Sarah Nyhan

Several times I’ll pick a stranger up while doing Lyft and by the time I am helping them get their luggage out of the trunk, they’re giving me a hug goodbye.

One time I had a lady invite me into her house to see her Rottweiler. I’ve had people invite me inside for food or tea. I even met someone I stayed friends with for over 10 years when she was my Yellow Cab taxi customer way back in 2008 or 2009!

Sometimes humans suck, but people are still desperate for genuine moments of connection! In spite of social media and all the bad news out there.

And there are still a lot of good people out there. I’m trying to be more intentional about not letting those moments go by.

Just writing this for anyone who feels lonely. In some ways I think it is actually easier than ever to have real moments with new people. Just gotta be open to it. And usually be the one who initiates. As people seem to have forgotten how to connect and have conversations. And a lot of people are scared to say anything for fear of saying the “wrong” thing. But if you open your heart and put yourself out there, you’ll be so surprised how receptive people are.

This is coming from someone who is painfully introverted. But the pressure is off a lot when I know I probably will never see these people again. So I get hours and hours of practice. Over 10,000 rides given on just Lyft. Not to mention all my other apps. And being a taxi driver back in the day.

Some of the best things in my life have come from talking to my Lyft customers. Learned about Hitch that way. Made $26K off that app one year. Another customer told me about Roadie. Made thousands of dollars off that app. Another one told me about TrustedHousesitters – been traveling for years off that app.

And so much more I would have missed out on if I had given up on people in general. You never know who you might run into around the corner. Could change your whole life. Don’t give up just yet.

As the song says: I need you, you need me… you are important to me, I need you to survive!