SHADES OF HUMAN LIFE #5 – POLSKA WERSJA TUTAJ
JULES’ STORY – HOI AN, VIETNAM
SOME ENCOUNTERS DON’T LAST LONG. YET THEY STAY WITH US FOR A LIFETIME.
We meet some people by pure chance.
A few shared breakfasts.
A short conversation.
A smile.
And it seems as though that’s where the story should end.
But then, somehow, you find yourselves sitting at the same table every single morning, talking for hours, and suddenly you realize it feels as if you’ve known this person for years.
That’s exactly how I met Jules.
For a month, we lived in the same villa in Hoi An.
At first, we were simply roommates.
Every morning we crossed paths over breakfast.
One day, we started talking.
And we never really stopped.
We talked about life.
About getting older.
About travel.
About family.
About mistakes.
About what truly matters after living through decades of experiences.
Jules is around seventy-six years old and comes from the United States.
Every time he shared another story from his life, I felt as though I was listening to a modern-day philosopher.
He never raised his voice.
He never tried to convince anyone that he was right.
He simply shared his experiences.
Calmly.
Humbly.
Without feeling the need to prove anything.
There was something incredibly rare about him.
The quiet confidence of a man who no longer has anything to prove.
Despite his age, he remains remarkably active, full of energy, endlessly curious about people and the world around him.
He doesn’t complain.
He doesn’t dwell on the past.
He doesn’t live in yesterday.
Instead, he looks ahead with a smile and a remarkable sense of perspective.
Toward the end of our month together, one thought kept coming back to me.
Stories like his shouldn’t remain private.
That’s why I invited Jules to become part of my Shades of Human Life series.
I sent him a list of questions.
Without hesitation, he agreed.
What you’ll read below is exactly as he sent it to me.
I didn’t rewrite his thoughts.
I didn’t polish his words.
I didn’t change their meaning.
Because that simplicity is precisely where their greatest strength lies.
This isn’t a story about success.
It isn’t a story about money.
It isn’t even a story about travel.
It’s the story of a man who, after more than seventy years of life, discovered that the greatest value isn’t being right.
The greatest value is recognizing that there is always another way to see the world.
Jules’ Answers (Original Version)
Below I am publishing Jules’ answers exactly as I received them.
Identity
1. Who were you before the world told you who you should be?
I’m the driver. The world never told me who I should be. It provided a canvas of possibilities and experinces for the ever-evolving ‘me’.
2. If you had to describe yourself in four adjectives, what would they be?
Creative, Principled, Smart, and Generous.
3. What part of your childhood still lives inside you today?
Knowledge/memories of a different way to be in a very specific place in time. I like solving problems.
4. Was there a moment when your life took a completely unexpected turn?
(No answer.)
Life & Meaning
5. What does happiness mean to you today?
Becoming comfortable with myself and where I am on life’s journey. No regrets.
6. What gives your life the most meaning now?
My son and his family.
7. What truth about yourself did you discover the latest in life?
You can’t be good for others if you are not good for/to yourself.
8. Where would you like to be ten years from now?
Stil mobile and engaged with the full spectrum of life.
Love & Relationships
9. Is love important in life? Why?
(No answer.)
10. What does love mean to you today?
(No answer.)
11. Who in your life truly saw you for who you are?
(No answer.)
12. What have relationships taught you about yourself?
(No answer.)
Challenges
13. What was the hardest decision you ever had to make?
To forgive myself for my bad behaviors/decisions.
14. Was there a moment when you almost gave up?
Never.
15. What has been the greatest loss in your life?
The time I spent being angry.
16. When life becomes difficult, what helps you keep going?
My past experience that shows 'difficulty’ is not forever and confidence in my ability to solve problems amidst adversity.
Business & Work
17. What did running your construction company teach you about people?
We all want/need a mission. Part of that is meeting expectations you have of yourself as well as expectations of others. Give credit to work colleagues, great ideas, and contributions…wherever they come from.
Also, keep the workplace fun, rigorous, and always out of the box (creative)
18. What was the most difficult moment in your business career?
The bankruptcy of my first business.
19. What is one lesson about business you wish you had known earlier?
I was fortunate. My father lived through the Depression with a family that was desperately poor and always starting businesses that failed. He ovserved a lot about business and business behaviors that he passed on to me. The rest of it was learning on the fly…and applying the mantra 'there are other ways to be’. It is the way unique products happen.
Also, at the end of the day, the money is a simply scorecard that doen’t really reflect the quality/value of the experience.
20. Do you believe success is more about discipline, luck, or courage?
Those attributes matter. But the real key in my business life has been the willingness to believe, and acknowledge, there are other ways 'to be’. It opens you to out of the box thinking that leads to marketplace niches that allow you to survive and thrive.
Journey
21. Why do you still travel at this stage of life?
I want to see other environments and cultures.
22. What are you searching for when you are on the road?
People and places. They go together as a total experience.
23. In what place in the world do you feel most like yourself?
Absolutely, as mucked up as it may be right now, the US. Though what I have learned form other places does color that picture.
24. Has traveling changed the way you see life?
Yes. Part of the 'knowing there are other ways to be’ that I alluded to earlier.
Wisdom
25. What advice would you give to your grandchildren or the next generation?
Change is a good thing. There are, in fact, 'other ways to be’. Choose the one that workd best for you and the ones you love.
26. If you could leave behind one golden thought about life, what would it be?
It ain’t over…until it’s over.
27. What do you think people often misunderstand about life?
Previous answer. Forever is a very long time.
Reflection
28. What brings you peace today?
Experiences/memories of the past. Music/art, friends, and immediate family.
29. How would you like to be remembered?
Smart, funny, creative, dilligent, and pricipled.
30. If you could say one sentence to your younger self, what would it be?
There is no 'making more time’. Don’t waste it.
Conclusion
Not everyone leaves behind great works.
Not everyone changes the course of history.
But there are people who change the way we look at our own lives.
Jules is one of them.
Throughout our conversations, one idea kept returning.
That there are always other ways to be.
Other ways to think.
Other ways to love.
Other ways to build a business.
Other ways to face adversity.
Perhaps that’s why his answers don’t sound like advice.
They sound like experience.
And experience isn’t something you can learn from a book.
It has to be lived.
Maybe that’s why the sentence I remember most is also the simplest.
„It ain’t over…until it’s over.”
Because no matter how old we are…
as long as we keep breathing,
life can still surprise us.
🤍 If this story stayed with you…
Every reflection published here is inspired by real people, real places, and genuine conversations I have had while traveling across Asia.
I personally visit every place, write every article, and create every experience from the ground up as part of the C.U.D. Experience project.
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