Two young people met in their senior year of high school. They dated for several months, becoming very close by the time graduation rolled around. The problem was, the young woman had made plans to attend college halfway across the country prior to meeting the young man. These plans could not be changed so at the end of summer following graduation the couple said their tearful goodbyes and each went their separate way.

The young man was devastated and felt lost without the young woman in his life. He had a very difficult decision to make — either accept her leaving as fate and try as best he could to move on, or to take charge of his own destiny and do something about the situation. The young man decided to take action.

Packing all his belongings into his car and taking what little money he had, he set off to find the young woman. Though he had a line on a job, he did not know if this would materialize, nor did he know where he would live, how long the money in his pocket would hold out, or even if the young woman wanted him to come — he had not told her of his plans to follow her.

None of these things mattered. The young man was not about to let the fear of the unknown stop him from following his heart — from taking charge of his own destiny. He was excited and terrified at the same time. He felt more alive than he had ever felt before and, even if things turned out badly, he could always take comfort in the fact he had tried...

In our lives we are all faced with a multitude of choices to make, problems to solve, and stands to take. But before we can deal with these issues, we must first make a more fundamental decision — do we even want to deal with these issues in our lives?

In the most simplistic of terms, there are basically two camps of people — those who actively participate in their own destiny, and those who essentially let life happen to them.

The problem with belonging to the passive camp is this approach resigns us to a life of mediocrity. A life where hopes and desires go unrealized and dreams are unfulfilled. When we sit idly by hoping life will simply happen to us, what really happens is nothing — life ends up passing us by.

Arguably, this is a very safe existence, but is this really living? It's true those in the passive camp may save themselves from major failures and devastating pain, but they also rob themselves of the chance for great success and immense joy.

IT'S FAR BETTER TO HAVE TRIED AND FAILED, THAN NEVER TO HAVE TRIED AT ALL.

Without actively making tough choices, taking risks, and directing our own destiny, we can never expect any true meaning or happiness to come from our lives. That is not to say those who belong to the ACTIVE camp won't experience pain, most certainly will.

We can't reach for the stars and not expect to occasionally fall short. That's okay. Pain and failure are as important and necessary as joy and success, for without one you cannot have the other.

Our lives are what we make of them. We are indeed the masters of our own destiny — or at least we can be. It's up to each of us to decide which camp we will belong. Will we have the courage to really live our lives? To follow our dreams no matter what the outcome? To risk failure and pain in the hopes of attaining success and joy? Or will we let our fears and insecurities condemn us to a life unfulfilled? A life which offers as little pain as it does joy.

What ever became of the young couple in the story? As you may have guessed, that young man was me nearly twenty years ago. And I did find the girl. After driving for eighteen straight hours across several states, I was reunited with my one true love outside her college dorm. We've been together ever since and I certainly don't plan on letting her slip away ever again.

With that road trip years ago, I made a conscience effort to take charge of my own destiny. In doing so, my life has had many ups and downs. It has been an adventure for sure, but more than that; it has been an adventure by choice. Not all my decisions have been good ones, but at least they were mine. And I only need to look as far as my wife — the young girl I surprised outside her dorm so many years ago, and to think of our children and the life we've made together, to understand the importance of taking charge of your own destiny.