2 days pass. It's Friday evening. I arrive at the company and see Daniël and Julian standing at the entrance. I wave.
"Hey," I say when I reach them. I both give them a kiss to greet them. "Waiting on me?" I ask.
"Yup, we were," Daniël says. "We'll take the car. You can join me if you want. Since you haven't seen my car yet," Daniël suggests.
"Or you can join me," Julian says. "But I'm afraid that I'll lose in the battle for most impressive car."
"Why?" I ask.
"Come, I'll show you," Daniël says.
"And off he goes to his 100.000 euros car," Julian says. "I'll see you there," Julian adds and walks away. Daniël waves.
"This is mine," Daniël says when we reach his car. Daniël has a vibrant blue car. I can see the symbol of an L on it.
"What kind of car is it?" I ask. I don't know much about cars.
"It's a Lexus LC. I don't like bragging too much, but Julian was close when he called the price."
"Well," I say. "I suppose with a car like that, some bragging is allowed. I can ride with you, right?" I ask hopeful.
"Sure, hop on in." He doesn't need to tell me that twice. I quickly notice the inside certainly lives up the expectations when seeing the outside.
"I guess the company is successful?" I ask when I hear the sound of the engine.
"It is," Daniël replies. "And I'm very proud of that. I worked hard for my success. For five years, from my nineteen to my twenty-fourth, the only thing I did was studying. When my friends went out partying, most of the time I didn't join them. I was too busy working. And after that I went to get my doctorate. My first thought had been to work in academia, but when I applied to some companies, I unexpectedly got invited to an interview. Before I knew it, I had a management position in this company. I decided to devote all my time to it and here I am, 7 years later, 33 years old, and CEO of the company."
"That's very admirable," I reply. "You remind me of my friend, Ellen. She also has devoted all her time to her studies and work, still does, and she very much enjoys doing that. She teaches at the university."
"Your friend is someone I can understand perfectly then," Daniël says. "People like me and your friend, we're not that much smarter than other people, or superior or whatever you want to call it. But we get an immense value out of our productive work. My achievements, my success, it's all just a representation of my values. Take this car for example. I got my car through hard work. And I worked hard because it gives me self-esteem. And that self-esteem gives me happiness. That's why I drive this car, because it is a representation of my values, of my hard work. The car itself doesn't make me happy, but how I got it, that does."
"But, if that's true," I say, "if your happiness comes from your self-esteem, and your self-esteem comes from work, then do you ever give away something you have earned through work, like money? If you hold by what you said, then giving away anything is like giving away part of your happiness."
"Not completely true. Giving is not the same as sacrificing," Daniël says. "But it is true that I would never sacrifice anything to anyone. I won't give anything to those that have not earned anything. I won't, and don't, live for other people, only myself."
"That sound pretty selfish," I remark.
