A Final Facebook Post for Uber/Lyft Riders

For 56 days I wrote a daily positive post on the Uber/Lyft local website for other drivers.  A few times I used things that I have blogged about here, but a good number of things were directed towards the job of being an Uber/Lyft driver.  Below is my final post which went out on Friday.  It summarizes the 56 posts and I thought a few of you might find it interesting.

Wishing everyone in “Rideshare Land” a fabulous Friday and a safe weekend. This is my final positive post during this virus and I hope you enjoy it. If you love music, a terrific documentary on Clive Davis, the music mogul, is on Netflix. He said, “the greatest gift in life is to love what you do.” I’ve always enjoyed the work I did and in some cases I did love it. Driving for Uber&Lyft is definitely something I love doing. One of the fringe benefits for me is clearly the riders. Meeting and talking to people from all walks of life has been more fun and interesting than I ever would have imagined. Eight weeks ago, when I knew I wasn’t going to drive, I decided not to focus on what I wasn’t going to do, but what I was going to do. My favorite singer, Paul McCartney, sang fifty years ago, “take a sad song and make it better.” How could I make this better? We each have unique skills, talents, and experiences that other people don’t have. For instance, let’s say you worked in the local unemployment office and you were also a driver and you spent your time to help other drivers get through the unemployment paperwork. It would be greatly appreciated, but that’s not something I could do.

 I’ve been reading positive books, biographies of successful people and have experienced many positive things in my life from using what I’ve learned. As a driver and manager of drivers for thirty years, I care a lot about being a driver and I have great respect for drivers. I thought if I posted something positive each day, I could get some laughs or smiles and give you a short break from the virus. I knew that many of you would be missing driving as much or more than I was going to. I thought I could give you some different things to think about. And, there will be a day in the future that you’ll have a tough day driving. I hope you’ll think about the great rides you’ve had in the past or make yourself laugh at something to change your mood. Hopefully, you’ll remember that your next ride could be the one you’ll never forget, or it might just be a very profitable ride that will change your day. To summarize 56 posts: Entertain your riders and let them entertain you. Educate your riders and let them educate you. Have fun, be safe, and spread some of your sunshine to your riders. Now more than ever, people are looking for some good news, for a few laughs, or for something positive. You can do that and make someone’s day.

My wife frequently says that I always like to have the last word.  However, I’m giving the last words to someone who has inspired millions of people for the past sixty years. My favorite Martin Luther King Jr. quote is this: “If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause and say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well.” (my wife is usually right) My final words-BE A GREAT DRIVER.