“When one door closes another door opens”. I was reminded of that famous Alexander Graham Bell quote on more than one occasion this past week. I got the chance to meet up with  two very special and gifted musical  friends of mine, that I haven’t seen in over 30 years. I’m the one in the middle. I had a full head of curly brown hair back then. Bob Dylan would have been proud of my afro. Once we started reminiscing about the “good-old-days”, the years and the distances between us quickly vanished, and it was 1972 all over again. You can just imagine the three of us enjoying a meal together and adding bits and pieces to each others stories, trying to connect the dots.

The years have been kind to us, not so kind to some of our friends. The truth of the matter is you just never know what’s waiting for you around the corner. Some things are predictable, while other things just seem to happen. Hindsight is always 20 / 20. The one thing I have come to know for certain is that life truly is a journey, not a destination. It’s organic – it evolves. Everyone’s crystal ball is a little fuzzy. You just never know where you’re going to end up. There is no way that I would ever have predicted I’d be a published author, professional speaker and college professor. Chances are my friends and family wouldn’t have predicted it either. Back in 72 I thought I was destined to end up on the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

If you find yourself in a situation where  the door has closed, don’t waste too much time regretting the past. That chapter of your life’s story is behind you. If you spend too much time looking back, you may miss the door that is about to open in front of you. Walk through it with confidence. Take a leap of faith, believing that an infinite number of opportunities are waiting for you on the other side. I believe that everything in life happens to us for a reason. It’ may not be obvious at the time we are going thought it, but there is usually a pretty good reason for it. Your past is not a predictor of your future if you are prepared to change the here and now. Take the time to reflect on your past misses, learn the lessons, and move forward.  And above all other things, enjoy the journey. 🙂

This article is dedicated to John Wiebe, Dan Unger and Cheryl Harnett Hynes. Copyright 2013 (C) Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Not to be reproduced without permission. http://briansmithpld.com