Hi all. I had a great time in Key West learning more about the new products we have coming. I appreciate our managers continuing to help educate us to make BASF the BEST team in the industry. It was great seeing colleagues, and meeting new ones.
Target specialty products had a three day meeting that traveled around to different sites called Target Turf & Ornamental field days. It is a situation where you set up outside and the group is then divided into seven to ten groups to travel the park and visit field demonstrations.
I presented to about six to nine groups. I discussed Pendulum AquaCap herbicide on mulch for superior weed control—Fred Eckert and I have made it a personal quest to tell T & O people about how good AquaCap is on mulch. The other participants were Bayer, Dow, Aquatrols, and some local small specialty companies. I also talked about Drive herbicide for weed control. It always amazes me that more people are not aware of the benefits of this great product.
I know this is the second time, in as many months, that I have included a life lesson, but I thought it was important to share with the group. I hope it has some influence on your day to day lives.
The Garbage Truck Rule
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’ This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’ He explained that 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 need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so…. ‘Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.’
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
What a great philosophy!
