For more than 10 years — longer if you count syndication — Richard Belding helped Zack and the gang navigate the drama and life lessons associated with the teenage years on “Saved by the Bell.”

On Thursday night at Georgia Highlands College, the actor who played Mr. Belding shared his own life lessons during the college’s Community Speaker Series.

Dennis Haskins said life is really just a series of “connect the dots.” Your decision, or action, or non-action leads to another, leads to another, until you end up where you want to be.

“Here’s an interesting concept. I want you to try it. Wouldn’t it be great if you could make a living doing what you want?” Haskins asked. “I am because I didn’t listen to my ‘no people.’”

Haskins started his career in the music business, and ended up on the pilot episode of “Dukes of Hazard” following some work in a Louisiana-based theater company. He met John Schneider, aka Bo Duke, who was told not to bother trying to get on the show because he was only 17 years old. But Schneider didn’t listen to his “no people” and landed a starring role.

Later, Haskins packed up his car and drove to California, where he worked at a Honey Baked Ham and took acting lessons in a small studio with a guy who wanted to be a writer. One day that guy shared something he had written and said the company head told him not to pursue writing. The writer was Quentin Tarantino and the work he shared was a scene from “ReservoirDogs.”

When a fellow actor told Haskins about the role of a principal on the show that would eventually become “Saved by the Bell,” Haskins’ manager told him not to waste his time. Then, after he made a couple of followup auditions, his manager again told him it wasn’t worth the effort.

“The rest is history,” Haskins said.

He later fired the manager.

Haskins told those assembled they should always take the chances that are presented, despite what anyone might say. “Seinfield” started with only five episodes, he said, and “Cheers” had terrible ratings for the first two seasons.

“If you try and it doesn’t work out, at least you learned something,” Haskins said. “I’m from 70 miles up the road in Chattanooga. I wasn’t the best in my class, but I got a show that plays in 87 countries because I didn’t listen to people tell me no.”