17 Times Going Off-Script Led to an Unforgettable Story

The heroes of this article discovered through their own experiences that even a small action “off the script” can dramatically change one’s life. We found real stories of people who dared to follow their impulses and found out where the roads they weren’t planning to take had led them.

• By profession, I am an engineer. Once, I had to work as a taxi driver. A buddy of mine asked me to take him to the television center for an interview for a video editor position. I gave him a lift and waited outside.
  He came out looking upset. I heard them call the next person, and without thinking, I stood up and went in. The interview went excellently, and they hired me. However, I didn’t work there long because I realized it wasn’t my thing. © genados / Pikabu
• A few years ago, I was on the phone with my boss as I was getting home, discussing what we needed to get done the next day when he asked, “What the heck is that noise?!” I said it’d make more sense to just show you.
  So I took a video of me opening the door and feeding my (very loud) farm cats. I realized I didn’t like anyone crowding me awkwardly looking at my phone when I show someone a video, so I uploaded it to YouTube.
  The next morning I went to show him on the computer, and noticed it was up to 11 views which I found odd. Then it went viral. Thousands of views per hour. I was getting constant calls and emails about buying the video rights and just asking for permission to use it.
  It has been a nice little source of income when things have been rough. All because I don’t like holding my phone to show someone else a 30-second video... © ourhero1 / Reddit

• A guy messaged me on a dating site who wasn’t my type at all. I’d been on that site for a long time, and things never worked out with the guys who were my type. So, I decided to do something out of the ordinary for once and agreed to meet up with him.
  I arrived at the café and saw something that made me smile: this guy was standing there holding that classic single rose wrapped in cellophane. The date matched the cliché — it was very dull, with a complete mismatch of interests and values. I came up with some excuse to cut it short and headed for the exit.
  There, I bumped into a former classmate with whom I once had a mutual crush. We got to talking, and it turned out he had been living in another city for a while, and he was just in town for a day to visit his parents before heading to the train station. We exchanged contacts and things took off...
  A couple of weeks later he was already inviting me to move to him, and after another month he proposed to me. If I hadn’t spontaneously decided to go on that date, none of this would have happened.
• I landed an amazing job in another city with a salary 3 times my current one, and the company was ready to provide me with an apartment, a company car, and benefits... A dream for any 23-year-old girl!
  I told my boyfriend about it, and suddenly, he pulls out a ring, asks me to marry him, give up the job and the prospects, and stay with him here. I refused.
  Now I live in Dubai, managing a family office. Not one day have I regretted it! © marissa.shvydkaya / Instagram

• I spontaneously bought a tour to Egypt, but the hotel turned out to be a complete disaster: construction all around, terrible food. Decided to leave, but I saw a woman being checked out due to a mistake in the lobby. I gave her my voucher: “Stay here, I’m leaving anyway.”
  And then she suddenly says, “Miss, I’m here with a friend for a couple of days, I actually live in Hurghada. Thank you for your help, I’ll give you the best vacation of your life!”
  It turned out that this lady works for a large excursion agency. For almost nothing, I spent 4 days traveling around Egypt and stayed in a 5-star hotel right near the pyramids.

• Moved across the country to go back to school after getting laid off. I moved 5 years ago, and graduated nursing school last month.
  I literally never have to worry about not being able to find/keep employment ever again. It is so liberating. Knowing I set a good example for my kiddos is an added bonus. © ImAMermaidAMA / Reddit
• I got sick and was on medical leave for over a month. One fine day, I decided to treat my wife and son with something delicious. And I went straight for pastries! Before this, I could only boil pasta or fry an egg at most.
  I baked Whoopie pies with meringue. My family really liked them; they turned out to be really tasty. But the most interesting thing was that I enjoyed the process: mixing the dough, whipping the filling, making sure nothing burned. I truly relax during this time, forgetting all my problems, and the process takes over all my thoughts.
  Then I started tackling more complex recipes. Now a part of the family budget steadily goes toward all sorts of spatulas, baking rings, sleeves, molds. My wife is amazed, saying, “We’ve been living together for 15 years, and I had no idea you were a great cook!” © pihon / Pikabu

