Average revenue per mile for owner operators with their own authority

My exact volume of miles is 125K in 2016. So I am a super trucker... Good! I knew I would get somewhere in life. Everyone with brain would like to make as much per mile as possible. But if such rates are not coming your way you have to make it up with a harder work. At the end of the day, it is money in the bank what makes you super. Nobody cares how hard or smart you have worked for it. Once upon a time, hard work was a virtue.

 

I look at rates in terms of my financial needs. I need to clear 100K a year before taxes to feel fulfilled (80k after all taxes). Whatever I need to do to get there. In the long haul I make plenty of miles for a lower rate. Shorter runs (smart?) more per mile but more time wasted. Finding the right balance between the two. There is of course wear and tear, but it can't be exactly formulated with relations to miles.