Damn, what a night! How did we find this place? How funny was that!

If you’ve ever said any of these, then you know. If you haven’t, you probably never will.

They’re those brilliant moments, those times in your life that you’ll look back on one day with a smile. Those nights that start off with nothing planned and end as one of the best of your life. The epic times you recount years later in synchronized laughter with your mates that lived them with you.

These are the stories that happen in the magic of the moment.

They cannot be planned. There is no rule as to how to write them. They just happen.

But how?

Well let’s face it: no great story – none of these moments – was ever started by someone eating a salad. It’s when you’re raising a glass that they are made. With your best friends camping, some stranger at a random hole-in-the-wall pub, a fellow traveller you bump into at some bar. It is then that so many of these stories are written.

A bar is where some of life’s best friends & memories are made

And wouldn’t our lives be so much richer if we had more of them?

One needs to only speak with someone happily living the later stages of their life to find out. You know, that old larrikin in some village who still enjoys a glass or three at his local watering hole. That little old lady sipping a wine, enriching the room with her beautiful smile at the family reunion.

Ask them this: If they could live their life again, what would they change? Their list might include their job, or wasting time chasing some deal on furniture. But guaranteed, they’ll never wish away those amazing times they had being the bard of the barstool, mud sliding at Woodstock or singing (totally out of tune) their favorite song at their best friend’s wedding.

It’s why they still smile.

Now ask yourself. What would you change in your life when you get to that age?

You see, some of the world’s greatest inventions weren’t planned. They came as a result of someone trying for something completely different, and then.. there it was, right in front of them.

The most amazing road-trips don’t start off with a pre-planned route. They happen when you just follow the road and end up at that perfect spot at the perfect time.

And let’s face it, that elixir of courage called alcohol (is that word banned yet?) has kindled romance for countless people when least expected, and provided for some of history’s most legendary tales.

It is therefore absolutely imperative that you live for these moments.

Take that unknown road. Travel to some place you never knew existed. Climb that mountain. Yes, raise that extra glass once in a while.

Of course there are countless killjoys out there who thrive on standardizing our lives – those people quoting never-ending statistics that apparently prove we must only drink filtered water, never step outside the ordinary and wear full safety gear when leaving the house. They exist and they are many. They probably live next to you.

Ignore them completely. If you don’t, you’ll never really know how to live.

It doesn’t even matter whether you’re John Doe in accounting or Felix Baumgartner breaking world records. But live your life. Never follow the ordinary. Write those stories.

Make it happen, your magic of the moment.

by Kenneth Hart, Chief Swagman at Thirsty Swagman