Advice For Newbies Like Me

Brett posted this a while back and it's been the most positive statement for me today.

So if you want to be treated well by a company there's a simple formula for making that happen. You go in there from day one with a super positive attitude and a willingness to work hard, listen and learn, and pay your dues. You take whatever they throw at you - old equipment, lousy runs, a trainer with a filthy mouth, a dirty hotel room - whatever it is you deal with it safely and professionally and keep moving forward. Wake up each morning with one goal in mind - to safely get through the day and prove to your company that you have what it takes to be a true professional out there and you'll do everything in your power to make that happen.

Once a company knows that you're a safe, hard working, reliable driver that knows how to get along with people they'll put you on that "A list". When you have a problem they'll listen. When you need a favor they'll do whatever they can for ya. When you make a judgment call they'll trust you.

Of course you're dealing with large corporations and from time to time you're going to have to deal with some bad apples and tough circumstances. I've had lousy dispatchers. I've had mechanics make problems worse. I've had slow weeks when the freight just wasn't there for whatever reason. You're going to have that kind of thing from time to time. But don't confuse a bad apple or tough circumstances with a bad company. If you're not getting the miles, maybe it's your dispatcher that's the problem, maybe your company lost a big customer, or maybe freight is just slow right now. If you're in a lousy truck, maybe you just have to convince those who assign trucks that you've earned a better one. If you wind up getting home a day late maybe it's because freight is slow and they had trouble finding a load going past your house.

So often a new driver will misinterpret a situation. They think they're being mistreated when "that's just trucking". They think they're being singled out for something when in reality they deserved to get their butt chewed out for it. They think they're being lied to when they're not. And naturally you're going to make bad decisions when they're based on misinterpretations. You're going to get frustrated, you're going to start lashing out at people within your own company, and it quickly escalates into a huge mess when all you had to do was roll with the punches a little bit and tomorrow would have been a better day.

If you're safe, hard working, reliable, and know how to get along with people you'll do well at pretty much any job you take in trucking. If you're not, you're going to be miserable anywhere you go. The perks are there for the top tier drivers. Focus on proving yourself to be a top tier driver and then you can command the respect and treatment the best drivers get.

The most important thing in life is ATTITUDE. Attitude is 100% A=1 + T=20 + T=20 + I=9 + T=20 + U=21 + D=4 +E=5 add it up it's 100%. Ones attitude towards a situation will determine the outcome. A positive attitude will lead you to a positive outcome. A negative attitude will lead you to a negative outcome and greater difficulty.

Yeah, there's a lot to endure in trucking, especially in the beginning. It's tough getting started and there are a lot of hurdles to overcome. But attitude is indeed everything. Stay positive and stay focused on what it's going to take to achieve your goals. Don't sweat the small stuff as they say. Just roll with it.