Michael got in, shut the door, and looked down at his phone. It was raining. I was driving.
Last Wednesday was my first day driving for Lyft, the drive-sharing app. I decided to submerge myself in Lyft and Uber to try and see if I can hack it, then create an online video teaching drivers how to make more tips. Having run a party bus company for twenty years, I have a few ideas.
“How are you?” I asked looking in my rearview mirror.
“Great!” He replied looking up from his phone and removing his massive earphones. He was in his 20’s.
I picked him up at the Marta train station in downtown Atlanta. He was my fourth ride of the day, and of my life.
“Today is my first day driving for Lyft,” I tried to break the ice.
“Oh, a newbie! Congratulations!” he smiled.
“Do you have any tips for me?”
“Oh yeah, you got this,” he said enthusiastically. “You will make more money when it is raining. Always stick around the bus stations. Make sure you drive when it is busy. You will be great!”
He was passionate and full of energy. I liked this guy.
“Where are we headed?” I asked. The driver app doesn’t really tell you where you are going. Plus I had no idea what I was doing.
“I am headed to work! I work at the Walmart distribution center,” he replied.
He was a small guy and wore glasses.
“Wow. What time do you start work?” I asked realizing it was already late in the afternoon.
“I work from 6 pm – 4 am,” he smiled as he leaned towards me.
“Do you ever sleep?” I asked.
“Ha!” he laughed. “I usually get home around 6 am and try to get a couple of hours of sleep. I don’t like sleeping during the day because it feels like I waste the day.”
For the rest of the trip, he told me about the people he works with, his routine, his passions, and his dreams. He told me he was headed to Miami on vacation for the weekend.
“Miami is expensive,” I replied thinking about the time I paid $26 for a vodka Redbull the first time I went to Miami in my 20’s. It was the only drink I bought. It was the only money to my name.
“I kind of disagree,” he said with a smile. He had not stopped smiling since he got in my car. ”You know, I went to the outlets last time I was down there. I got about $100 worth of Nike gear for about $30. I am a Nike guy!”
We chatted for the rest of the ride. It took me 56 minutes to drive him to a massive Walmart distribution center tucked away in the woods outside of Atlanta where he would work throughout the night.
“Do you always take Lyft to work?” I asked, wondering how he could afford a $30 ride to and from work every day.
“Well, my car keeps getting broken into at work so I decided to just spend the money with Lyft.”
Smart, I guess.
Micheal lives in Stone Mountain which is about 45 minutes away from downtown. He takes the train downtown and then Lyft to work an hour further.
Five days a week.
I dropped Michael off in front of the massive center. He smiled and congratulated me on my first day.
“Good luck! You got this!” He almost danced off to work.
Wow, I thought. What an amazing guy with an amazing attitude.
I believe the key to a life well-lived is three things.
1. Love yourself
2. Love your life
3. Say yes to adventure
Michael loves his life. Sure, he never sleeps and it takes him three hours to get to work and three hours to get home eating up most of the money he makes at work….but he loves his life.
At the end of the day, I checked my Lyft driver app to try and figure out how everything worked. The app shows you all kinds of interesting data from the total time you drove, miles, your ranking, comments, etc. I drove for nine hours that day and made $146. I had 12 rides including Michael.
Towards the bottom of the app, I noticed something interesting. There was one person who had given me a tip.
It was Michael.
He gave me a $2 tip and, to me, it was worth a million dollars.
We all need to love life like Michael.
Trey
P.S. By the way, I just ate a piece of Nicorette gum for the first time in my life and I think I am having a heart attack.
Trey, enjoyed this one a lot. Hope all is well.