• I went on vacation in Germany for 5 days to visit my mom. On the fourth day, I called my fiancé and told him I am staying here, and if he wants he can join me from England. He said no and sent my stuff the week after.
  A year has passed and I don’t regret it one bit. I am in a beautiful relationship with a fantastic man, I have a great job and gained back the confidence that jerk took away in all those years of living together on my money. I am so happy and excited for the future! © rosiulia / Reddit
• I felt bad for an old man at the market and bought his worn-out jacket. My husband looked at me like I was crazy and only said, “Why do we need this rag?”
  I decided to wash it, turned the pocket inside out, and there was something hard behind the lining. I carefully unpicked the seam and was surprised to find an old lottery ticket, which surely had no value now, and some commemorative coin.
  Out of curiosity, I took it to an appraiser, and it turned out to be worth quite a bit. In the end, I returned the coin to the old man. He burst into tears of happiness.

• On Friday evening after work, I was driving a taxi. I had nowhere to live at that time and had $100 in my pocket, which I had saved to rent a room in a dorm. I really didn’t want to rent that room...
  I dropped off a passenger near the entrance and dashed to another city. Unprepared, just as I was from work, not even changing my clothes, I left. Somewhere on the highway at night, I refueled, arrived, rented a bunk in a hostel, and spent the weekend.
  Then I returned and rented the best place I could afford at that moment. I lived there for 4 years. © user4914256 / Pikabu
• Girlfriend broke up with me. 1 week later I was living in my new apartment 2,800 miles away in California. When she called me to get back together, I said sure come on over and gave her my new address... I moved on quickly. © MeatJenkins / Reddit

• I had gone on a few dates with a guy I had mutual friends with. We had fun, but he had to go to Asia for work for several months. I figured that was the end of that.
  After he had been gone a few weeks, he asked me to come visit him in Korea. I was in the US and super busy with work and figured there was no way I could go. I had dinner with my dad that night, and surprisingly, he told me I should go.
  He told me a story about a similar experience he had once in life, and how he always wondered what would have happened if he took the trip. That was on a Tuesday night in May. That Thursday morning, I was on a plane to Seoul.
  It was the trip of a lifetime. He came back from Asia that July and we were married by October. I don’t think we’d have ended up together if I hadn’t gone. 9 years later, I’d say it turned out great! © White*****Barbie / Reddit
• I DM’ed a beautiful model on Instagram and then I flew to her country to take her on a date even though she had a boyfriend. That was 10 years ago and now we’re happily married. © njure / Reddit

Do you think it’s ethical to ask someone out if you know for sure they’re in a relationship?

• My final semester of college I was doing the whole job search thing. We got an email from our department about an internship in China. I was just sending out resumes left and right and had always wanted to live abroad so I thought, what the hell, I might as well send one.
  3 months later with a job lined up but speaking no Chinese, knowing no one over there, and with no apartment lined up, I moved to China. The job ended up being terrible but I found a new one and stayed there for 2 years.
  I made a lot of great friends, somewhat learned a new language, saw some incredible places, ate weird and delicious foods. It was a great experience that changed my life and happened totally off a whim. © andthenyou*** / Reddit
• I had to renew the sticker on my license plate a couple of years ago and really didn’t feel like sitting in the waiting room by myself forever. So I told my mom I’d take her out to dinner after if she came with me.
  The guy working at the counter turned out to be my mom’s long lost biological brother. If she hadn’t come with me I would have never known. Now I have an uncle. Over the past 2 years, we’ve really grown close to him. © Mutchie / Reddit

And these people saw something that triggered their wow-impulse. Check this out.

Have you ever made a spontaneous decision? Share your stories in the comments!