This morning reminded me of something I think many of us are slowly forgetting: Sometimes, just talk to people.

My Saturday started pretty ordinarily. I stopped at the Walmart Auto Care Center to get my car serviced, grabbed my Pumpkin Spice Latte, and sat down in the waiting room.

An 82-year-old gentleman was sitting nearby. We started talking.

He has lived in Lago Vista for almost 40 years. He lost his wife a couple of years ago. These days, he spends much of his time with his grandchildren and trying to stay active.

But as we talked, I felt that more than anything, he simply enjoyed having someone to talk to. So I listened.

He told me about the telecom business he used to run in downtown Austin. About how much Austin has changed. How Lago Vista went from a small community of around 1,900 people to what it is today. How the roads evolved. How much he loved football, how he used to play himself, and how he always tried to stay fit and active.

He talked about his wife. He talked about places he had traveled to, including the Gulf countries, but said he had never made it to India.

Then he started asking about me. Where was I from? How long had I lived here? And after hearing my story, he smiled and welcomed me to America—even though I told him I have been here for about 10 years. 😊

While we were talking, another gentleman, probably in his 60s, walked into the waiting room. He could hear our conversation. At times, I got the sense that he wanted to join in but wasn't quite sure whether he should.

About 30 minutes later, the first gentleman's car was ready. We said goodbye, and he left. And almost naturally, the second gentleman started talking to me. Maybe hearing two strangers comfortably sharing their stories made it a little easier for him to start another conversation.

He had traveled to India. He spent his career in IT infrastructure sales, had been involved in acquiring companies, and was now retired. We talked for another 30 minutes or so—about work, technology, AI, and what the future might look like. Whether it should make us excited, nervous, or probably a little bit of both.

So there I was. A Saturday morning at an auto service center. A cup of coffee. Two complete strangers. And roughly an hour of conversations I had never planned to have.

It made me think about how much of our lives we spend running. Running after the next promotion. The next compensation milestone. The next investment goal. The next title. The next business. The next version of “success.”

There is nothing wrong with ambition. I have plenty of it myself. But sitting in that waiting room, listening to an 82-year-old man talk about his wife, his grandchildren, football, old Austin, and a lifetime of memories, I couldn't help but think:

Eventually, almost everything we are racing toward becomes a story we tell someone in a waiting room.

The title will be gone. The meetings will be gone. The quarterly goals will be gone. What remains are the people we loved, the places we went, the things we built, the moments we enjoyed, and hopefully the people whose lives we made a little better.

And there is another side to this. There are people all around us who may simply be craving a conversation. Loneliness doesn't always look like loneliness. Sometimes it looks like an 82-year-old gentleman getting his car serviced on a Saturday morning and enthusiastically telling a stranger how his town has changed over 40 years. Sometimes it might be the person sitting quietly nearby, listening to a conversation and wondering whether it's okay to join.

We talk a lot about mental health—and we should. But perhaps one small thing all of us can do is simply look up more often. Put the phone away. Say hello. Ask someone about their life. And actually listen.

Because something interesting happens when one person opens up. It gives someone else permission to open up too.

You may give someone the conversation they needed that day. And unexpectedly, they may give you the perspective you needed too.

Today, two strangers reminded me that life isn't only about building wealth or building a career. It's also about building a life worth remembering.

Go out. Talk to people. Listen to their stories. You might be surprised by what they teach you.