10-4 Magazine November 2024

48 10-4 Magazine / November 2024 bad thing. Fear can be used to motivate or to drive a person to action. I use fear to force me into doing what some may think is impossible. I’m no Superman, but I can do things that require superhuman strength. One of the benefits of age is wisdom and knowing how to pace yourself and persevere by determination alone to get things done. As drivers, we break our work down into manageable segments. Long haul drivers may do this by planning their meal stops rather than counting the miles. Local drivers may have a different method of time management, but both still break their day down to manageable segments. Every task we undertake is able to be compartmentalized, reduced into smaller increments, and measured. In life, few of us are good at everything, but all of us are good at something. Finding that something is what many spend their life looking for. You may ask yourself why any of this is relevant to people in trucking today? It’s relevant because most of us become easily disappointed or distracted in our lives. Just look at the drivers who jump companies multiple times a year. They normally don’t better themselves, they only change the faces of the people who get to control them. So, how do you change where you are today to get to where you want to be tomorrow? First things first, do you know where you want to go or what you want to accomplish? Most people are just looking to the day when they never have to go to work again. I will let you in on a secret, retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Sure, the hours are better, but the pay isn’t. It takes money to live good in your golden years. Unless your making big contributions to a set financial plan now, you probably won’t see retirement, and if you do, it will be far less appealing than you have envisioned. I’m surrounded by friends who spent their entire life counting the days until they could retire. They made plans in their mind to see the world and visit children in other states. This all sounds great, but did they do the necessary work to reach their goal? Most did not and they are now working part time or sitting at home watching the world go by. I too have goals that I still plan to accomplish. Yes, they are a bit extreme, however I am working on reaching them one step at a time. With any project, first the mind must conceive before the heart will believe, then, through energy and dedication, the hands can and will achieve. I’m still building back my physical strength after the devastation caused by radiation and chemotherapy. It’s been a long road with numerous setbacks, but I never lost sight of the end goal – to live a long and prosperous life (something that three years ago I didn’t know was even going to be possible). During the treatments and then the recovery, my body let me down. It shriveled away to the point of needing help just to walk. I never considered myself sick, and at no point did I let others tell me I was. It takes a lot of heart to believe in yourself to fight on when you are barely able to stand. My goal was to keep living, to help others live, and to fight another day. Every aspect of my life is governed by that power. Each of us should look within and find those qualities that drive us. Then, as we envision our future, break down that path into manageable segments and a road map that will get you there. I read a quote somewhere, and I now live my life by this code: “Never count your days, but make your days count!” These are truly words to live by on the road to living a better life, 10-4. n 909-452-8064 • www.dcrinconline.com We also have the equipment for your crankshaft needs! 10557 Juniper Ave. Unit M, Fontana, CA 92337 D IESEL C AMSHAFT R EPAIR “Best in the West for Over 40 Years” Exchange Available • Hablamos Español • PU & Delivery SPECIALIZING IN: CAT • CUMMINS • DETROIT • VOLVO