Real Simple People: Chris James

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of interviews highlighting Real Simple People and their simple but happy lives. Today’s interview is Chris James.

Chris works in the coffee shop at Nuneaton Railway station where he shares his love of nature , connectedness, and spirituality with commuters and visitors who pass by. And word is fast spreading about the impact this man is having on the people he happily waves on their way and how much inspiration he infuses.

Chris, welcome indeed to Real Simple People

Thank you John, it’s a pleasure to be invited on to your really interesting blog. I have to admit to having read it.

Thank you Chris. Some people would say you just work in a railway station coffee shop, but there’s far more to it than that for you.

Oh, yes John. To be honest over the years I have had many, many jobs ranging from running my own business to HGV lorry driver, restaurateur, IT support technician, bar man and the list goes on. I even worked for the United Nations in New York at one point! Now there’s one statement that sticks in my mind which is “to truly succeed you have to be of service”.

Now at the time I was total wrapped up in what could be called a far from simple life. I was juggling a family life, a failing relationship, a full time job and trying to get a business off the ground, none of which are easy on their own, but all together almost impossible. To cut a long story short, family life fell apart, my relationship fell apart, my full time job fell apart and my business fell apart! I can look bad a laugh now, but at the time, that was pretty much my life down the pan.

This forced me to be a Real Simple Person (I had no other option really) and secondly it made a job offer, a part-time job at The Coffee Shop at Nuneaton Station, seem so much more attractive (please feel free to drop by and say ‘Hi’, 6 – 9am week days is when you’ll find me there). I found that working in the Coffee Shop I was of service. It didn’t take long before I realised that I could make a big impact on the daily lives of those who pass through on their way to work. There’s far more to working in the Coffee Shop that selling tea, coffee and bacon rolls. There is a definite service to humanity.

So, you really connect to people?

Definitely! Not long after I started I noticed a trend with the majority of commuters that pass through the doors. They all seemed to have one thing in common, they all lacked a SMILE! I would say that half of them are off to jobs that they really don’t enjoy, the other half probably enjoy their jobs but the pressures of modern day living is taking its toll on them. I set myself a personal goal, which I still have to this day, to make at least one person a day feel better when they leave the shop then when they came in. A simple goal but boy is it a challenge! Some days it goes really well and several people will leave with a smile, other days it’s not so easy.

What do you believe makes the difference in what you do?

I have a group of regulars that come through every day, while serving their coffees etc I can find out little things about their lives things that don’t seem important. For example one rainy Friday morning I had gent in who was worrying about the weather over the weekend because he was having his family round for a BBQ. I told him a story about a BBQ I had in the rain, standing there cooking burgers under an umbrella and how it was a great success and everyone joined me outside rain coats, umbrellas and all.

The following Monday I asked how the BBQ went (the weather was fine by the way), this put a big grin on the man’s face he told me that he was so surprised that I had remembered our conversation from Friday. That made the difference between a good start to the week and bad start to week for just one person, and that for me that makes ALL the difference.

All it takes is to have a genuine interest in the lives of others, words of encouragement which can be just a simple ‘Enjoy your day, it’s going to be a good one!’  Not forgetting the all important genuine smile, that always helps.

And you have the fabulous Coffee Shop Quotes. Tell me about this brilliant idea and how it started?

It all started when I realised that not everyone stopped at the counter as we have a honesty box for people who only want a newspaper and don’t have time to queue (the not having time is another whole story, maybe for another time). People literally just pass through dropping the money in the box and leave. I never really get the chance to connect with these people so I had the idea of writing inspirational and uplifting quotes.

I write about 40 different quotes; some mine some other peoples, print them off onto bookmaker size pieces of paper and leave them on the counter for people to help themselves. They are labelled ‘Coffee Shop Quotes - A gift for a wonderful day.’ I now have people coming in a ‘collecting’ the quotes, which means that I have to change them every couple of weeks, otherwise I get the ‘I’ve already got that one… when are you doing some new ones?’

You are very much an early riser. What’s so special about this time of day and getting up early?

