Someone told me something along the lines of "Every event in your life can change your life entirely - you get into Harvard or you don't, you get the job or you don't, you win the tournament and go on to become a champion, or you give up on the sport when you lose. Every little decision can be a fork in your life, though most aren't."

Sure, it's oversimplified, sure some "bad-seeming" things are good in the long run, etc. But I find the fork part interesting to thing about - the fact that one little thing can spiral your life of in a completely different direction.