Truckers View

My truckers view might be a little different than some drivers out there. I’m one of those people that needs and craves constant change in my life. I need to be challenged both physically and mentally, or I quickly become bored.

I’ve worked the highways, the oilfields and the Ice Roads. I guess I should also include city work in that mix, because that’s where I started my career. Come to think of it, It was a few months of yard shunting where it really all began. I don’t regret the yard shunting for the valuable backing up skills I gained although it didn’t align with my idea of a truckers view.

I was moving between 50 to 100 trailers a shift with a large company using day cabs and bunk trucks. The yard was tight and we kept a gap of about 18 inches between the trailers. I didn’t have a hydraulic shunt truck, so I learned how to back up quickly while getting a good workout.

Trucking was not my original career choice. It was something I picked up later in my life after going through a layoff from another career. I always enjoyed driving and felt it would be a good skill to fall back on when I needed it. I had no idea I would stay in it as long as I did.

The good thing about trucking is it’s such a vast industry with so many choices. There are so many different jobs and places to go that it met my needs of constant challenge and change. I still felt there was something more for my life like many of us feel. I wanted to have a little more money, freedom, success, and challenge.

Over the years I’ve run across many other drivers not satisfied with truck driver pay. That’s ok. It’s normal to want more out of life. You’re not alone in feeling the squeeze. I’ve had some pretty high paying truck driving jobs in the oilfields, but found that total dependency on someone else was not the answer for me.

We all have a unique truckers view on work and life in general. Maybe you are happy, content settled, or maybe you were like me and needed a little inspiration to get a little more out of life?

Do you want more out of life?

My truckers view is meant to inspire anyone that believes there is something more that awaits them.

“If you aren’t willing to build your own dreams, there’ll always be someone happy to hire you to help
them build theirs.”

I found a way to use my off duty time effectively to follow my own dreams and add some mental stimulation to my life. I realized that you can succeed with little or no investment. It’s not about how much money, how smart you are, or how much education you have. People that succeed are “Resourceful”. With wifi for truckers so readily available, there are many resources available to build passive, or residual incomes.

As drivers, we really are the thinkers of the world. Driving down the road gives us countless hours to think about anything and everything.

Truck drivers come from all walks of life, and have an incredible knowledge base. We have solved the world’s problems, invented great things, and come up with some pretty amazing business ideas. I’ve heard many a truckers view of life, business, politics, and just about everything else over the CB and VHF radio. They start as conversations to pass time, but can develop into dreams.

So why then do these ideas or dreams never make it past a conversation or thought? There are a number of reasons, so let’s look at four of the biggest reasons.

Why do we fail to follow through on our dreams?

Time

Most drivers work excessive hours, and have a limited amount of time at home with their families. This makes it very difficult to start any time consuming venture.

You have to make a plan to use your time effectively on the road. If you have waiting time, delivery time, shut down roads, or any other opportunity, use your time effectively. I was fortunate to have lots of paid downtime as a driver in the oil and gas industry in northern Alberta and British Columbia. The bottom line was, I used my time wisely.

Involving other family members in your goals or dreams can also help you overcome the time issues. Working as a team is important in any relationship. Your family becomes your team, and strengthens your relationship when you’re on the road.

Fear of failing or losing financial investment

Many people are comfortable working for others, and enjoy that safety net employers can provide. With any new venture there’s always risk. This means a general fear of being a failure, along with the fear of losing money. Remember these two quotes below when it comes to fear and money.

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure does”. Unknown

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill.

Fear and money kill far too many dreams. The truth is, there are numerous ways a person can start a business, or earn a passive income with little or no investment. Remember that time IS money. If you lack financial resources, than stick to ideas where you can spend your “time” over your money.

The smaller the financial investment, the less fear you should have.

Continue reading Truckers View…..

Lack of knowledge

Is a major contributor to self confidence, and self confidence is a cornerstone for building your “ATTITUDE”.

Knowledge should no longer hold anyone back.

Lack of knowledge is a difficult excuse to use in today’s society. It may have been accepted 20 or 30 years ago before the internet was commonplace, but not today. Knowledge is far too easy to obtain. Just type in any search engine and start reading.

In trucking, knowledge gives us the confidence to do our jobs effectively. A self confident driver has planned their route, and knows where they’re going. They know their job duties and perform them well.

