It is inventory time at work so things are slow with only a skeleton crew of us drivers working this week. With the workload being light, we seem to have plenty of time to catch up with new friends that we met only a few short months ago. Yesterday one of those friends, a new shuttle driver to the industry as we were talking about our experience when we first started working here thanked me for helping him learn to back trailers into the places they needed to go back when he first started.
All I really did that day was tell him no, that if he just relaxed and had a little confidence in himself that he could do this, that he would do just fine backing his truck to the door all by himself. Then I simply left him alone to do the job. As I would see him from time to time after that, he became one of the best backers we have working with us. You see from watching him for the previous several days, I had noticed that each different trainer would tell him how to set up and move according to their way of thinking. That nobody ever took the time to teach him how to have a little confidence in himself and let him work out in his head for himself his own style of how to back any truck into any door.
Having a little confidence in ourselves I think is the biggest tool to getting any job done. You can go sit at any truck stop and find a thousand drivers sitting complaining about how bad things are in the trucking industry. You most always will eventually hear them say as they throw up their hands, "but what can we do?" They simply have no confidence that just as them or even with joining a group can ever make any kind of a change for the better. The thing is as I and many of my friends know, nothing could be further from the truth. All you need to accomplish your goals is just a little confidence in yourself that you can make a difference giving enough time, patience, and hard work. A yes I can attitude.
As I look back over the years, this yes we can attitude is what I see with many of my trucking friends. I have seen some working on their own while others join groups. As they travel through their trucking career, they get involved in their own ways having the passion and confidence within themselves that they can bring about change. In fact, they have made changes to the industry making it a better place for those that will follow them. Yes from simply changing the way drivers think about themselves, to being safer on the road all the way to Capitol Hill drivers with the knowledge they, themselves are all that is needed to change what is bad with our industry into all that is good. Drivers with self-confidence and a yes we can attitude are making great strides into keeping our highways safe for all those we share them with. I for one, am very proud to stand alongside all those drivers, all my trucking friends as we work together making a difference in this world.
Yes, we can as drivers make a difference, but only if you as a person decide to get involved. Decide that the New Year that is upon us is the one that will find you doing great things in the trucking world. So look deep down inside of yourself and find the confidence to do something great this next year. Then next year we as a group will be able to look back and smile at all the great things we accomplished making the trucking industry a better place to be.
God Bless America #rlbjeffhead Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts" Copy and share as much as you want (-: Books By Jeff Head Running Legal Blues Drive Safe
I remember a story I heard many years back about a man paid a million dollars to run a steel plant. The reason he was paid this amount was not so much that he knew all that much about steel, but more so because he knew how to handle people. One day as he was walking through the plant he noticed three employees standing inside under the no smoking sign smoking their cigarettes. As he walks up to them, he asks how their day is going, about their families and their favorite sports team. After he chats with them for a bit, never saying one word about the rule they were breaking, he reaches into his pocket and hands them each a cigar. He then tells them that he would appreciate it if they would smoke them outside in the designated smoking area and walks off. He never seen those employees smoking inside again and they maintained a great working relationship as time went on. Where I work now, with a company at a company, I see many bosses and their employee's interact with each other all day long. Many contractors come onto the property with their employees as well as many truck drivers delivering and picking up loads. My job as a spotter has me interacting with many of these people, some just occasionally, others many times each day. The one thing I have noticed about all of this is just how true the story of the man who was paid a million dollars to run that plant. It does not take long to figure out just whom it is you want to approach when a problem arises. Those that demand respect, then crack that whip are generally ignored and receive very little respect. People hide their mistakes from them, problems go unsolved and the work and relationships suffer. On the other hand, those I see taking the time to talk, ask questions and then bring the other person in on the solution are looked up to. People seek them out when a problem arises instead of hiding in fear of a crack from the whip. As truckers we often find ourselves meeting and working with people all of the time. The people we work with on a daily bases or those we meet and never see again in just a few minutes all have a affect on how our day goes. Building a respectful and trusting relationship is essential for us to be able to do our jobs as safely and legally as we can. I always found that lending a sympatric ear to my long time friends went a long way while with those I will only know for a few short minutes making them laugh would usually do the trick. What I always loved was a rude trucker in front of me so that when they stormed off, I could side with the other person and they would tend to my needs first letting the rude trucker sit and steam. I learned early on in my career that handing out cigars was a lot better way of dealing with people then picking up a bullwhip and chair. God Bless America #rlbjeffhead Be sure to add me as a friend if you like "Today's Thoughts" Copy and share as much as you want (-: Books By Jeff Head Running Legal Blues Drive Safe