Tag: Motivational

Get Busy Liv’n…Or Get Busy Dying!

So, I was watching Miami Ink maybe a year ago (guilty as charged) and on the episode I was watching they had a guy who got a tattoo which said “Get busy liv’n or…Get busy dyin”.  How much would I shock everyone if I all of a sudden showed up with a skull and snake tattoo?  Don’t worry, I’m not getting a tattoo any time soon, common me with a tattoo?  It is interesting to watch that show because people tend to get tattoos after life altering experiences, don’t they?  Anyway, the point of writing this is to ask yourself this: Are you getting busy living or busy dying? So many people go through life feeling sorry for themselves, don’t be one of them.

You only get one life to live, so get busy living, people!

  • “Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us.” — Thomas L. Holdcroft
  • Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking, whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still. — Lou Erickso
  • And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.– Abraham Lincoln
  • Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling.– Claude Pepper
  • It is not length of life, but depth of life. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies. — Ann Landers
  • Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyways. — Anonymous

Never Let the Garbage Truck Run Over You (Email I Received)…

The Law of the Garbage Truck

How to Keep Others’ Negativity from Affecting You

Garbage Truck

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? However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what’s important.

David J. Pollay explains his story in this way….

The Taxi Cab Story

Sixteen years ago, I learned this lesson. 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, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches!

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. 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 almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”

“

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 if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did.

“

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, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”

Life Principles to Remember

Life is Short

Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.

Value Good Relationships

Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t.

Trust the Journey

Believe that everything happens for a reason.

Never let the garbage truck run over you….

Applying the Law in Daily Life

At Work

  • Respond to criticism professionally without internalizing negativity
  • Avoid office drama and gossip chains
  • Focus on solutions rather than problems

In Relationships

  • Set healthy boundaries with chronically negative people
  • Choose not to take others’ bad moods personally
  • Be empathetic without absorbing emotional toxicity

In Public

  • Stay calm during traffic incidents or rude encounters
  • Smile and move on from unpleasant interactions
  • Remember that most negative behavior isn’t about you

Your Thoughts?

Have you encountered any “garbage trucks” recently? How did you handle the situation, and how might you apply this law in the future?