David J. Pollay's Blog

Thanks, and I'm Back!

Thank you for staying connected with me on Facebook while I have been traveling!  You have been great, and I appreciate your support. 

There is so much happening around The Law of the Garbage Truck.  I want to tell you it all.  But rather than pull out the fire hose and include it all in one update, I’m jumping back on the blog to share updates and insights from The Law of the Garbage Truck.  Stay tuned!

Did I tell you that The Law of the Garbage Truck has now been translated into ten languages, and more are on the way?!  Cool, right!  And thanks so much for making it all possible.

Sending big hugs to all!

All the best,

David

Thanks, and I'm Back!

Thank you for staying connected with me on Facebook while I have been traveling!  You have been great, and I appreciate your support. 

There is so much happening around The Law of the Garbage Truck.  I want to tell you it all.  But rather than pull out the fire hose and include it all in one update, I’m jumping back on the blog to share updates and insights from The Law of the Garbage Truck.  Stay tuned!

Did I tell you that The Law of the Garbage Truck has now been translated into ten languages, and more are on the way?!  Cool, right!  And thanks so much for making it all possible.

Sending big hugs to all!

All the best,

David

Visit our Facebook page for The Law of the Garbage Truck.

Be one of the first to visit our Facebook page for The Law of the Garbage Truck.

I would love for you to check out our new Facebook page for The Law of the Garbage Truck. I think you’ll really like it! We worked hard to make it a great resource for all things related to The Law, from interactive discussions on how to apply The Law in your life, to tour locations...and even links to where you can get your own copy of The Law of the Garbage Truck.

I'm proud of our page, and I’m excited to share it with you. Make sure to drop by and visit, and if you like it, share it with your family and friends.

Hope to see you there! 
All the best,

David

Visit the new The Law of the Garbage Truck Blog!

Be one of the first to visit the new The Law of the Garbage Truck Blog.

The mission of our new blog is to help you live The Law of the Garbage Truck philosophy in all aspects of your life. Check out the first post welcoming people from more than 100 countries to the blog. It’s a great place to get started if you’re new to The Law (read my original story, take The No Garbage Trucks! Pledge, and more). 

Welcome to The Law of the Garbage Truck™ Blog! [read time:  22 seconds]

Then check out our series of Living The Law™. You’ll find short posts focused on helping you integrate The Law into all areas of your life.

Living The Law #1: You can disagree, and still be nice    [read time:  26 seconds]

Living The Law #2: What to do when you’re frustrated (comes with a warning label!) [read time:  19 seconds]

Hope to see you there!

All the best!

David

Follow The Law – Look for Success In Your Consistency (example: Keith Ferrazzi)

Do you want to know what you’re good at?  Do you want to know when you really stand out in life?  What you should build your expertise around?  Here’s one powerful answer.  It’s a guide.

 

Look for success in your consistency.

 

When you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck, you stay focused on what is important and what you can control.  Identifying where and when you have been consistently successful is a huge part of helping you focus on making the best of your life.

 

Is there something you have done well over the years; it has served you well, and it’s still making a difference in your life? 

It might be the way you build relationships,

the way you speak,

the way you think,

the way you write,

the way you sell,

the way you lead teams,

the way you express your appreciation....

 

Whatever it is, it’s there for us to discover and amplify: We all do something special, even if at first blush it’s not obvious to us. 

 

And when you recognize your strength, develop it and focus on it, you can turn it into something special in your life. 

 

I believe—and research by the Gallup Organization, and by Christopher Peterson and Nansook Park at the University of Michigan, demonstrates it—successful people learn to capitalize on their “special something.” 

 

They amplify their strength.  They invest in it through education, training, coaching, and practice.  They hire people and contract with people to magnify their strength.  They surround themselves with people who can help them work around their lesser strengths.

 

What’s the result?

These people are happy, and they are successful.

Here’s a great example.

 

I knew someone in college. 

He was brilliant about bringing people together around a common cause. 

He could do it with one person, a group, or an organization. 

And it served him well.

 

Now he is the best selling author of two great books, Who’s Got Your Back? and Never Eat Alone.  His name is Keith Ferrazzi.  You might have heard of him?  He’s considered one of the best connected people in the country

 

 
 

Keith took what was a consistent strength of his in his life and career—building world class relationships in everything he does—and turned it into an asset that he could share with the world in business.  People who want to understand what it takes to forge important relationships with anyone at any level turn to Keith for advice and guidance.  Keith’s consistent strength is now his biggest asset.

