Hero's

Monday is our day to say thank you to our true hero's , our veterans and all of our men and women in the military.

I always think of my cousin who was a drill sergeant in the Army and fought in Vietnam, Bobby.

Bobbly is my cousin but was more like a big brother to me growing up. He taught me how to fish and hunt and how to skin and gut what I caught. He taught me to ride a motorcycle and to drive a stick shift. He was and is the definition of tough. He retired from the Army and by the time he left the service he taught many a young man.

As he grew older he showed me what it was like to be a good husband to a wife that he became his other half and he showed me what it is like to be a good father to two young ladies that look up to their dad, their hero. And later a hero to his grandchildren.

He recently lost his wife to a two year battle of cancer.

I never saw the man cry till that day.

On this day on Veteran's Day I also think of my brother-in- law who also fought in Vietnam and suffers to this day from agent orange and other ghost that still haunt him from that war. He too came home to get married and he made his family his number one priority and his children and grandchildren are his world, even as he suffers through Parkinson's .

I thank them and all of our military men and woman as much as I can.

May God bless them and may God bless this great country. 

Remember Freedom is not Free.

CHANGE

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.


If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.


When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves.

From Driver Skip...

Road Warrior has left a new comment on your post "Being your own boss":

" but after they closed their trailer doors they could roll down the road being responsible for just them and the customers in their trailer.
I cannot over emphasize the importance of that exhale.".I had one of those days yesterday,5000 pounds with(I kid you not)3500 feet of carry AND,a non-dedicated elevator...That's not the best part,I set a record,the longest carry EVER for one item...It was a glass case,glass on 3 sides and a mirror in the back.I padded it then covered it in cardboard and shrink wrapped it with a whole roll.The size was 4 1/2 feet wide,8 feet tall,and 3 1/2 feet thick..It would not fot in the evevator,or the stairs...AND had to go up 4 floors....The record was over 1 mile of carry,4 of us on this item,back out of the building,down the street,turn left,follow that street to the end of the building,to the parking garage(?).Then follow the ramp all the way to the top floor,4 floors later we got in the side door by the elevator,and the rest of the 3000 feet to the Condo....YES-IT FELT GREAT JUST TO GET THE DOORS CLOSED!4 of us were there 7 hours,on 5000 pounds....

Prep..prep ...prep

Drivers.. when you arrive at residence..

Have a door pad in your hand, give the shipper your card...AND pad the front door as an appetizer...Explain to them, this is WHAT WE DO!

This goes with first impressions....

This is the MOST important part of a successful move, put the customer at ease right away.
Better yet...SHOW THEM.

How you approach them and prep the house sets the table for the entire process.
You can win them over and gain their trust or you can add to their anxiety and concern.
The choice is yours.

Now that you know how to do the hard part of packing, loading and wrapping that furniture you have to do the easy part... communicate and prepare the house before you touch a stick.

Prep, prep, prep

Being your own boss

I have known many successful drivers that have tried to manage and/or open a moving business.

Some have bulled their way through it and have managed to do good but most came to the realization that they were better off driving and just having to worry about themselves.

When they managed or ran a agency they were now responsible for everybody and everything.

The reputation of their business always came back to them, no matter who did what.

When they were a driver they had to manage their crews while packing, loading and delivering but after they closed their trailer doors they could roll down the road being responsible for just them and the customers in their trailer.

I cannot over emphasize the importance of that exhale.

Enjoy what you have built and the independence that you have earned.

Being your own business man is a privilege and in today's business world it is truly priceless.

You are THE man, your are your own boss. 

How successful you are is totally up to you.

Yes, you will have days that you are totally frustrated and things will not go go your way.

Yes, you will have trips that are profitable and those that are not so much.

That is free enterprise and every business owner goes through it in every market.

Just try to always remind yourself just why you do what you do and how you got there.

Most drivers worked their way up from being a helper to obtaining a class A and learning from the ground up.

You are always learning how to improve and how to do things better and how to profit but remember what you have.

Having the opportunity to be your own boss is truly a gift and a opportunity that millions of people would love to have.

Embrace the day, be thankful for the opportunity and continue to work your craft and your profession .

Packing and loading a trailer properly is a art. And I marvel at what a elite household goods driver does every day.

I salute you and you should take a moment to enjoy what you have worked so hard to learn and obtain.

Being your own boss is pretty cool.

Tunnel vision

My best advise to people in business is to develop tunnel vision.

Block out the noise and the gossip and the politics and just do YOUR job.

In today's culture we all get worried and paranoid . There was a song by a British band called the Kinks that said " paranoia will destroy ya"... That's for you old farts like me.

It is so true though, we all allow the noise and the gossip to overwhelm us and take to much of our brain cells.

We know what we have to do in our jobs and in order to succeed - we need to concentrate on that and how to improve ourselves both professionally and personally.

That should be our full time job and that is where all of our energy should go.

We only have so many hours in the day and so much oxygen, why waste it.

When we allow others to take our time and energy with negative or gossip we are wasting our precious time and energy.

What can you do better? How can you improve things around you?

That is where I try to choose to spend my time and energy.

What can I do better and how can I help others.

Every day I pray to help me to help others and to enjoy the day. 

Our time is limited on this planet why choose to waste it? Trust me , you cannot change the whirlwind of negative around you so develop tunnel vision. It is no different than anything else, develop the habit, stay within yourselves and what you do and enjoy what you have,

Tunnel vision. 

Sharing responsibilty

Many of us fall into the trap of hoarding power, even when we don’t think we are. We hoard our power by limiting the information we share. We hoard our power by not delegating the authority, as well as the responsibility, for projects. We hoard our power by interacting with only a select group of key employees. The problem with hoarding power is that one person can effectively control just so much power. There’s a point at which one person can focus and manage effectively. This point, once reached, will limit how much and how effectively the organization will grow and operate. This point, once reached, also marks the limit of our management and leadership power.

Share the appropriate information with the appropriate personnel so they can learn and take on additional responsibilities. Delegate the authority as well as the responsibility for projects to give others the opportunities to learn and to experience the true highs and lows of project management. Give power to those outside your normal select group to identify prospective new key players. Give others the opportunities to become powerful in their own rights.

 The stronger they become; the stronger you become.