The Law of the Garbage Truck

David J. Pollay is a motivational speaker and a columnist. David could have been like any other speaker if he had not encountered a strange incident, twenty years back. Let’s read it in the words of David...

“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 brakes, 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. And 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!”

When David narrated this incident in one of his columns, it was an instant hit. Thousands of blogs have adopted it for their readers and millions of readers felt fascinated with the anecdote. David himself was so overwhelmed by the impact of this story that he has written a huge book basing on the ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck’.  The book was an instant success. People began to pledge that they won’t become a Garbage Truck. The law of the Garbage Truck has become a metaphor that reminds of important things in life that we often ignore in the light of futile emotions.

- Nirjara.