How a millionaire traded his wealth for happiness – and a shoeshine box

‘Everybody wants to be somebody. But remember: be somebody that’s nice.’

In the 1980s, Larry Woods was extraordinarily rich, unapologetically extravagant and intractably self-involved – or as he now puts it, ‘a real asshole’. Following an epiphany after a small yet eye-opening interaction with a kindly fruit-shop owner, Woods transformed himself into a man of modest means, but rich in compassion and cheer. Going by the moniker ‘Mister Sunshine’, Woods is a beloved figure on the streets of Auckland in New Zealand, where he shines shoes and lives by a creed to do good and spread kindness at every turn.