How to become a Surgeon on a Spacecraft for a Janitor’s wage.

“What the hell?“
Let me explain.

There is a showroom next to the Gym, full of Bentleys and Maseratis.
Every single day I walk past them, quietly admiring their astonishing beauty.
The door is always closed, and I’ve never seen anyone in there – except Today.

I noticed that the garage door was open. It was the owner, presumably.
“Ah, what’s the use. He would probably just send me away, why would anyone let a migrant walk around their most valuable things anyway” – Doubt took over me.
I started to walk home, but a question stopped me.
“What do I have to lose, for real?“
It was in that moment of fear, when the decision between triumph or regret was made.
I was standing still for a good 15-20 seconds, before I finally turned around and decided to go in.

It started with a shy peek, then I put my feet on the line of the building.
He looked at me, quite confused, but didn’t say anything.
“Your cars are unbelievable. Would you mind if I looked at them for a minute?” – the words came out, trembling
A tiny smile appeared in the corner of his mouth.
“Come in, look around” – He waved

And so I did.

The amount of wealth I looked at during those 5 minutes surpassed everything I’ve ever seen. Wherever I looked, the prices just kept growing.
Some cars were worth 300.000€ (Ferrari 512 BBI)
That is 95 million Hungarian Forints.
I don’t know anyone with such a degree of success in my country, especially that we only drive the cheapest Suzukis.
And it was just one car out of many. There was more than 30.
When I finished spilling my saliva all over the place, I asked him about how did he build up all this.
He told me his story, briefly. I was listening intently – how often do you get a chance to listen to a millionaire who’s been in business for over 50 years?

When he finished, I asked him if there is anything I could do for him; even for free – but I didn’t say it out loud until he said something.
“Well, cleaning“
I’ve been doing that for 5 hours every day already.
“I could do it” – I said, with my words still stumbling.
“Okay. Tomorrow at 12. See you here.”

It took him 2 sentences to hire me.

What makes a millionaire trust in a stranger to allow him to clean around his most valuable things?

The next day I left the gym at 11:59, rushed to the building, but it was closed.
I was disappointed, and a little relieved.
“What have I thought anyway” – my demons jumped on the opportunity to tear down my mental well-being.

But I didn’t leave.

I kept looking in, through all the windows I could find to see if there is anyone who could notice me. I knocked on them, tried the door 5 times just to be sure that I’m not a dummy.
Then I gave up, and decided to leave.
My colleague saw me looking, and she asked me what am I doing.
I told her I was supposed to be in there, working.

And the most surprising thing happened: She believed me.
She didn’t say “Hahaha, yea, sure. What do you have to do with those Maseratis?“
She stopped and said: Look, a door there is open.
And she pointed out an entrance at the other side of the building I have not yet seen.

If I gave up after the first time I shook the knob at 12:00, I would’ve missed my colleague, and She would’ve never pointed out the door that was open here.

It made me wonder if it was Fate, Luck – or some other thing that kept me there for that extra 5 minutes, to stumble upon her and entirely change the outcome of the day.

I was already 7 minutes late, so I went around the building and rushed in, where the sweetest secretary Lady ever greeted me.
I told her what happened yesterday, and She immediately led me to the office, where the Old Man was sitting.

“Ahhh… E…Er-Erik(?)!“
-Yes, I’m here
“Great, let’s sit down for a minute and discuss the details“

We went to a charming conference room next to an old timer Bentley – and had a chat about how could I help here.
But first, they asked me about my Story.
I told them that I came here 6 months ago, with 2 weeks of clothes and a Big Dream. I told them where I came from, how did I get here, and that I speak a little of their native language.

At that moment, they lost their shit.

After the Old Man realized that I could speak their language, he refused to talk to me in English.
“You need to learn” – He remarked firmly, but with goodwill.
That second, I understood the reason behind everything he achieved.
I agreed; if there is someone who knows what leads to a good Life, it’s him. He’s been doing this for over 50 years.
Half a century; Can you believe?

Then he introduced me to the vacuum cleaner and wished me good luck with it.
“Oh by the way – don’t bump into the cars with that thing. You can’t afford to damage them, not in your 20s“

That’s how I became the surgeon of cars, with the duty of keeping a spacecraft clean. No mistake was allowed here. Luckily, step-by-step, I managed to clean the entire place; without hitting off any paint.

While I was close to the windows facing the Gym, my co-worker walked out to unlock his motorfiets¹. He turned around for a second, noticed me briefly, but pulled his head away. Then it hit him.
He turned back, looked right at me and his jaw fell on the concrete.
His mouth was open, eyebrows raised, heavily blinking – none of us could believe what’s happening.
I just shrugged and continued to vacuum clean between a Jaguar and a Bentley.

He shook his head in disbelief, then drove away.

When the clock struck 3, the Old Man tapped my shoulders and invited me for an ice-cream.
I sat down with him and the Kind Fairy, then he gave me a brief summary on how to be successful in the 21st century.**
This is how a kid from the East, who came here with nothing but a Dream ended up cleaning between Ferraris, for 10€/hour, under 190 days.
When we finished, I picked up my bag, walked out of the building and went home endlessly repeating the following:

A millionaire just hired me.

Please, if you walk away with anything, let it be this:
Dare to Dream big, for the love of God;
Take the opportunities.
Your heart will show you the way – All you have to do is step on it.

Take care,
Erik

30.07.2019 – Day 190

** Would you like a Post written about the knowledge he shared about the ways for a successful living? Let me know, and I’ll write about it.

[Dutch Dictionary]
Motorfiets ¹ – Motorcycle/Motorbike