Got Accepted To CFI, Now Nerves And Fear Galore

First, I want to say thank you to Trucking Truth for keeping hooked on the life and adventure of an OTR driver ,and feeding my hunger as I lurked around reading different stories. And I want to thank Big Scott for his diary which makes me so comfortable with my choice of CFI. I am so excited and yet so nervous and full of fear and trepidation. I have always had a fascination with big rigs, and have always wanted to drive. So, when I got the news that CFI has accepted me, I was and am still excited to get going. But, I am full of nerves, and fear. I don't want to fail, I hate failure. I hate the unknown, but I don't allow anything to stop me or defeat me. The I am nervous because it will be the first time I will be away from my family for extended periods of time. My boys are excited for me to drive a big truck. But they don't quite understand that I will be gone for a while. But, in the end I am excited to get out there, earn my stripes, run miles till I can't run no more, and enjoy the ride.

Congratulations and good luck. Will you be going to Crowder or Truck Dynasty? Either way, just relax, do what the instructors say and ask for help when you need it. Everyone has their problem areas. My profile has a way to contact me if you have any other questions. I'm also happy to answer them here when I see them.

I haven't received all the information from my recruiter, she is supposed to be sending all my information tomorrow. But, I might try to leave sooner becaus I gave her a date 3 weeks out, but money is getting pretty tight.I am also considering teams to shorten my contractual commitment, so I will have to ask her a few more questions.

Do you have someone you would want to team with? I know they want more teams. I like my space, so teaming is not for me. I find everyone at CFI to be very helpful. The contract is a non issue for me. My plan is to stay with CFI. The only way that would change is if it didn't work for me and my wife.

Keith, everyone feels that way in the beginning. Everyone is nervous and excited, and no one wants to fail. You're not going to fail unless you quit trying. There are a ton of people that walk away from Trucking very early in their career because it's far more difficult than they expected. But very rarely do you find a person that simply cannot figure out how to drive a truck.

Just expect there to be a lot of ups and downs along the way. Keep thinking positive and keep looking ahead. Don't get too caught up in the moment, especially during tough times. Everything will pass.

I also would not commit to teaming until you've tried it. When you first get out there you'll go on the road with the trainer and you'll see what it's like. Most people hate running team, and most of the teams that last are husband and wife teams.

You also don't want to think about shortening the contract because you want to stay with your first company for at least one year. It takes a long time to learn this trade and establish your career on solid footing. You don't want to go jumping around from company to company early on. It's not going to get you anywhere.

Keep us updated and let us know how things go. Anytime you come across situations you're not sure of make sure you come by and run it by us. We'll help you get through anything you come across.