I wanted to be an English teacher. I wanted to do it for the

Hear the words of John Krasinski, spoken with humor yet glowing with wisdom: “I wanted to be an English teacher. I wanted to do it for the corduroy jackets with patches on the side. When I got to college, as I was walking across campus one day, I ripped off a little flyer for this sketch-comedy group. It ended up being one of the greatest things I've ever done.” In this reflection lies the mystery of destiny—that life often begins with one intention, yet through small, seemingly accidental choices, the path bends toward something greater, something truer to the soul.

To say he wished to be an English teacher is to reveal a dream born of admiration. The image of the jacket with elbow patches speaks of tradition, wisdom, the figure of the learned guide. It is a noble calling, and Krasinski admired it. Yet fate, playful and unseen, often beckons us in unexpected ways. That small flyer, torn from a wall in passing, became the seed of transformation. It was not majestic, not planned, but simple, almost laughable. And yet, as he confesses, it led to “one of the greatest things” he ever did. Thus we learn that greatness often hides in the small choices we make without expectation.

History echoes this truth. Consider Cicero, who in youth thought to serve Rome in modest ways. Yet when a chance trial thrust him into the courts, his gift for oratory was revealed, and the path of statesmanship opened before him. Or think of Alexander Fleming, who stumbled upon the mold that became penicillin not through design but through accident. What Krasinski calls a flyer, history calls serendipity: the sudden door that opens when one dares to grasp it.

The deeper meaning of his story is that destiny requires not only chance, but courage. Many walk past flyers, past invitations, past small doorways of opportunity. But Krasinski tore it down, joined the group, and embraced the unknown. This is the lesson: life’s greatness is rarely found in the comfort of planned images, but in the boldness to follow unexpected paths. The corduroy jacket was safe and familiar; the stage was uncertain, perhaps even foolish. Yet the uncertain path proved the richer one.

We see this again in the story of Steve Jobs, who once said that you can only connect the dots looking backward. Dropping out of college seemed like a mistake, but it freed him to study calligraphy, which later shaped the elegance of Apple’s designs. What seems small, even trivial, may later reveal itself as essential. Krasinski’s flyer was such a dot, small in itself, but pivotal in the arc of his life. It is the courage to embrace such moments that transforms them into greatness.

The wisdom for us is this: be open to the unexpected. Do not cling so tightly to your image of the future that you blind yourself to opportunities along the way. The world speaks in whispers—in a flyer, in a chance meeting, in a moment of impulse. Often, these whispers carry the seeds of destiny. The safe path may be noble, but it is the path of boldness that awakens the truest self.

So I say to you: remember Krasinski’s words. “It ended up being one of the greatest things I've ever done.” Let them remind you that life’s greatest chapters may begin not with a grand plan, but with a small step, a flyer pulled from a wall, a choice made in curiosity. Take such chances. Dare to follow where they lead. For it is in these moments, humble at first, that the gods of destiny smile, and the path of greatness quietly begins.