Keanu Reeves working in a Deli

What if he never got his "big break?"

Sometimes I think about how random things are, and wonder how my life would’ve been if I had a not met certain people by accident.

Have you ever thought what would’ve happened if Keanu Reeves had missed his big break? Would he be just a nice guy working in a deli?

Would Beyoncé be a housewife singing in the church choir on Sunday?

I’m saying this because the reason I’m a chiropractor is because I fell off a sign at a Wendy’s restaurant I was working at and was introduced to chiropractic. A seemingly totally random incident.

My college hopes had been postponed when at 19 my mother informed me that she was getting married and I would have to take care of my younger brother and we would fend for ourselves. I guess I wasn’t going to Florida State anymore.

It was rough trying to make it on our own, but we did. My brother moved out on his own as soon as he could and I got married to my high school sweetheart because it seemed like it was the practical thing to do. We both went to community college part-time and were trying hard to make things work.

My first job ever was working at a fast-food restaurant and apparently if you keep working there they will eventually promote you. I think I had a good work ethic because I worked my ass off for the burger joint I was running. Going to classes interfered with the shifts I was running , so they asked me to drop my classes and/or drop out completely.

After a few years I decided to try other jobs- I rented cars, studied for my real estate license, worked in a grocery store and nothing really “took”. My wife was making more money than I was and I felt that I wasn’t contributing enough. I returned to the restaurant because I could make more money than at those other places and I was somewhat good at the job.

I was resigned to living a lukewarm life. I was flitting around with no direction. I didn’t know I wasn’t on my path, I was just spinning my wheels. I wasn’t happy, but I did not know it.

After my fall from the Wendy’s sign, I was sitting in the chiropractor’s office watching him work and I was completely fascinated with what he was doing. He was telling me amazing things about my body and how it healed naturally.

He was telling me things I had known my whole life, but was hearing it being said out loud by someone for the first time. This chance encounter rocked my world.

Would I still be trudging through life feeling like something was missing if that hadn’t happened?

I don’t think so. I hope not,

I think that when we are “in tune” with ourselves, that we will instinctively seek out where we need to be-the right time, the right place…

Then I came across this quote:

What you seek is also seeking you. -Rumi

That explains how I feel about this perfectly. There is a force that is going to help you find your place, your deal. Your “thing”.

Once I had found my path, things moved quickly. The marriage failed and other obstacles started to disappear. Some doors closed and others opened. They all led me to chiropractic school.

When you’re fired up, drudgery is tolerable. Tests and studying didn’t seem so bad.

And here we are: some 25 years later (how the hell did it go so fast?)

My life is far from perfect, butI am extremely grateful that I have the privilege to do what I love, and am good at.

And I also think Keanu Reeves and Beyoncé are doing exactly what they were put on this earth to do.