Another Accident Thread

I understand that this requires commitment and determination. I'm committed and determined.

In what way? You've been thinking about this for over a year. The only thing you seem determined to do is take the safest path with the least amount of risk or commitment. I just don't see that working with trucking. In an industry where most of the people who take a shot at this don't last a year, I just don't see someone who is on the fence with a safe backup plan drumming up the fierce determination it's going to take to keep moving forward and make it in this industry.

Now you're talking about keeping a part time job and paying tuition up front for an inferior type of schooling just in case things don't work out. You're trying to keep a foot on both sides of the fence, and I like to say that anyone who tries to move forward with a foot on both sides of the fence gets their balls ripped off. That's just not the way to accomplish something like trucking which takes full commitment.

There's a method to my madness and I have to take my logical approach to things. It's how I operate.

That's what you tell yourself to justify the inability to move forward. It doesn't take a year to determine whether or not you want to get into trucking, just like it doesn't take 15 minutes of staring at the water to determine if you want to jump in or not. Your method has produced nothing but daydreams at this point. You're not operating, you're pondering. Operations produce results.

I have a family that depends on me and that I have to provide for.

And you're already providing for them. You're obviously comfortable and secure where you're at, and you don't seem to be the type to take chances or go for things. You say you've thrown caution to the wind many times, but as someone who has done that his whole life I'm not seeing that type of person in you. I do see someone who is able to convince himself of a lot of things though.

Listen, I know I'm giving you a hard time but that's only because I don't want to see you fail. I know the level of fierce determination it's going to take to make it in this industry and you simply don't have that at this point. Maybe someday you will. Maybe someday you'll wake up and realize you can't live another day on this Earth without pursuing your dream of becoming a truck driver and you don't care what it's going to take - you're all in.

But that day isn't today.

We always tell everyone to see it through and stick with that first job for one full year no matter what. We say that because everyone wants to quit from time to time because they're just overwhelmed by it all. We do everything we can to encourage them to drum up the fortitude to see it through. And yet even armed with that knowledge and those expectations most people quit that first year anyhow.

Keep doing your research. Keep pondering things. Keep saving up money for a rainy day. Maybe your day will come. But right now I just can't encourage you to take a shot at this industry because I don't think you're ready. Maybe other disagree, and that's perfectly ok. Maybe they see something in you that I'm missing. If so, I would encourage them to speak up.

Normally I'm the most encouraging person in the world. I want to see people be successful in realizing their dreams. But I'm also very pragmatic. If I don't think a person is cut out for trucking or I don't think their mind or their life is in the right place then I'm not going to encourage them to go for it. It's not that I don't think you're capable of it. I'm sure you are. But most of the people who only last a short time are capable of it. They're just not willing or able to see it through.

I just want you to think about everything I've said and be brutally honest with yourself and the direction you think you should go in at this point in your life.

I just have one question: How did you manage to land a ride along with G-Town????? I'd like one myself so where do I sign up?

I just have one question: How did you manage to land a ride along with G-Town????? I'd like one myself so where do I sign up?

He only lives 45 minutes north of the DC where I am domiciled, near Pottsville PA.

Prior to my day with G-TOWN, I was just going to jump in. I applied for every company that offers training. The ones I wanted to told me no and the ones I was meh about said yes.

When I spoke to G-Town about training, I asked about money. He gave me a math equation and a good idea of how much he made at Swift initially. My focus shifted from training to saving. So, I've been saving. I gave myself a year and I succeeded. Elements that I couldn't control have added a financial obstacle. I'm not worried about the obstacle. My only concern now is whether or not this landing on my record will be an issue.

When I say test the waters, I mean just reach out to recruiters lay it all out and see what I'm told. Use the general consensus of that poll to see where I stand. I plan ahead and plan for things going wrong.

Also, I hate my job. It's a good job, but I hate it. The hardest part of the day is getting there. I got through it because it was a means to an end. I plan for failure because I've failed. I've learned from those failures and tweaked how I approach things and plan out my goals.

Hey Bruce. There was a diary by a man named Paul about Prime training. I said something I shouldn't have and G-TOWN and Brett tore into me. Somewhere in that thread it came up that I was interested in Prime because they have a terminal in Pittston, PA. When G-TOWN saw that he was kind enough to offer me a ride along to see a day in the life. I gladly accepted. We exchanged emails and phone calls and got it together. That day is vivid in my mind as if it happened yesterday .morning I remember everything I learned and the people I met We've fallen out of touch since then only because I've been focused on getting to where he is and following in his footsteps with some changes to personalize it and make it my own.

I'm very determined to accomplish my goals, but these things don't happen over night, especially for me because of how I think. You guys just have to trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing. I've followed a lot of your paths. I've learned from your successes and your failures. I may not login and post, but I read a lot and take lessons from everything.

Brett, thank you for your vested interest in my success and not wanting me to fail. I don't want me to fail either and I won't. I know you view me being safe as detrimental, but it's the path I've selected. Now I just have to route it out and see where I land. It may work out great or it might be a horrible mistake. Only one way to find out.