Don’t Do It (Part 5: Lose the Loser)

You can almost always spot the person that watches lots of television. For the most part, television shows conditions the mind to lose. They call it “reality tv.” It’s for losers.

Take for example the Bachelorette. Some woman goes around dating and making out with 20 guys. In the trucking industry, we’d call her a lot lizard. What do you call a guy that’s waiting around for a girl to finish making out with 20 others so he can have a go? Loser!
But that’s just it...there’s no winning for a loser, just various degrees of losing. The guy that wins the Bachelorette, what exactly does he win? It’s like being the very last trick for the lot lizard.

So you’re starting school, there’s 10 people in the class. There’s that one guy that never shuts up, the village idiot. Ignore him, who else is in the class. Out of 10 guys, there’s two that got it. The majority will struggle. Now, the struggle doesn’t make you a loser, just as the two that didn’t struggle are automatically winners. The thing that makes you a Loser is your mentality after. Thinking about throwing in the towel and giving up? Do you blame the instructor or the truck or the weather? “Well, I have a lot going on in my life.” Loser!

You will notice that there will develop a group of Losers who will congregate together and talk bad about the school and the guys that aren’t struggling to learn. Don’t Do It! If you surround yourself with Losers, they’re going to crab mentality you and hold you back. You’re already struggling, remember? You would think that your Loser friends would be happy for you and support you, but that’s what winners do.

What else would winners do?

Winners may struggle too. But it never crosses his mind to quit. He’s not going to blame the school and the truck. He’s going to look at the two that didn’t struggle, figure out what they are doing differently than him., because he knows that if he tries doing the exact same thing as before, he will see the same results. See, this is what will eventually put him ahead of even the guys that didn’t struggle. The person that can adapt is the one that’s going to win.

You will hear someone say that they’re trying really hard to learn. If you are trying to learn the same way you did before, or with the same instructor, that may be futile. Try a different approach. The two guys that got it, something clicked in their minds, they made a quick mental adjustment and they’re owning it. I would have to chat with them. Their way of explaining things will be different from the instructor.

Now, if you ask someone for instructions, don’t do the Loser thing and try to debate them. There’s nothing more irritating than to try to help someone and they want to fight you.

“Hey Six, I’m trying to learn how to back a 14 wide into a spot. Can you tell me how you do it? Well, I don’t like how you do it, I think my method better, so why can’t I back this load in that spot?”

My method works for me, you can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong but you want me to prove to you that my method is better? Adios, Loser.

 

Six, that's great advice. Drivers who have been out here 20 years could gain by listening to it. There's one guy I know at my carrier who has a fancy truck. He recently entered it in a show. Everytime I meet him, he is always positive. He looks clean and all that. Another driver, his truck is ratty, he wears dirty clothes and complains. All three of us do the same thing! Dedicated lane, but 2 guys are positive, and one is a downer!

 

The Dreaded Lunch Counter Encounter

Do you hear the guy at the lunch counter that’s volunteering employment history? Bet on him being a loser. When he’s done with his employment history, he’s going to tell you how terrible trucking is and how there’s no money to be made. Been everywhere, seen everything, pulled every load known to man, owned his own truck but now, he’s driving for Heartland. That’s like getting a masters degree and going back to the 3rd grade.

Nothing says Loser like doing a job that you don’t make money at, and complaining in public. Can you learn from him? Absolutely! Remain silent...within 5 minutes he will explain in detail why he can’t make money.

Notice too that Losers will always try to level the playing field. Remember that idiot at the lunch counter? He said that he pulled every load known to man and he’s been at it for 30 years. That’s a lie. You’re not going to pull every load on every kind of trailer and be proficient (meaning Good at what you do) in a lifetime.
But he tells you he did. Why is he trying to convince you to accept failure? Because in the world of Losers, there is no winning. “I can’t make any money” becomes “WE can’t make any money. After all, if I am a Loser, everyone else must be too.”

 

They say it can’t be done: what they mean is THEY couldn’t do it.

 

A guy...or gal...that constantly harps on the negative stuff will poison a whole crew.

 

That's like getting a master's and going back to the third grade. LOL, well put.

@Ruthless
I like to say those who say it can't be done are constantly proven wrong by those doing it.

 

Won't never will & can't never could.... I'm sure we've all heard that terminology.

 

They make it their mission in life to stop YOU from winning. Being a loser isn't bad enough, they want to prevent you from getting ahead. It's like all the drivers you see out there that act like traffic cops. "Oh, he's speeding. He's breaking the law! I will ride the speed limit in the middle lane to slow him down."