This is the story of how, 17 years ago, a cab driver from Estepona gave me a great life lesson…
2007 was a fantastic year for me, I was running a small e-commerce venture for a few months, selling retro sports jerseys that I imported from Argentina.
Sales and popularity were increasing every day, so I decided to invest all the money I had saved and the profits I had generated up to that point in a large order to cover all the demand.
Unfortunately, the package with more than 100 pieces disappeared in the Venezuelan customs and I lost all the money.
It was a hard blow, but like every setback I have experienced in my life, it left me with a great learning experience.
Back to the cab driver and his valuable lesson… Due to the success of the first months of the year, I decided to vacation in Europe. My plan was to visit the Costa del Sol, Paris, Amsterdam, and return to Venezuela from Madrid.
I had only bought the tickets because I was counting on the return on investment to pay for lodging, food and entertainment for the 2 weeks I planned to be on the trip.
After losing all my money, the most logical thing to do would have been to cancel the trip, but I didn’t and traveled to Spain with a little more than $240 that I was able to collect (for 2 weeks!).
When I landed in Madrid I changed those dollars to euros (I got €184, I still remember) and started an adventure I will never forget. I traveled around Europe by bus, slept and washed up in airports, survived on 1 to 3 euro meals, discovered hostels and got lost in Estepona, which led me to meet the aforementioned cab driver.
When the gentleman asked me what I was doing walking at that time of night in the area, I explained that I was on a tight budget and had preferred to walk but ended up getting lost, to which he very kindly responded by offering to give me a ride.
In the (approximately) 10 minutes we shared, he listened attentively to my story and just before he dropped me off he said a few words I will never forget:
You are still very young, and whether you like it or not, throughout your life, you will fall again and again. You will be heartbroken, make many mistakes, and fail many more times. In life, it is not the strongest who triumphs, but the one who is able to go on despite all the blows he receives.
17 years after that July night in Estepona, I can confirm that he was absolutely right, but taking his advice, I always went ahead despite all the blows I received.
I hope his advice helps you as much as it helped me.
Keep going.
