The Law of the Garbage Truck™ by David J. Pollay

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, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your life. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And 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, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end.

I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe 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. And for emphasis, he threw in a one finger salute, as if his words were not enough.

But then here’s what really 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 could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:

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 look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.

So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier.

So 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, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread 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 dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time is Walter Payton. Every day on the football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the world in every sport have played this way: Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammad Ali, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King.

See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University, found in his extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you recall them more frequently.

So the odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by letting go of the bad.

The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their lives.

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.

You have a choice. Make it today.
Have a Garbage Free Day!

Every REAL Leader Does These 5 Things On A Daily Basis

The internet and network marketing industry is filled with so called, self proclaimed leaders. All of a sudden those that have read Mike Dillard's Magnetic Sponsoring book think they are instant leaders on attraction marketing. Just because someone reads something does not qualify them as a leader. A leader is known more by what he does than what he says. To help you move forward in your business I will share 5 network marketing tips that leaders do on a daily basis.

5 Things Leaders Do Daily

1. Visualize your goal and what you desire

This may sound a little hokey dokey but understand this network marketing tip will actually set the tone for all the other steps. I recommend doing this when you wake up and before you go to sleep. Put yourself in the space of ALREADY achieving your goals. Meditate, feel, taste, and smell the outcome. if you do it right this part will become so real to you that it will move you to the next step.

2. Income producing activities

This particular network marketing tip is considered a compromising area for most. Some think that if they are checking their email, organizing their desk, planning the day, training reps, and talking on the phone to their downline about any and everything that they are being productive. Not true at all. In the internet network marketing world the only TWO things that make you money are: taking massive action on marketing and speaking to qualified prospects on the phone. Period point blank end of story.

3. Personal development, self mastery

One of the biggest network marketing tips is that you have to work on yourself more than you work on your business. This means every single day reading or listening or watching something that will better you as a leader. There is always enough time in the day. Turn off the tv, put down the newspapers, and garbage novels. At lunch if you have an iPod or iPhone put on your headsets and listen to Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, Zig Ziglar, or whoever you choose. Allow their words and beliefs to transform you into a better leader.

4. Mastermind with other leaders

For us in the network marketing/direct sales industry this means getting on all the conference calls that our respective companies have. It's not feasable to always have events so this is the best way. Look at it as you are a part of a mastermind group. You can learn from those that are where you want to be.

5. Position myself at the top (Cultivating the expectation of leadership)

Depending on the company you are with there may be different levels that you can join at. As a leader you want to set the culture on your team to always play from the top. If you don't have the money to get at the top then work your butt off finding ways to get it or to climb your way through the ranks. Leaders understand that those that typically get in the MLM business at a lower position will not take the business seriously. Always fight to get to the top no matter what.