David J. Pollay's Beware of Garbage Trucks!™ - The Law of The Garbage Truck™

Beware of Garbage Trucks!™ - The Law of the Garbage Truck™ is posted below.
copyright 2007 David J. Pollay

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much for connecting with me and The No Garbage Trucks!™ Revolution! The joy of my work is connecting with good people from all around the world. Together, we are committed to enjoying every day, doing what we love, and making a meaningful difference with our lives!

Below, I am posting my column “The Law of the Garbage Truck™,” also known as “Beware of Garbage Trucks!™.” I discovered the Law of the Garbage Truck™ almost two decades ago and I have been writing about it in my newspaper columns and speaking about it in my workshops ever since.

The Law of the Garbage Truck™ has been widely traveling the internet: It has been posted to thousands of blogs and has been sent in mass emails to millions of people. And now, I want you to receive it directly from me.

Please share with me how you are applying The Law of the Garbage Truck™ in your life, and how your life has changed since you took The No Garbage Trucks!™ Pledge. I have heard hundreds of stories, and each one means a lot to me.

And if you are interested in reprinting The Law of the Garbage Truck™ or The No Garbage Trucks!™ Pledge, let me know.

Thank you for continuing to support and acknowledge my work; I am deeply grateful.

My best to you,

David

p.s. The North Star Writers Group syndicates my columns. And here are three other great sites where you can find The Law of the Garbage Truck™ and many of my other columns: Happy News, Positive Psychology Daily News, Boomer Times & Senior Life.

The Law of the Garbage Truck™
Copyright 2007 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 he even threw in a one finger salute! I couldn’t believe it!

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 was 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, Jackie Robinson, 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 the University of Florida, 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 life.

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.

David J. Pollay is the author of “Beware of Garbage Trucks!™ - The Law of the Garbage Truck™. Visit www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com to join the No Garbage Trucks! Revolution. His book, The Law of the Garbage Truck™, is due out this summer. Mr. Pollay is a syndicated columnist with North Star Writers Group, creator and host of “The Happiness Answer™” television program, an internationally sought after speaker and seminar leader, and the founder and president of TheMomentumProject.com

Comments

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Ernie,

This is great! I can just see you and your wife taking this drive; good for you guys! It’s so important to keep your perspective in life. I take a similar approach every morning when I start my day. You’ll enjoy my column about my “Daily Dose of Awe and Gratitude.”

http://davidjpollay.typepad.com/david_j_pollay/2008/04/a-daily-dose-of.html

Best to you,

David

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Mari-Lyn,

Great to hear from you! Thank you for your support, and thank you for letting everyone know about my writing. And thanks for linking your post back here.

Stay in touch, and keep up with my blog; I think you will like the rest of my work. And stay tuned for the release of my book, Beware of Garbage Trucks – The Law of the Garbage Truck.

Best to you,

David

[Ernie Loga]

David, I thought you might like to read a followup I wrote in my 'Quips From the Editor' Column for July.

The other day my wife and I had to take a quick run to a nearby town for an errand. After doing our business we decided to take our time driving home and took some county and town roads back home. The day was slightly overcast and the drive was comfortable as I didn’t have to fight the sun to see where I was going. It was the kind of day that just begged us to get off the main highways, get away from the hustle and bustle of the fast pace and just take our time driving home. We took time to watch the fields where deer were playing, and turkeys were strutting. We took time to watch the birds flying in the sky and we looked at the wild flowers as we drove by. It was great just being able to commune with nature as we relaxed and enjoyed the scenery
Then once again reality set in when we arrived home again. Now we had to enter life where the pavement hit the road. We had to pick up where we left off. But it was different. We had taken a short detour in our life and we came back refreshed. We came back with a new determination to tackle the days problems and find solutions for some of our daily struggles.
Are life’s bumps getting hard take? How many of us need a break from today's wild ride in life? We all need a break sometime. We all need to get away and just relax. If you can’t take a real vacation maybe you can just find a way to relax for a couple of hours. Get off the main venue in life and look through different glasses. Maybe it can be just a short ride in your Studebaker, or maybe it can be a walk in nature. We all need a break once in a while. Just do it! You will not be sorry!

[Mari-Lyn]

Hi David,

Your Garbage Truck story was shared with me by a friend, so I posted it. What a great analogy to life. Thank you.

Your friend Chris dropped by to tell me who wrote the original story. I am sure you will change a lot of view points and perceptions of people who will "Chose" a better choice.

Mari-Lyn

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Joseph,

It is great to hear from you! Thank you for your post!

I am so glad that you have connected to the power of The Law of the Garbage Truck in your life. And I sure appreciate your support of my writing!

Thanks also for letting the people in your network and the other fine bloggers know that I am the author or The Law of the Garbage Truck. It helps me reach more people with the complete message. It is my mission to reach as many people with my writing as possible.

