A life lesson from a cab driver?

Wall mural with quotes
Some things are hard to decipher, Dave’s message was not

 

He had no money when he arrived in 1973, just a piece of paper (a passport-like travel document). No relatives, no friends, didn’t speak English.

What got our conversation started was him asking me what I do for a living. Professional speaker, here yesterday to teach Creativity and Innovation at Corporate College to the regional business community.

He has always been self-employed. Gas stations, shipping, transportation, etc. But in 2008, the EPA fined him $400,000. He went to get a loan from his long-time banker. The banker’s hands were tied. It was 2008 and the world’s economic walls were crumbling.

Eventually he paid an environmental lawyer $40,000 and then paid the EPA $10k instead of $400k.

In this same time period, he discovered his wife was seeing someone else. They divorced.

He thinks people who complain about trivial things are a joke.

Shared a smile, thanked him and told him it was a great blessing to meet him.

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By jeff noel

Retired Disney Institute Keynote Speaker and Prolific Blogger. Five daily, differently-themed personal blogs (about life's 5 big choices) on five interconnected sites.