What’s Your Jump Start?

An article written by a major publication in the transportation industry rocked the industry as it reported that one of the major carriers who have been in the industry for almost one hundred years decided to let go of all of their company drivers to move toward an owner operator driven company. This company has always been a staple of the industry and the news certainly sent rumbling throughout the industry. I feel for those poor drivers and am sure they will find work with another carrier. It got me to thinking, what makes a person wake up and decide to take their fate into their own hands? In this instance do the drivers find other driving positions, do they buy a truck and become business owners, or do they decide to retire from the industry with a fowl attitude and spread bad blood throughout. I certainly can understand the latter but don’t suggest it.

For myself the end of my employee cycle came in the corporate environment when I found they were looking for a puppet rather than someone who can grow a team and stand behind their decisions. Out of frustration I decided to make my mark on entrepreneurship a serious one and have never looked back. Do people wait for something bad to happen or do they go with the flow and continue down the same old road? There must be a time when you decide to take your life in your hands and grab control, but what sets that off? My calculation is that most will go into reaction mode and probably panic mode and will try to grab the first thing that comes along. They then get comfortable and forget about following their dream or future ambitions. Making sound decisions is the best way to attack the shock of a job and the people that have taken that step to do things right very rarely look back thinking they made a mistake. I personally am glad that I made the jump at the time to becoming an entrepreneur, it has opened a whole new world and allows me to grow in a way that is just not possible in a regular job no matter how well paid.

Once a company changes the culture through a major change it is usually never the same as it was before so the people that try to hold onto those jobs are normally disappointed that they didn’t move on. So I ask you what is your jump start? What makes you want to move on for yourself, take control of your destiny? Maybe it isn’t even entrepreneurship, I know not everyone is cut out for business but there are still ways of taking control of your future. Maybe this is the time to upgrade your skills, start a new position using you expertise or simply expand your horizons. People who lay flat waiting to see what happens will find they are left in the dust, talk to anyone who hasn’t upgraded their computer skills in the last decade. So here is the question to you, what is your jump start to a new life?

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is an entrepreneur, and business and leadership consultant for the transportation industry with over 30 years of experience. He is the author of the business books “Running By The Mile” and “How to Start an Artistic Business in 12 Easy Steps.” For more information on Bruce and his company please visit his website at www.outridge.ca