I heard a funny story about a farmer who had a mule name Caesar that fell into an abandoned well fifty feet deep. The farmer really loved this old mule. When he surveyed the situation, he realized there was no way to rescue old Caesar.
The well was very narrow, and Caesar was crammed at the bottom. The mule had not moved or made a sound. The farmer figured Caesar had died in the fall. As much as it bothered him to give up on the mule, he was a practical farmer. He decided to leave Caesar at the bottom of the well and fill it up with dirt.
The farmer called some of his friends to help shovel dirt down the well. The first shovel load of dirt woke up Caesar, who’d been knocked out. When the mule felt the next load of dirt hit his back, he realized what was going on. BUT instead of letting him be buried, Caesar shook it off.
Every time a load of dirt hit his back, the mule shook his body tossing the dirt to his hooves. He would them step out of it.
Caesar kept it up. Shake and step. Shake and step. After nearly an hour of shoveling dirt, the farmer and his helpers were stunned to see Caesar’s ears appear at the top of the well. It was then that they realized the mule was not dead so they kept shoveling until the old mule stepped out of the well and walked to freedom.
As that wise mule figured out, the same dirt that could bury you also could be your salvation. Your attitude should be “I may be down, but I’m not staying down”. This difficulty or hard time was meant to destroy you or maybe harm you; however, I Want YOU to be like Caesar! How you handle your adversities will make or break you.
Listen to me. If you get bitter and lose your enthusiasm, the difficulties of life will bury you. We need to learn to “shake off” and “step over”. Don’t let the economy or the political stuff in Washington get you down . . . . BECAUSE it will.
Remember, we all have the same windy, eerie days in our lives, but it is those of us who know how to set the sails that will win the race. I think we in the towing business forget we have ups and downs. The problem is that most of us want ups and more ups, with no downs. Life is not that way. We need to be a Caesar the Mule. We can do everything in our power to avoid negative experiences, but they have a way of finding us.
I heard one tow truck driver say, “Some days you’re the pigeon; some days you’re the statue”. When tough times come, many people don’t respond well. That is why learning to turn negatives into positives is essential.
I hope I see all of you at the Florida Tow Show April 9th – 12th. TRAA will have lots of meetings going on during the Florida Tow Show. Mark your calendar for Thursday, April 9th, 2015 from 10AM to Noon. All state towing associations will be invited to participate in an association round table to discuss mutual issues, share their wisdom and knowledge with other states and network. This will be an opportunity for the state associations to interact with TRAA so that they can better serve their affiliate state members.
That Thursday night is the famous “Meet & Greet”, 5 to 7PM and the next day is the TRAA Annual Board Meeting and General Membership Meeting. All this is at the Florida Tow Show. If you look for me, I’m in the CARPART.com booth – outside in the Sun. Come by and get a free gift from the Tow Doctor. See you there.