 

So what’s your strength? 

Where have you been consistent in your life?

Follow The Law and focus on what’s important.

 

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You can find out more about The Law of the Garbage Truck here

My 3rd Secret to Writing

If you want to write your book, column, blog post, newsletter, or company proposal, wake up early enough every day so that you can write something before you have to get on with other priorities. 

 

Don’t wait until the phone calls start coming in, the emails start arriving, and the texts start flying.  If you wait until later in the day, you may be too distracted or too tired to be creative.

 

Ideally, you want to squeeze in thirty to sixty minutes of writing—or as much time as you can put in—before your day really gets underway.

 

Writing near the start of your day will make a positive difference in your life on a number of levels.

1.    Every day it will affirm that you are a writer.

2.    Every day it will give you a sense of accomplishment.

3.    Every day it will improve your writing and confidence.

4.    Every day it will keep your writing project activated in your mind, consciously and unconsciously.  You’ll be surprised how many ideas will come to you later in the day when you're doing something completely unrelated.

5.    Every day it will move you closer to accomplishing your writing project.

 

As always, try this idea out and let me know how it works for you.

I’m rooting for you!

 

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  You can find out more about The Law of the Garbage Truck here.

Do You Do It Enough? Tim Does

 

When I was at Yahoo!, I was asked to record a training video that could be used by all Yahoo! managers as a learning resource for conducting better performance reviews.  At the time I was the director of Yahoo!'s Learning and Development organization.  It was my first time recording in Yahoo!'s production studio.  The camera, lights, backdrop, marks on the floor telling me where to stand … all this was new to me.

 

As I was preparing for the video shoot, I asked Adrian Smith if he had any advice for me.

 

 

 

 

At the time Adrian was the head of all online training for the Yahoo! sales organization, and he was producing our training video. (Adrian is a great guy who now runs his own full-service video production company, Slice of Life Media.) 

 

Adrian's answer.

Rehearse.

Simple.

Rehearse.

 

He said, "We all need to rehearse.  If you want to be good at something, you have to rehearse."

 

Then Adrian gave me an example.

Tim Sanders.

 

 

At the time, Tim was leading an organization at Yahoo! called Value Lab; it was a strategic think tank focused on creating value for our customers.  Tim played an important role in the company.  He was respected.  He was successful.

 

And according to Adrian, he rehearsed.

 

Adrian said Tim was tireless about making sure he gave his best effort in preparing for all of his presentations and speeches. (Even back then he was called to speak all the time—check out one of Tim's videos on his site.) 

 

How did all this preparation work out for Tim?  After a great career at Yahoo!, he wrote three bestselling books: Love Is The Killer App, The Likeability Factor, and Saving the World at Work. Now, Tim’s working on his fourth book, and he is one of the most popular transformational speakers nationally.

 

Think about your expertise.

 

How much are you practicing?

How much are you rehearsing? 

Listen to Adrian.

Follow Tim's example.

Make time for rehearsal.

 

(Here's Tim in his own words about the importance of rehearsing.)

 

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  You can find out more about The Law of the Garbage Truck here.

Advice Must Come with Sincerity and Expertise – Stephanie’s an Example

When I look for personal advice from people, I look for a number of things. 

 

Top among them is sincerity and expertise.

I want to know my advisors have my best interests in mind.  

I want to know that they really care about helping me. 

And I want to know that they have experience, knowledge, and skill in the domain I need help. 

 

 
   

Stephanie Gunning is one of those people.

 

After I wrote my book, The Law of the Garbage Truck, and before I signed with Sterling Publishing, I called in Stephanie for advice.  I wanted to look for ways I could improve my book. 

 

Stephanie pointed out where I could clarify passages or expand my treatment of a subject or cut material to make my message stronger.  Stephanie had the expertise, and my success mattered to her.  She gave the advice, and it was up to me to make the changes.  I listened, made the changes, and strengthened my book. 

