiana's perennial corruption. Good luck.

Another immigrant who left Austria as a young man for America exceeded his dreams. After great success in film, Arnold Schwarzenegger pursued his dream of leading the nation's most-populous state as governor.

Many pundits downplayed his chances, but Schwarzenegger went forward anyway.

It would have been easy for Fossett, Jindal and Schwarzenegger to simply have dreamed, but never pursued them. Grab opporutunities before it's too late.