Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.

Opportunities don’t always arrive the way we imagine they will.

Most of us grow up with a tidy picture of how progress is supposed to work: you aim, you plan, you climb. You do this so you can get that. And sometimes, sure, it plays out exactly that way.

But just as often? The better things slip in sideways.

They show up when you’re doing work that wasn’t part of the grand plan. When you’re helping. Learning. Filling in. When you’re showing up with care, even if the need itself feels temporary or “in between.”

Marilyn Monroe said “Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together”.

I was doing editing work for a company (somebody else did the VO). Solid work. Useful work. Not glamorous, not center stage. Just the kind of behind-the-scenes effort that keeps projects moving and people supported. It wasn’t a strategic move. It was simply me saying yes to something that needed doing, and yeah, I'd be paid.

And then, one day out of the blue, they asked if I would voice their recordings.

No pitch. No chase. Just a natural, almost inevitable next step that grew out of trust, familiarity, and showing up well where I already was.

Sometimes the opportunity doesn’t come from pushing harder. It comes from staying open while doing what’s in front of you with care.

We tend to mourn the things that don’t pan out the way we hoped. The jobs that shift. The plans that dissolve. The great ideas that fall flat. And it’s human to label those moments as failure, or at least disappointment.

But sometimes, what’s really happening is a reshuffling.

The pieces that no longer fit fall away so new ones, unexpected ones, have room to land. And they land because you’ve already proven who you are, not because you’ve announced it loudly.

There’s something deeply traditional about that idea. Old-fashioned, even. Do good work. Be reliable. Treat people well. Stay curious. Let your reputation travel ahead of you.

That’s how trust is built. No matter the technology or new toys we have at our fingertips...this is the one true way to earn trust. And trust, far more than a perfectly polished pitch, is what opens doors that weren’t even visible before.

If you’re in a season where things feel like they’re coming apart, roles shifting, plans changing, identity feeling a little untethered, I’d offer this suggestion: don’t rush to label it as loss.

Instead ask, What’s it making room for right now?

Because better things don’t always announce themselves. Sometimes they’re already forming quietly, just waiting for the right moment to fall together.

And often, they find you exactly where you are. Doing the work you didn’t expect to matter quite this much.