Drivers that have knowledge also have self confidence and enthusiasm. This leads to a more professional truck driver attitude. They’re usually more considerate to others on the road, easier on equipment, fuel and professional with customers. This is the core makeup of a “Professional Driver”.

Many of us have laptop computers and internet access from air cards, or places that we stop with wifi for truckers. We use them for almost anything from entertainment, to communicating with our families, friends and relatives. That is productive off duty time, but have you ever thought of making money from a computer?

Maybe you have a truckers view that may be of value to someone else? Maybe you’d like to be a writer? Or a contributor to a website?

Think about your ideas, skills, or areas of expertise. What skills and knowledge do you have that you can share with others?

This is not a new thing, or a get rich quick. Using the internet in your spare time to build content based sites has been around for a while. You can generate a passive supplemental income, build savings towards your retirement, or make it a full-time career. There are many ways to make money on the internet, but you also must be careful of scams.

I encourage those of you who are looking for something more, to spend some time looking at your options. Who knows where it will lead? Like anything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Maybe there are people that would be inspired by your truckers view of life?

Here is another quote for you.

“Good things come to those who work their butt’s off”

How I proceeded

Like many of us, I had other areas of education and training. I had a background in landscape design, and had a small landscaping business in the summer. I was an oilfield truck driver in the winter. Both paid fairly well but were inconsistent.

I enjoyed my job in the oilfields, but it was dependent on the economy. I loved landscaping in the summer, but it was largely dependent on the weather. Living in a northern climate also meant short seasons for this type of work.

I had a laptop computer in my truck, and spent many winter hours researching and educating myself on landscaping techniques. The problem was there wasn’t “one great site” to go that had it all. I saw the need, and got to work on building that site right away.

This is referred to as finding your “niche”, and I’d just found mine.

The greatest thing about a “niche” is you don’t don’t have to know anything about it. Remember what I said earlier? You just need to be resourceful.

Like many of us, I’ve had many ideas in my life, but never followed through on them. I think I wasted time thinking, planning, or trying to write business plans. Don’t get me wrong about business plans, they do have their place. (No business plan = no loan at a financial institution.) I also believe sometimes you just have to stop talking, and “DO”.

You do NOT have to be an expert in computers to build a website.

I started writing on paper all my knowledge from training and experience. Then I researched and cross referenced everything I had to ensure my information was correct. This exercise also taught me a lot, including some different tricks of the trade.

I always kept a book with me to write down ideas on the road. When I was driving, I was thinking about other ways to make it successful. When I was stuck somewhere for any reason, I was writing, writing, writing. I was excited to be doing something productive, and I no longer had any boredom on the road. Before I knew it, I had dozens and dozens of pages to get the site started.

The biggest question I received from others was, “I don’t know anything about computers”. Well guess what? You don’t have to.

Did I understand everything I read, or every video I watched the first time? No. Sometimes I had to watch something 4 or even 5 times for it to fully sink in. (And I’ve been involved with computers for many years.)

Sometimes it can be tough, but you have to stick with it and it will always work out in the end. You have to find ways to motivate yourself. In my home office I printed off some pictures of things that I wanted to have. Find something that you’ve always dreamed of having and take a picture of it. Keep it close by so it keeps you motivated.

Not only did this pass the time or boredom of being away from my family, but I enjoyed my job more, felt more productive, and had a new outlook on life. It totally changed my whole attitude. I now make a passive income that is growing every day.

How does this work? How do you make money off the internet?

There are many different ways to make money off a website. (Monetizing) You can sell a product or service. You can sell advertising on your website. (There are different types of this.) You can have affiliate programs where you get a percent of sales for products and services offered on your site. These are a few of the main ways. Basically, the more traffic you have, the more money you make.

Maybe you’re looking for a little bit more for your retirement?

So if you’re interested in supplementing your income, a career change, or just some more money in your spare time, content based websites are a great way to go. We hope you enjoyed reading about my truckers view.

“Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does buy you the freedom to do the things that make you happy”

For more information please contact me through this website. You can also visit my other site at www.dream-yard.com. I’d be happy to give you the information you need to know to start off in the right direction if you’re serious about wanting more out of you’re life. I’d love to see more truck drivers making their dreams come true. I know there are some million dollar ideas out there, so let’s get them going.

Drive safe,

Kevin
www.truckerswheel.com

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