Jerry Seinfeld once mused that sometimes the road less travelled is less travelled for a reason.
No one told Kieran Hardy that.
The Scarlets scrum-half hasn't always taken the easiest route in his burgeoning career so far, but it's fair to say the 24-year-old is enjoying the fruits of his labour at the moment.
He's pushing Wales star Gareth Davies for a starting spot at Parc y Scarlets and, following Tomos Williams' injury, he could well be seen as the next cab off the rank for a spot in Wayne Pivac's national squad later this year.
Hardy is deservedly reaping the rewards for some eye-catching performances in Llanelli, but there was a time where his future in west Wales didn't look so rosy.
When Hardy departed the Scarlets in 2016, he was a Wales U20s international who had made little impact at the region - a far cry from his standing there now.
So what happened to change Hardy's fortunes? Well, Jersey Reds happened - a move Hardy has called the "best thing he has ever done".
But how did the English Championship outfit find the scrum-half who was struggling to make any headway at the Scarlets?
Thankfully, their director of rugby, former Wasps scrum-half Harvey Biljon happened to be watching a Carmarthen Quins match - resulting in a brave move for the young half-back.
"I was watching a game and I saw this young nine play for Carmarthen and I was like 'hold on'," said Biljon.
"I went to watch the next weekend and he wasn't playing. They had some rotation in place.
"When I looked at him, I thought he had all the raw materials. He was a young man who just needed time to develop.
"He made a real brave move. A lot of guys with ability but players in front of them don't always get that opportunity to prove themselves.
"He made the brave move to step away from Wales and he grew in confidence and as a man. He was away from home. All those things came together.
"His first year, he had Sami Filisau, who was a Tonga international, in front of him, and he was pushing his way past by the end of the season.
"That first season of being involved week in, week out had a big impact on him.
"I remember him coming in for the second season and we had spoken about what he had to do to get to the PRO14 or English Premiership, mapping out the next couple of years of his career.
"He turned up for pre-season and he was focused. It was a big season for him and he was determined to do well.
"Take nothing away from the fact he was driven to get back there. it's just his pathway wasn't A to B. He had to find a different route."
And find a different route he did.
It's clear Hardy made major strides in his time away from Llanelli.
A source near the Scarlets told WalesOnline earlier this year that, upon his return, "he was unrecognisable from the player who had left for Jersey two years earlier".
So just what changed for Hardy's game during his time in Jersey?
"I think he made huge strides physically," said Biljon. "That was the obvious change.
"The second thing was a lot of work on his core skills, his passing and kicking.
"The third thing was getting that game management as a player, not getting caught up in the heat of battle and understanding everything - the score, the referee, managing the weather. That was a big part of his growth."
That's not to say he went from being a poor player to a good one just from two years at Jersey. As Biljon says, the raw materials were there.
A lot of what makes Hardy such a handful for defenders - from his probing snipes to the instinctive support lines - are facets of the game he's always possessed.
"He's an instinctive footballer," adds his former director of rugby. "Credit where it's due, that's something he brings to the table himself and continues to improve on."
"I said to him once if he wanted his opportunity at the next level, all he has to do is be the standout player in the Championship.
"So how are you going to do that? And it was about being the better of the two scrum-halves in every game he played. If you play Doncaster, you've got to be better than the Doncaster nine. If we play Bristol, can you be better than the Bristol nine?
"That gave him confidence and let him know he was a point of difference player on the field."
When Hardy returned to the Scarlets, he was expected to be well down the pecking order - with Scotland international Sam Hidalgo-Clyne having also just joined.
However, it was Hardy who established himself ahead of his more experienced rival - quickly becoming Davies' deputy.
Hardy's rapid ascension caught many by surprise. But not Biljon.
"I remember speaking to Wayne Pivac at the airport," he said.
"We were talking about Kieran's development and I said 'you won't recognise this man when he gets back to you.
"'Don't be surprised if he's not your number one soon'. I said he's grown as a player, as a man. His focus around his game and drive off the field is why I knew he'd be successful and jump up the pecking order pretty quickly.
"He'll take action and push things as far as he can."
Carry on pushing and Hardy might soon be linking up with his former Scarlets coach Pivac in the Wales set-up.
Were that to happen, Biljon says he'd "get a huge amount of support in Jersey".
"We would all love to see that."
