A Lesson On Financial Integrity From A Costa Rican Cabbie

Pascual with his new 4x4

Money is at the core of so many of our choices, fears, and…breaches in integrity.

I spent a month in the jungle of Central America in March last year, and coming out, I was feeling some dis-ease with the source of some of my income.

On the day I was set to leave, a local guy, Pascual, picked me up at 7 a.m. sharp to make our way to the airstrip about an hour away. He’s about my age, born and raised on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. His demeanor was cheerful and patient.

As we inched our way down the rocky, muddy road, we began to share our stories. Despite differences in our skin color, bank account balances, and where we’ve grown up, we have much more in-common than one might think. We bonded over the time we've gotten to spend during the last 20 years in that little slice of paradise and how it’s grown, the ways we work with people, and the simple pleasure of air conditioning.

After learning some of Pascual's joys and sorrows, I felt a growing connection, and I decided to broach the income topic — I asked if he'd ever found himself in a situation where he could earn money by doing something that left him feeling uneasy. A modest smile appeared on his face…

About eight years ago, Pascual picked up a passenger, let’s call him José, from the airfield where I was headed. José instructed Pascual to drive to a house in town.

José went into the house for a few moments, returned with a backpack, and asked to go to his final destination, a beach down the way.

After paying $20 US for the $5 ride, José opened the backpack. It was full of cash. José placed a giant stack of $100 bills on the dash of Pascual’s pickup — “Here, this is for you.” He said it was $30,000. That’s over 20 years of work on the average Costa Rican salary at the time.

Leaving the cash there while they spoke, José said, “I need you to pick up a package from (a nearby town) and bring it to the airfield next week. Another $30,000 will be waiting for you.”

“What’s in it?” Pascual inquired.

“Don’t worry…just bring it to me, and you’ll have 60 grand.”

90 minutes of work to retire…this was the decision. Pascual began to sweat. After some time, he had the wherewithal to ask for three days to consider the offer.

A bit surprised, José said, “sure thing” and quickly got out of the vehicle, leaving the $30K behind.

The first night Pascual didn't sleep a wink. He’d hidden the money in a bag in the kitchen. Surely, the “package” José wanted him to pickup was drugs.

Lying awake the second night, the air was particularly stagnant…hot…damp, Pascual recalled, hard to breathe.

And then around 3 a.m., a light breeze began to stir. It gently moved through the open window in Pascual’s bedroom, out the front door.

And Pascual realized, “I sleep with my doors open!”

“I want to keep sleeping with my doors open.”

It was that simple.

Pascual smiled, and he calmly drifted into a deep, restful sleep. He awoke rejuvinated on the third day. He enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, and mid-morning, he made his way back to the beach to find José.

After exchanging greetings, Pascual spoke firmly...

“I thought about your offer, and, no…gracias.” He handed back the money in a crinkled brown paper bag.

José was confused, “are you sure??”

“Seguro,” Pascual confirmed.

“You can't imagine the relief and joy I felt when I told him that...” Pascual was glowing as he recounted the story to me. “My friends told me I was crazy…”

“Did you ever regret it?” I immediately asked.

“No señor!” he replied without hesitation.

One day about five years after the encounter with José, a foreigner called Sarah landed at the same airstrip and asked Pascual to take her to the bank and grocery store...and then to drop her near where Pascual picked me up that morning.

At this time, Pascual only had a two-wheel drive car which couldn't make the off-road portion of the trek. He offered to help Sarah with the errands in town and politely declined the jungle expedition, explaining that while he'd been saving money for some time, he was still a few grand short for the 4x4 pickup he needed to make the journey. He did have a friend who could take her where she needed after the errands…

After making a few stops in town, Pascual drove Sarah to meet his buddy, who’d take her the last mile. She paid for the ride, and Pascual thanked her.

Sarah’s gaze lingered…she reached into her bag. Her hand emerged with an envelope, and she offered it to Pascual.

He opened it slowly, and his eyes grew large...30 $100 bills were inside.

He looked up…

“Take this, buy your truck, and pay me back if you can. Here's my phone number. It’s okay if you can’t.” Sarah never asked him for anything, again.

Two years later, Pascual had saved a thousand dollars. Sarah returned on her annual trip, and he proudly gave her an envelope.

The next year, he gave her another thousand.

And the final payment, last year.

Sarah simply said, “thank you.”

And José is serving multiple life sentences in prison.

Have you put a price tag on your own integrity? If you’re often complaining about work, the answer is likely ‘yes’.

When we find the courage to say 'no' to what’s difficult, or even better, what feels subtly off, we find peace, and we open space in ourselves to receive. This is the fruit of internal alignment and healthy boundaries.

The moment between saying 'no' and receiving can be scary. It's faith that helps us take the leap.

If you're lacking in faith, you can borrow from Pascual, who currently earns no more than a couple thousand dollars a year.

That’s how I did it — right after he told me this story, I said to myself, “if Pascual can do it, I can do it.” It was that simple. And I've repeated it to myself a few times since.

Pascual and I spoke yesterday, and he was cheerful as ever — celebrating a day off from la lucha by grilling with his family.