It is no secret that I am big on education, having put myself through a four-year university while I was running regional in the Western United States in the latter years of my trucking career. I am a strong believer in continuing education, but it does not necessarily have to be through a college or school. There are a lot of ways to educate yourself about trucking success, whether from the cab of your truck or by attending industry events. Team Run Smart is a shining example of how to do it from the convenience of your computer, smartphone, or tablet! I also highly recommend people stay involved in the industry by attending events where they can be kept up to speed on the business climate of the trucking industry.
This week I had the distinct privilege of attending the CCJ Summer Symposium in La Jolla, California. From the outside looking in, many may feel as I did prior to attending, in that these events seem to focus a lot on issues more important to larger carriers and not so much the "little guy". That assumption could not be further from the truth and was 
witnessed first-hand with my being able to attend. As a single-truck owner-operator, I never thought I would be able to contribute ideas or have my opinion valued so much as it was for those three days. Not only that, but there was a lot of very valuable information to be taken away in regards to things such as the regulations, recruiting practices, as well as the current state and future outlook of the country's current economic climate.
The event kicked off with a charity golf tournament, benefitting scholarships for those continuing their education within the trucking industry, which offered a great way to break the ice amongst this group of industry professionals from all over the country. I was fortunate enough to be paired with a wonderful man who just so happens to be one of the 
most influential and highly recognized names within trucking media, as well as his colleague. Being slightly intimidated by this at first, it was nice to see very quickly how interested they were in seeing things from my perspective as a single-truck owner-operator. After I had the golf game of my life, it was back to the actual event location for an opportunity to meet some more very big hitters from within the trucking world at the exhibit area opening and reception.
The second day of this event was filled with a vast amount of knowledge to soak up about the goings-on within trucking. Kicking off with a keynote address from Ben Stein (yes, "Bueller? Bueller?") on economic climate and continuing throughout the day with various breakout sessions and key supplier presentations, it was a lot of information that was extremely useful to any size trucking operation. A nice touch was the fact that all of these sessions were open to questions from all attendees, whether you were a one truck operation, small fleet, or mega-carrier representative. The last day contained a couple more presentations on some very heavy-hitting topics and then it was time to get my rear back in the seat and into the real world of hauling for a living!
Make time to stay “in the know” and educate yourself. If you have the time for a formal education, whether it is college or even finishing up a GED at night school, be sure to take that extra step to better yourself and your business. If not, then at least be sure to get the most out of industry functions like this symposium and seminars at truck shows, so that you don’t get left behind in our rapidly changing industry.