Reading even a few pages of 'The Celestine Prophecy' on his long-haul flight from London to Brisbane on Tuesday will have reinforced to Titans recruit Dan Sarginson that his arrival on the Gold Coast was something more than chance.
Two years after being in camp with the England team for the Four Nations tournament where he 'fantasised' about living and playing on the Gold Coast, Sarginson landed in Queensland and headed straight to meet his new teammates who were training on the pristine beaches of the Tweed.
Admitting to spending much of the flight from the UK catching up on some sleep, the 23-year-old also whiled away the hours by reading the 1993 novel that follows the main character on a journey of self-discovery.
A major theme of the book is being open to new possibilities and explains in part why Sarginson asked his manager to seek out potential NRL clubs ahead of his contract with Wigan running out at the end of the 2016 season.
The result is a classy addition to the Titans backline of a player with 125 Super League appearances and three Tests to his name who is determined to use his time at the holiday capital of Australia to become the very best footballer he can be.
"We were here for the Four Nations a couple of years ago and I loved it here and I remember thinking, Imagine living here," Sarginson said to the assembled media just hours after arriving.
"You can only fantasise about it but when the offer came up to sign for Gold Coast I snapped their hand off.
"I seen how well they were doing in the NRL last year and it was kind of a no-brainer for me to come here.
"I find moving to a new club a new lease of life. Meeting new people and impressing new people makes me better as a player."
England teammate and close friend Thomas Burgess served as tour guide for the 2014 England squad that was based at Sanctuary Cove but despite all the area has to offer Perth-born Sarginson made it very clear that this is anything but a holiday.
He may join the Burgess clan for Christmas in Sydney but beyond that is ready to get down to business and push for a place in the Titans squad for Round 1 with coach Neil Henry hinting that he may find himself at left centre.
"Neil mentioned something about left centre being a position that has been vacated so hopefully I can take that over," said Sarginson, who can also play fullback and in the halves.
"You speak to all the players like Gareth Widdop and James Graham and players that have played over here and they all say that you can't really explain how much it develops you as a player, living over here.
"Obviously the lifestyle's a bonus and stuff like that but at the end of the day we all want to become better rugby players.
"I want to cement myself in the England squad for the years to come and I think coming out here will really benefit me and help towards that.
"You could say that I've tested myself playing for England against these lot but I'd like to get out here and play on a weekly basis and really test myself every week against the best in the world."
Sarginson will take to the training field with his new Titans teammates for the first time on Thursday and provided he can get up to speed in quick time would like to make his debut for the club at the Downer NRL Auckland Nines in February.
"When we came over for the World Club Challenge a couple of years ago we stayed and watched the Nines," said Sarginson, who played in the centres in Wigan's 36-14 loss to the Roosters at Allianz Stadium in 2014.
"It was Sam Tomkins' first year so we hung about to watch him for New Zealand Warriors and it was really entertaining and the crowd there is unbelievable.
"I think it would be a good way to break in and get a taste for NRL rugby league.
"I'd definitely put my hand up but if I'm not right for that then that's up to Neil."
This article first appeared on NRL.com
