If you look at what it takes to become a successful owner operator, there is a degree of suffering. The person you are today comes from the good and bad things that have happened to you in the past. Living in America has become so comfortable, so comfortable that the majority of people will shy away from a little bit of hardship, a little bit of struggle and stress. It has become so easy to be better than the truck driver next to you. The bar has been set so low that with a little bit of discipline and hard work, you can accomplish the things that you want. Where is the challenge in that? You live in a semi perfect world that just by being able to get by in life, you’re happy with that. Wake up, go to a miserable trucking job that you hate, come home to a wife that doesn’t love you and respects and kids don’t listen to you, eat garbage for dinner, rub one off in the shower before bed then repeat it all over again the next day. Where is the challenge in that?

How are you ever going to improve as a person if all you ever do is complain about the trucking industry, the economy, and the government. How will you ever be successful if all you have ever done is just to think about how better you can become, but that’s as far as you get. It is just a thought. There’s no fear, no consequences, no stress when they are only thoughts. You will never be a successful owner operator or a successful person in general if you are not prepared to go through the hard and difficult things. Ask yourself, when was the last time you had to go through a dark time, when was the last time you had to look fear in the eyes, when was the last time you felt challenged and thought that ‘I have to make this work, I need every ounce of strength in my body to pull this off’.

You have probably been avoiding that your entire trucking career. You have been avoiding it because you have been scared of the consequences. So many truckers want to be owner operators but they don’t want to suffer, they don’t want to feel stressed out and I don’t understand why. If you look at any owner operator that has been in the business for at least 10 years, they had to go through difficult times before they became successful. they would have never been able to achieve their goals if it wasn’t for the dark times. Even if you look at any successful person in this world, they will tell you that they have failed multiple times. It’s not easy. It is only pain that can teach you. The journey there is rough, and is bumpy with many obstacles along the way. But if you never start the journey, you’ll never know what awaits at the end of the road.

You will suffer, there will be difficult times. But there is no other way to get there. You have to have all the bad things to happen to you. The bad thing is what is going to build you as a truck driver, as an owner operator,as  a business owner. Win or lose you can be a hero to those around you if you just fight through the dark times. Why are you so scared of losing? What’s the worst that can happen? Go through a difficult period? Lose a little bit of money? Fail as a business owner? You’ll survive! Oh you’re scared of starting? Scared of now knowing what to do? Scared of seeing what you’re actually capable of? So was I! I had to learn everything I know from the ground up. I didn’t inherit this knowledge that I have. I had to go out and fight for it, stay up late at night trying to learn how to run a business properly. had to go through difficult times to learn the valuable lessons that nobody is going to be able to teach you through videos. The trucking industry is ugly, it’s dirty, you don’t know who you can trust. Everybody is out to get you. Everyone is trying to see who their next victim can be. I’ve been there and it sucks. Nobody could prepare me for that, but yet, here I am, still an owner operator even through the worst of times.

Being successful is not about feeling things. It’s about acting and doing what you’re supposed to do regardless of how you feel. If I was to act on my feelings, I would find a local job that doesn’t pay anything, be home everyday, and become comfortable with not being able to provide a decent life for my family. That’s what awaits me if I decide to quit being an owner operator. I’m not afraid of going through bad times. I’m not afraid to get stressed. I’m not afraid to go through what is necessary. Once upon a time I was afraid, but I was only afraid because I didn’t know what to do. It is not until you’re put in that situation that you get to figure out what you’re really made of. When you have your back against the wall and everything is closing in on you, what will you do?  Will you crumble, lay down and cry or will find a way out? You only have 2 options when you’re in that position. Do or die. Succeed or fail. Accomplish your goals or run away with your tail tucked in. What are the actions and decisions you will take when the sky is falling? 

Pain is one of the most important feelings you’re going to have to endure in order to become a successful owner operator. If you can’t tolerate pain, then you will fail as a business owner. Just a matter of time before a strong storm comes and blows your straw house away. 

There’s only one path to being a successful owner operator. One direction. One way street. And that road includes lots of pain. You’re going to have to use pain as your fuel. Pain will have to be your number one motivation that’s going to help you reach the finish line. Not happiness, not joy, not being comfortable. PAIN! Pain is absolutely necessary and required. So better get used to serving yourself a big bowl of pain for breakfast every single day! And enjoy the pain, enjoy the struggle, enjoy having to decipher what lies ahead of you. Until you can say that you are able to embrace being on the negative side, on the dark side that comes with being an owner operator, you will not make it in this industry. If you want to become an owner operator to gain freedom but you’re afraid, you must build the courage to go do it! 

There is a price for freedom, and you must pay for it with pain! You would get to be free if all you had in you was a little bit of bravery. Only those that are courageous enough, only those that are willing to go all in on themselves, only those that seek a better life , will have the ability to buy and purchase their freedom. Company drivers might argue that they are free, that they can do whatever they want, but as soon as they step out of boundaries set by their employers, as soon as they speak out their minds, they get reeled back into their tiny circle or suffer the consequences. Company drivers could possibly make more money depending on their field, but they still have someone to answer to. They still have to wear the golden handcuffs every single day. I’m the head honcho. I’m the patron. Nobody tells me how and where to run. I’m the commander of my ship, the main driver of my truck. So what does it cost to be free? Pain!

If you’re not prepared for pain, you will never succeed in this industry.