Joseph, I have shared The Law of the Garbage Truck with people from more than 100 countries. And thousands of people have taken the No Garbage Trucks! Pledge. You’ll enjoy the clip from my television show about it:

www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com

Joseph, thanks for spreading the word and bringing more people to my blog. We can make the world a better place together. And stay tuned for my book, The Law of the Garbage Truck, which is coming out this Fall. You'll really like it.

Best to you,

David

[Joseph D Boone]

Hello, I received this or an edited version of it thru email as most things get past around in cyberspace. But it had no author attached to it so I put it in my blog as author unknown as did other's I know that had received it separately from me. It is that great a piece of thinking rationally. I shall now rectify the author unknown and give you full credit for this excellent piece.

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Nusheen!

Great to hear from you! Thank you for your support and great wishes!

And I’m so glad The Law of the Garbage Truck resonates with you; It will definitely help keep you focused on your great life.

Stay in touch and keep posting! You’ll like what’s coming on the blog.

Best to you,

David

[Nusheen]

Thank you my dear friend Dave. Your email could not have come at a better time. Your line about being ready with hugs and kisses for our kids when they come home from school really spoke to me. When I think back to all the times I was aggravated by a Garbage Truck and let it get in the way of my personal relationships and well-being, it saddens me. Now I have a useful tool to help me get through and avoid the Garbage Trucks. I am thrilled for your success and wish you and your family every happiness. Hope to see you again one day. All the best. Be Well, your friend Nusheen.

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Ernie!

Thanks Ernie for a great post! I remember when you first emailed me asking permission to reprint The Law of the Garbage Truck in your newsletter; it was great to hear from you then, and it is great to hear from you now.

And Ernie, what a great message you shared in your “Quips from the Editor.” I am sure you made a difference for your readers by telling your story.

Ernie, read my story about Positive Triggers. Your cars, and everything good that reminds you of them, are big positive triggers for you: Continue making them work for you (you’ll know what I mean when you read the post).

And Ernie, make sure to send me an email with a picture of your Studebakers; I would love to see them.

Best to you,

David

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Ahmad,

It is so great to hear from you!

Congratulations on being chosen to be a Fulbright Scholar. That is awesome! What an achievement! I am not surprised, but I sure am impressed.

Ahmad, you captured in your post why I do what I do: I write and speak every day to help people like you achieve their best possible lives. The fact that you credit me for playing a role in your success is a great gift to me: I am honored.

Keep in touch Ahmad.

Best to you,

David

[Ernie Loga]

I am an editor of a Local Studebaker Newsletter. Thank you for giving me permission to reprint your Garbage truck article. In addition to using your article I wrote the following in my column, Quips From The Editor:
Today was a day when I decided to give myself a pity party. I owed it to myself. No one else knew how I felt or what I was going through and furthermore they didn’t care! If I didn’t feel sorry for self no one else would! It had been a long time in coming and I felt I deserved it. I had earned it. By golly, I was going to have one.
Then, the reality of life hit me between the eyes and I realized I had to get up and get going. If I wanted to lay back and sulk over myself, nothing would ever get done except I would feel bad, Then, to make things worse, I would be further behind than I was before I started feeling sorry for myself. How many of us have felt that way? It is an easy thing to do. We can justify it too. But in reality it one of the most harmful things we can do to our self. It takes as much effort to be happy as it does to be sad. Besides, when we have a pity party the only one we are thinking about is old number one, me!
So, lets consider others as we enter into the car show season. Lets get our Studebakers out and do some ride sharing. Rather than sit at home and sulk over the high cost of gas, lets call up a friend and car pool to a car show or cruise night and enjoy the time we can have together. Maybe we can just go for a ride or have a picnic, or whatever and share expenses. It appears that the world powers who control gas prices wants to make us immobile. Let’s get innovative and show the world we know how to survive! Let’s keep our spirits up and avoid the dull domes that cause pity parties. We can do it!

[Ahmad Waheed]

Hi David,

I was just reading once again the law of Garbage truck which reminded me your lecture in IC Poland 2006. This article is so inspirational and an excellent piece of knowledge. It is one of the most useful way through continously focusing on solving the main problems of our dialy life.

I really appreciate your work in this field. Your lecture practically made me successful in my life. I am a Fulbright scholar in the US now which is a great acheivment for me.

thanks once again and good luck.

Best Regards
Ahmad
MCP @Afghanistan 06/07

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Amit,

Thanks for the great compliment! I sure appreciate your support.

And you are so right; it is within our power to choose our focus. Letting Garbage Trucks pass us by helps us stay centered on what’s important to us in our lives.

Best to you,
David

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Tako,

Thank you for such a supportive post. I am very glad that you have connected to The Law of the Garbage Truck!

Best to you,
David

[David J. Pollay]

Hi Luis!

Thanks for your powerful post! I am so glad that you have applied the power of The Law of the Garbage Truck to your life!

Remember to take The No Garbage Trucks! Pledge too!

Best to you,

David