Are you David?

“Are you David?”  I asked of the man seated at the first table of the tiny coffee shop who resembled the picture I had seen online: A big, athletic-framed, African American man with glasses and a warm smile.  

“Nope.” And he turned away quickly.

As my brown skin including ears turned as pink as possible, I hear a hearty chuckle from the same man and then, “Yes, I’m David.”  To make up for it, he bought my tea and a cupcake.

So started a conversation at a coffee shop that helped shift my day from not wanting to get out of bed in the morning to feeling like “I can do this” as I received a rather surprising giant bear hug that lifted me from the ground before I left the café.

David is one of those people.   He considers himself a “regular guy,” from Philadelphia, although his bike tours across the U.S., Africa, and Asia would offer a different view.  Moved to action after the death of his dear friend on 9/11, David decided to do something with the frustration he was experiencing by riding his bike across the country to honor his friend. From there and even before in some ways, began a journey that took him biking through continents, successes, setbacks, which brought him in touch with many others, including himself.  His story thus far as he told me in a little over an hour, was filled with twists and humor as I sat engaged as if a movie.  But what moved me most was his openness and honesty. In spite of all that he had been through, he was sharing his very personal story with a stranger and putting it all out there, imperfections and all.  I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to overcome: the dying of a father; death of a dear friend; the everyday challenges of being an African-American man amidst everyday ignorance here and in his travels; biking again after a severe car accident, and after all of this, he still has the faith in people, and in life to share it all with me and others without a second thought.    And he shares with a purpose: to motivate and inspire using his life as an example.  Doing better than you did the day before, taking nothing for granted and going after your goals no matter what, believing that you have the power to accomplish what you want in life, are all things that flowed from his mouth with such power and conviction.  What I would have normally considered somewhat cliché, “fluffy,” was infectious coming from David, a near perfect stranger at the time.  And it struck me that this really makes all the difference: not what you say, but the way you say it, the way you believe in it.   That is the magic, and that is why others believe.

For a regular guy, I see David going places on his bike and beyond.  To learn more about David Sylvester, check out www.contribute2.org, a website he created to inspire others to contribute to something in life.  

I’m lucky to have crossed paths with David even just for that first uplifting conversation.  But I have a feeling I’m in store for more.  The last time I met him, he was telling me how I should be so excited to jump into my 30s and how it’s a time when I can either just do what people tell me to or leap head first onto another plane of enjoying and exploring life on my own terms.  30s here I come! Thanks for getting me started David.