Portraits of life lessons – Part 1 – Am I rich?

Gratitude…a key to being rich?

How did we reach the current point in life? Is the concept of self-made success real? What were crucial points in the way, and was it just really me? During the last couple of months, I have been thinking about how I did get to this point in my life and whether there is a common denominator, that can apply to everyone? So I did a deep dive and came up with some lessons that I want to share with you in this blog series. Here is the thing…there is always someone sharing knowledge and guiding you out there. In this series I will be featuring some of my masters along  my way. Today, it is Edu’s time..

 „Richness is not defined by the amount of euros in your account…you are rich, when people appreciate and love you„ – Eduard „Edu“ Andreu

Folks…this is profound wisdom! But, let me first introduce Edu. Edu is one of my dearest friends. Many of you know, that me and my family spend the summer holidays in Catalonia, where my wife comes from. It is a little town in the Catalonian mountains called Sant Llorenç Savall. Since I met her, we have been spending practically all our vacations there. For many years we spent time with the family, wandering the mountains and I took over the passion of my father-in-law mountain biking. Literally, the only contact I had was my wife’s family and friends. In 2015 we decided to spend the whole summer vacation (6 weeks) there and decided to put our three daughters in the early swimming course at the municipal swimming pool. A couple of days after I arrived and being at the pool chatting with my wife and watching the girls, this guy approached me and asked me whether I spoke Catalan or Spanish? I did, so he started a conversation. He basically told me his whole life. From the beginning on he told deep personal things and I have to be honest, I had a cultural shock that day. You see, the distance between people in Germany is much greater than in other countries, and even more when you do not know the other person. This was and is Edu. He was completely open from the beginning. That day a beautiful friendship started, although at that moment I was not really aware of it…because I really was culturally shocked. For almost all the rest of the summer (he was recovering from an operation) we sat every day together during swim practice (Edu’s girls were also in the swimming course), shared stories, and became friends. Throughout that summer and the following vacations, Edu introduced me to his family and friends and basically integrated me into the town’s life. 

Edu is a bus driver for the TMB (Transports Municipals de Barcelona). But he is not just a bus driver. He is passionate about his profession. He starts work every day at 6 in Barcelona, which means he has to leave town around 4:30 to 5 AM. He has worked for some years on the same route (155) between Barcelona and Montcada. He has excellent stories to tell about his day to day and the encounters he experiences. To hear him tell stories is really a pleasure. Bus driving is really fun for him, but what he loves most is the contact with people. He sees persons every day taking the bus to school, work, the employment office, the hospital, the bar, and the municipal swimming pool. Some of them take the bus to go to their grandchildren to take care of them or to their grandparents. He talks with them and yes, sometimes he is also a life coach for many of them.

One impressive fact about him is, that everybody, in the town knows him. He greets everyone and treats everyone with complete openness. In the beginning, I thought „OK, this is a small town“, however throughout the years we have been visiting restaurants and other places in other towns and cities around and each time we go to a new place people greet him…but not only the restaurant owners, people in the restaurants and towns. I really am flabbergasted by Edu. He knows how to talk and treat people. He listens to what people tell him, offers advice when needed, and even helps. He connects people and makes sure that everyone gets the opportunity to feel well when he is around.

One day some years ago in one restaurant, we were talking about finances and I was telling him I was worried because we had had many unplanned expenditures and that year was a financially difficult one. His literal answer to this was, „hey Erich, do not worry…if you need some financial help I can help out. There is always a solution for everything.“. I was deeply impressed and said hey no worries, I will overcome that phase somehow. His answer was „Richness is not defined by the amount of euros in your account…you are rich, when people appreciate and love you.“ This summer I thought how right he was…if you are rich in this way, help will always be there for you.

 „Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are in making them feel good about you„ – John C. Maxwell

Since we know each other, we have been trying to get the 3-week summer vacation at the same time. This year however things changed on both our sides and we only were able to have an overlap of 5 days, although I was there with my family the whole of August. During the first 2 weeks in Spain my wife and did work (the beauty of Internet workplaces). I actually was worried, because I wanted to spend some time with him and the 5 overlapping days had some hiccups due to other appointments. When I was in the second week there, I asked Edu whether it was possible to spend one day with him on the bus. That way we could catch up on things and I really wanted to have a close-up of his working day. He loved the idea and thankfully the responsible people at TMB gave the green light. So, on my first vacation day, I did an internship in Barcelona – Montcada. I was able to visit one of the central bus stations in Barcelona. I got a tour of the facilities. Met some of Edu’s colleagues and loved the team spirit they had. I spent the whole day with Edu on the bus and witnessed his people skills also as a professional. It was enriching to see how people greeted him, talked to him, and shared stories with him and of course with me. He presented me to everybody who approached him to talk and share. That way I met Isa, a 50+ woman, who told me her story and how Edu had been a constant in her life for many years. He had supported her when she got cancer and her husband left her. An incredible woman who raised her children practically alone and still supported them. Just 5 weeks before she had a heart stroke and underwent surgery. She is a tough person! She shared with Edu the last news of the family and the plans she had with her son that day. I also met the bakery owners in Montcada, who had that day a holiday and were going to the municipal pool to escape the heat of the day. I learned that during the pandemic they prepared coffee and biscuits for Edu and his colleagues and that they handed them over the window to Edu to share with the colleagues at one of the stops because nobody was allowed to remain in the bars and restaurants. I could go on and on with a full list of people and stories that were shared that day, but I will leave it here. Suffice it to say the following…it was beautiful and soul-fulfilling to see my friend at work…not bus driving…but being a person making others feel good about themselves. He is in the complete sense of it, a people’s person.

My Edu key learnings:

• Gratitude: I feel grateful for my family, my friends, and all the people I meet.
• Be open to everybody. Everybody has a story to tell.
• Approach everybody without prejudices.
• The EURO is not important. What is important is the time you share with people.
• In life, there are some key moments that define the next path in your life. There is always someone during those key moments, that is guiding you, sharing knowledge with you, and/or helping you out. Be grateful to them and give them the recognition they deserve.

So…before I close this blog today, I invite you to do an exercise tonight…tonight before you go to sleep, try to remember those defining moments in your life, search for who was there with you giving guidance and support, and thank them in your thoughts before you close your eyes. Maybe even go further and contact them tomorrow and see how they are doing?

As a native speaker, Erich provides coaching in German and Spanish, as well as in English thanks to his more than 3 decades of experience working at the international level.

Last posts

• Portraits of life lessons – Part 1 – Am I rich?
• Encounters of the third art – story of the week
• Deep personal change – Part 3 – The inner fight continues
• Deep personal change – Part 2 – The inner fight starts
• Deep personal change – Part 1 – The dark side