 

Now, Stephanie is helping even more people.  This time it’s with her own book, You Are A Spirit, written with Kayhan Ghodsi.  It just came out last week.  I bought my copy the day it was available.  If you’re interested in spirituality and improving the quality of your life, pick up a copy.  

 

Think about the people you rely on. 

 

Who are the people

who are giving

you advice

these days? 

 

Make sure they’re the best, and make sure that they care.

 

 

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You can find out more about The Law of the Garbage Truck here.

  

 

 

Be A Day Starter (“The Things I Focus On”)

I wrote The Law of the Garbage Truck  to free us from the negative things we cannot control, so we can focus on what we can.  Each week I write about “the things I choose to focus on,” and “the things I choose to let pass me by.”  We can all  increase our happiness and success, and we can increase civility in the world. We’re not after perfection.  Together, we’re just making the world a little better.

 

Be A Day Starter (Things I Focus On)

 

 
  

My wife, Dawn, usually wakes up before I do.  Sometimes she wakes up by alarm, and other times by the gentle tugging of one of our two little girls, Eliana (7) and Ariela (6).  Then around 6:30a.m., it’s my turn.  This is how I wake up:  Dawn hugs me and whispers good morning until I wake up.  It’s a beautiful way to begin a day;  I am loved awake.  Dawn starts my day. 

 

And then I continue the cycle.  I get out of bed and head upstairs to my little girls’ rooms.  I quietly walk into their bedrooms and wake them up with a big hug.  It is one of my favorite parts of the day.  I start their day. 

 

How do you wake up in the morning?  What is your first interaction of the day? 

 

Be A Day Starter in Your Family

 

If you’re not already beginning your day as warmly and positively as you can, be a Day Starter for one week:  When you wake up in the morning express your love with your words and your actions.

 

If you normally complain right after you get up, express your love first.  If you have to begin your day with a cup of coffee in the morning, do it after you have hugged and kissed everyone in your family (And if you don’t normally hug and kiss them, let me know what impact it has on your life when you do.).  Suspend your normal wake-up habits for one week.  Be a Day Starter at home.

 

 

Be A Day Starter with Your Roommates

 

 

 

If you live with roommates, be the first to greet everyone.  Be the first to smile.  Make the coffee.  Offer to make their breakfast when you make yours.  Demonstrate your interest in them.  Start their day.

 

Be A Day Starter if You Live Alone

 

And if you live alone, call someone you care about.  Email a kind note to a friend.  Exercise with friends, or grab a cup of coffee with them.  Start someone’s day.

 

* * *

 

Remember to tell me what you focus on in the morning.  I want to hear your stories!

 

If you’re here for the first time, welcome!

 

You can sign up for my newsletter.

 

You can pre-order my book, The Law of the Garbage Truck.       

 

 

You can find out more about The No Garbage Trucks! Pledge here.

 

 

 

What’s Your Calling? Follow Gretchen’s Example

We all have a calling.  I believe that.  There is something special for us to do.

 

Finding the way to our calling is not always easy or clear.  Sometimes the path is obscured by negative forces in our lives, or by our own complacency, and sometimes the path is obscured by our success and accomplishments. 

 

 

In both cases we are challenged to break from the past. 

 

Just because we have allowed events, other people, and ourselves to limit us in the past does not mean that we have to make that our choice today.

 

Just because we have been successful at something—sometimes very successful—in the past or present doesn’t mean we can’t un-tether ourselves from a predictably successful path to a less predictable, but even more meaningful path.

 

One example before we go.

 

What if you were a graduate of Yale Law School?  What if you clerked for a U.S. Supreme Court justice?

 

How easily would you step away from such success? 

 

Stop.  Think about it.  What would pull you away?

 

The answer. 

Something even more meaningful.

Something even more personal.

Something even more exciting.

Your calling.

 

Gretchen Rubin is that law school graduate.  She clerked for Sandra Day O’Connor.  Yet she left the law for writing.  It wouldn’t necessarily be easy.  It didn’t matter.  Gretchen had a calling. 

 

 

Gretchen just released her fifth book, The Happiness Project.  It’s a runaway bestseller.  And it’s selling for good reason.  It’s a great book.  And it comes out of Gretchen’s calling. 

 

Let’s all find our way—taking as many little or big steps as needed—to follow Gretchen’s example.

 

 

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You can find out more about The Law of the Garbage Truck here.

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