Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/115996
Think it Over The Blame Game Greetings all you good Student Drivers. This is your friend and biggest supporter, Dan Baker. I have been a teacher and consultant to this trucking business for the past 40 years, and every time I get to say a few words to my new drivers, I jump at the chance. Congratulations for choosing one of the greatest professions in the world for your own career. And that's exactly what I want you to make it: your career. This old trucking business has been around for many years, and there have been hundreds of thousands of drivers who have gone before you. You are part of a great tradition of great people who make this country of ours work. Everything we eat, wear, drive, sleep on, sleep in, walk in, sit on, touch, smell or taste is picked up, hauled and delivered by a truck somewhere in the U.S. or Canada. And as a new driver, now is a good time to decide how you're going to deal with yourself and other people. You will find that if you're in the trucking business today, first of all, you're in the people business, and secondly, you're in the trucking business. People first, trucking second. And because of that, your success will depend on how well you can get along with other people and how well you get along with yourself. So, allow me to give you some advice. As a new driver, the one person you need to get to know and work with is yourself. A long time ago, Harry Truman, one of our presidents, said, "I've had more trouble with myself than any other man I've ever met." And I think that says a lot. As a new driver, you can quickly become your own biggest problem. And because of that, you need to realize that you're going to make some mistakes, and do some stupid things. But when you do, be sure you own up to them, and 24 think it over 0413.indd 1 by Dan Baker learn from them, and then, go on. One of the biggest problems my new drivers often make is to blame other people for their problems. Be sure you don't start that habit. It's a habit a lot of people get into because they don't want to face up to their own mistakes. Just look around you and look at how so many people blame everybody else but themselves. It's called the Blame Game: • A guy cuts his finger with a steak knife and blames the restaurant. • A fellow smokes for 30 years, gets lung cancer and blames the tobacco company. • A guy gets drunk, slams into a tree and blames the bartender. • Our grandkids act like brats, and we blame the TV. • A guy gets shot by a teenager and we blame the gun dealer. • A terrorist breaks into a cockpit, and terrorizes the whole plane and his mama blames the airline. And as stupid as that sounds, it goes on all the time. People blaming people for stuff they did themselves. Don't do that to yourself. When you make an honest or even a stupid mistake, just stand up big and tall and admit your mistake and learn from it. That's what mistakes are for; for learning. the more mistakes you make, the smarter you get if you don't blame them on somebody else. So as a new driver, I wish you all the good in the world. But I want you to know that your career will not depend on somebody else. It will depend on you and your own willingness to learn and to grow into this business. You will make mistakes, and when you do, allow those mistakes to be your teacher, and you will one day stand tall as a true professional driver, who others look up to and admire. ◆ www.studentdriverplacement.com April '13 3/13/13 2:15 PM