It goes without saying: Lyft is a nice side hustle to have in your pocket. But it's also a unique way to interact with people whom you normally would never get the chance to.
I occasionally drive for the ridesharing service on weekends to make a little extra money. About 20 hours of driving in a week is my absolute max before I start to lose my wits, as I become tired of traffic and making conversation with strangers.
However, the opportunity to talk with random individuals from all walks of life is something I enjoy. It gives me an interesting look into another person's world, and often I'm able to gain insightful information from them.
For instance, a hedge fund manager
I've worked in a variety of fields, but I've never worked in the financial services field in any capacity. So when a local hedge fund manager stepped into my car this weekend, I was excited for the chance to speak with him about the markets.
I began by asking "So, are you interested at all in..." and before I could finish the sentence, he replied "Cryptocurrencies?". He clearly had a sense of where I was coming from.
He said he was interested in it, and knew lots of people who had made tons of money off of it, but that he personally wasn't involved in it. His fund deals with traditional investments, and he told me his team has consistently beaten the market. For anyone who has studied how well mutual/hedge funds typically perform against index funds, they'll understand this is the exception and not the rule.
I asked him his thoughts on what investments to look out for, what to short, and his opinion on 401ks and IRA's. He told me that he is big on bio-tech stocks, such as pharmaceuticals. He also stated that shorting the big players, such as Amazon, Apple, and Google is a solid bet, as they are all overinflated and are due for a correction.
As for 401ks and IRA's, he told me they are borderline scams, as fees can absolutely kill your returns. Compounding interest is severely impacted by even the smallest fees, as I've learned by reading Tony Robbins book "Money: Master the Game". Granted, if you self-direct your retirement account and have a large employer contribution, it might be worth your time.
A long ride with a fellow crypto fan
I was thrilled to receive a request that had me driving from Denver to Boulder with a 50% surge, as the take from this trip increased my earnings significantly. I was even more excited to learn that my passenger was also a cryptocurrency enthusiast.
We talked at length about our successes and regrets and shared our favorite cryptos. He told me he is heavily invested in Iota due to its ability to process transactions much faster than Bitcoin or Ethereum, making it much more scalable.
I used this opportunity to heavily promote Steem, which he was unaware of. It still amazes me how people who are deep into the crypto space can still have no knowledge of the Steemit platform. This reaffirms my belief that we are still in our infancy in terms of Steemit's development.
However, all rides are not positive
The last ride I will discuss is one that I always dread. That being, picking up a rider who is heavily intoxicated. In this instance, it was the middle of the afternoon, and this individual was intoxicated beyond belief.
He was by himself and could barely form sentences or tell me where he wanted to go. I felt bad for the guy. He was obviously addicted to alcohol, and I knew he needed help. We didn't go far before he told me to drop him off at a bar.
This situation and others like them are a stark reminder of how destructive alcohol can be to a person. It's something that's fairly common knowledge, but it's also easy to forget when society is swimming in a slew of hip breweries and distilleries to indulge in this activity.
Driving for Lyft is fun and insightful, and for me is just as valuable in terms of the human interaction as it is for the cash.
All pictures, besides those credited, are from the pixabay.com