My father-in-law, Henry Moorhead, has a keen eye for great articles. A couple of weeks ago he forwarded an article to me that I had never read before and, upon doing some research, found it to be from a very high quality source. My father-in-law thought that my male readers would especially like this story, but I think my female readers might get even more out of it.
The article was originally written several years ago by David J. Pollay, who is a world-class columnist, speaker, trainer, and entrepreneur. Please check out his website that I’ve linked to above as he has many great articles. I’ve just bookmarked a ton of them myself to come back and read later.
For now, I want to share with you, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™,” also known as, “Beware of Garbage Trucks™.” Enjoy!
The Law of the Garbage Truck™
How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she can get back her focus on what’s important.
Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!
Here’s what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face.
Now, here’s what blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.”
Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.
When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did. I guarantee it.
So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck™.” I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”
I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.
One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?
Here’s my bet. You’ll be happier. I guarantee it.
© David J. Pollay
HappyNews Columnist
Updated: 9/24/2007
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Posted under Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success
This post was written by Debra Moorhead, Motivational Speaker, Author, and Coach on October 8, 2007
Debra
recognizing the garbage trucks, and not being irritated by them is a powerful act, but the more profound act is to look for the loving soul beneath that garbage trucks.
All those “Garbage trucks” are a loving souls who are looking for love, and they have that defensive behaviors that make them aggressive.
As the “successful” author said, not reacting to those behaviors means growing up.
But actually the more growing up is tp understand their pain, and deal with them as loving souls and not as garbage trucks.
This way of growing up cannot be measured by how much “successful” that author is, or how much money he can manifest in his life, but it will reflect on how much loving soul he is.
Always inspiring us to take the next step . . .thanks, Ghassan!
Yes, I realized that I allow friends and family member to change my mood and focus. I can be working on a project and receive a phone call from my mom about how bad her day is going. Sometimes, it will take me a while to get her off the phone but when I do get her off the phone my mind is no longer on the project. I think the law of the Garbage truck is really powerful and think it’s a really good theory to apply to your life.