Do I believe in fate?

Yes....

But I also believe in free will. Effective use of free will can significantly alter one's fate in a brand new fate. It's usually a question of how effectively people DO use their free will. In many, if not most cases....that's not terribly effectively, I'd have to say.

I'll explain it this way. Say life is a river. Say you're floating down that river in a small boat...to an unknown fate. You have a paddle, a sail, and a rudder. The question is, do you use them? And how often? And with what degree of focus and skill and purpose?

The path of your boat on the river is the path of your personal fate...in the relative absense of the creative use of free will. If you just sit around in the boat, look at the scenery going by, and wait for something to happen or someone else to do it for you...then the river will bear you inevitably to some predetermined fate that awaits you.

If you start using the paddle, however, you will alter that fate into some other fate. The more you use the paddle, the rudder, and the sail, the more you will alter the course of your original line of fate into some other fate.

Really effective and focused use of the paddle, rudder, and sail, can steer you directly to a fate of your own visualization and your own choosing. Vague or haphazard use of the control devices will not have nearly so useful an effect, and will probably lead you to a fate not so much of your own choosing.

And so it goes.... ;-) Life is a mixture of "fate" (established patterns of situational probability) and free will. Free will is the way of power. Passively drifing around according to fate is the way of powerlessness.