I have always been an early riser. As a youngster we had horses and I was always up at 5am to sort them out before school. I guess that was when I really fell in love with the early morning. At that time of day I was the only person on the yard with just me and the horses. I don’t have horses any more but that doesn’t detract from the magic of the early mornings.

There is a peace at that time in the morning, when most people are either still in bed or contemplating a bowl of cornflakes. I have also found that there is a whole community of early risers, mostly people either working or on the way to work, but everyday you’ll see this community stopping to chat to each other. I have the same people flash their car lights at me every morning as they pass by, waving and smiling, the same delivery people shouting ‘Good Morning’ across the street. It’s almost like the early morning is one of the best kept secrets of modern life, and those that experience it day in day out build a comraderie and unspoken type of ‘day-break’ connection.

How do you view life? What’s at the heart of the meaning of it to you?

Wow, they are very big questions John!  What is the meaning of life? Put simply for me, the meaning of life is EXPERIENCES! Everything that we do, every connection we make generates an experience, to live life to its fullest we have to embrace those experiences, good, bad or indifferent. The ability to experience life is a true gift, and it’s one that many people do not accept. Now by this I mean that we are to experience life as it happens in the present moment, and to help others realise these experiences as well.

I have found that when you open your heart to the experiences of life then there is never a bad experience. Even the most awful thing that can happen has a good experience somewhere buried within it, and only by fully embracing these experiences can we hope to find the good in everything and everyone. So many people just ‘push’ experiences to one side, either because they think that they are too bad, or because they don’t have the time, or because it’s inappropriate, instead of accepting and embracing the experience as part of the rich matrix that is life.

Finally could you give everyone 5 personal tips for living a real simple life as a Real Simple Person?

1. Un-complicate things. We expect everything NOW. How did we survive 50 or 60 years ago with no telephones, definitely no mobiles, no TV’s, no internet, no take-away services promising delivery in 30 minutes? Life was simpler and less stressful. Modern life is so very complicated, always trying to do too many things at once, too many fingers, too many pies. Stop! What is the most important thing? Do that first and do it well, then move on to the next most important thing.
2. Slow down. After all if it was that important you wouldn’t be late! It has been proven that rushing doesn’t get you to your destination any quicker, so enjoy the journey. Life is about experiencing the journey, not the destination.
3. Follow the path that brings you most joy. Many sacrifice the majority of their lives to comply with social conditioning. You have one life, do what brings you the most joy. Sod the money. If you are following the path that delivers the greatest joy, money will come with it.
4. Walk. Walk to work, walk to the train station to go to work (and buy a coffee as well), walk to the shop for that bottle of milk, or walk to get the paper. You always have a reason to go for a walk, walking is reason enough. When you’re out walking, DO NOT route march it’s not a power-walk thing, it’s an enjoy-being-outside thing. Take the time to look around you, notice the clouds, the feel of the wind on your face, the sun or rain on your back. Feel alive!
5. Spend some time on your own every day. Before you say, ‘I never have the chance’, you have a lunch break or coffee break at work. Find somewhere where you can be alone, and enjoy your own company. Don’t spend this time to catch on this that or the other. This is your time to reflect, talk things over, or nap!

Chris, my heartfelt thanks for sharing your really simple, but highly inspiration, life and the wisdoms you have.

Thank you John, I’ve really enjoyed our conversation. Before I go, I have here the Coffee Shop Quotes for tomorrow morning. Now bear in mind there are 40 odd quotes in this pile, mixed up randomly, and this is honestly the one the came out on the top:

“Shouldn’t Life be simple?

Life IS simple…

It’s just the self-serving ego that

needs to make it complicated.” 

What a fantastic interview, I’m sure you’ll agree. If you would like to learn more about Chris’s outlook on life or connect with him take a look at his blog. It’s well worth it!

Look out for another Real Simple Person interview here real soon. And please share your views about Chris’s simple but powerful life at the coffee shop. Or better still if you are ever nearby drop in and meet him in person, it will be well worth it!