It’s All Good: Life Lessons From Don Ward, Shoe Shiner Extraordinaire Posted by Max Pete on 09/23/13 | Filed under Opinion, Its All Good

These days, all you see and hear on the news is about which country is on the brink of war, the economic crisis and other information that drives fear into your everyday life. I’m tired of hearing nothing but bad news, that’s why I decided to write about positive and inspiring stories that are overlooked by the mainstream media in "It's All Good". This week....

If you have ever been in midtown Manhattan you might have come across Don Ward, who is a shoe shiner extraordinaire. A video of Don popped up last week on Reddit, which showcases his arsenal of one-liners, and it is clear that Don has some helpful life lessons that he wants to teach us.

1. Don’t wait for something to fall in your lap, go chase it. "What are you waiting for?" he asks a potential customer. "An invitation?"

2. A person’s shoes might tell you more than you think. "I can tell if [a man] is cheap, selfish, inconsiderate, don't give a damn," Don says. "You can tell if he's got some money. You can tell if he's pretending to have money. All that is a three-second read."

3. Don’t do it if your heart isn’t in it. "I was a pastry chef for 10 years. I went to culinary school. I was feeling like, 'Oh, I went to school for this. I gotta succeed at this. I didn't want to feel like a failure,' but it wasn't for me," Don says. "So when I finally got up the kahunas to say, 'You know what? I'm gonna go back to [shining shoes]', I quit that job."

4. Work hard. "You work outside all year long?" the interviewer asks Don. "The show goes  on," he responds. "Nine degrees or 90 degrees."

5. Appearance matters. "Young man," Don yells to a passerby. "You've got to start caring again."

6. Don’t live your life with regrets. "I live my life with no regrets," Don says as he deftly polishes another pair of shoes. "None."

7. Be you. Be great. "I guess till the day I leave this earth, I will always be pushing for better and not worrying about how someone else perceives what I should be. I'm gonna be me. That's it," Don says. "However you react or respond to it is your business."

Happy motivational Monday!