Monday Musings 02.23
There is immense value in silence. When we turn down the volume on the external noise, we make room for so much more to happen.
Truthfully, this is Sunday musings, as most of this was written yesterday. However, it seemed more appropriate to publish on a Monday. So here we are, Monday Musings.
Sundays with my boys are my favorite. It’s the one day of the week when we feel like we do everything with intent. We don’t rush. It’s quieter. It feels more peaceful. We read more. We pray more. And we play more! My phone is on do not disturb most of the day. I try not to think about work, my crazy schedule, or project deadlines. *Hard emphasis on try.
As Sunday is ending, there’s a sadness that always creeps in. I pray with my boys, tuck them in, then find myself longing for every day to be a bit more like Sunday.
This is my first Lenten season as a Catholic. In preparing for it, I kept coming back to the question, how can I make every day a little more like Sunday?
The answer arrived rather quickly. Turn down the noise.
My days are busy. Between my full-time job, side projects through Highway Veritas, and two little boys, my life is 5th gear pinned, wide-open.
Social media is by far my greatest source of noise. Posting, scrolling, scheduling, talking, podcasts, shows, answering DMs, and so on. Social media is not bad. In fact, my efforts in posting on social media have been incredibly fruitful. However, for my interior life, right now, it’s a bit too loud.
No, I’m not completely stepping away from social media for 40 days, deleting the apps on my phone, or announcing a dramatic exit. That wouldn’t drive lasting change in my life, but I am going to turn the volume down.
There is immense value in silence. When we turn down the volume on the external noise, we make room for so much more to happen. St. Faustina wrote in her diary about the necessity of silence:
A talkative soul lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others.
So, practically speaking, here’s my plan. Thursday night X Spaces and late-night guest appearances are going on pause.
Friends, I love our conversations on Thursday evenings. I enjoy hearing your thoughts on the issues in the freight world. I love answering questions. There is great value in conversing with one another, and I truly enjoy facilitating those conversations. But for now, for Lent, I’m logging off social media earlier in the evenings. I’m not sure what the plan will be after Lent, but I know we’ll figure it out!
When I deliberately create space for quiet, my brain floods with ideas. Like this one.
That’s Fraud! The Game
Over the last 12 months, I’ve studied fraud patterns. I’ve watched how fraudsters move through systems with surprising ease. I’ve seen where automation works, and where it fails. Algorithms can’t always catch the bad guys. Automated rules sometimes push the good guys out. There’s a strong need for intervention via human intelligence and intuition. That’s Fraud! was built with all of this in mind.
The game is meant to be strategic and educational. There’s one challenge per day. My hope is to facilitate a pause before a quick reaction that labels someone the bad guy or the good guy.
If we’re going to fight fraud, we have to do it intelligently. And if we are going to protect the credibility of this industry, we have to learn the difference between instability and deceit.
A pep talk.
We live in a self-centered age, and loquaciousness seems to be the norm, especially on social media. We’re in our own curated worlds typing away, often neglecting to pause for a few seconds and consider how our words will impact those who read them.
Being a voice in and for the trucking industry carries great responsibility. None of us should take it lightly. In this echo chamber of social media, we are often the conductors of a one-way conversation read by thousands. Sure, drama draws attention and gets impressions, but that’s about it. It doesn’t add value, nor does it advance anything that is good. On the contrary, it is the greatest distraction from truth and can erode credibility quickly.
Much could be said apropos of the social media circus, but that’s not why we’re here. This is a pep talk.
If we want to leave this industry better than we found it, then our voices should reflect that intention. This doesn’t mean we avoid difficult conversations or hard truths. It does, however, mean we deliver them without ego, theatrics, or turning stewardship into performance.
There are times to speak up, times to post, times to respond, and times to just be quiet. We must remember that our mission is bigger than this theater of shadows. May we have the courage to speak with prudence, and the humility to remain silent when speech would serve only our pride.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it. ―G.K. Chesterton
Danielle. Saw you interviewed on Survival Dispatch. You and Chris talked about 40% of big rig drivers being foreign, often no CDL, non-English speaking. And the door signage and wonky DOT numbers. Today was on I-16 west out of Savannah, GA. The number of connex boxes on trailers is staggering. I began paying attn to tractor door signage. Yup. Some really ragged. Pasted over others. Sloppy number placement. And just plain dirty and sloppy work. Hard to see drivers from left lane but did see one appearing really out of place and he saw he looking at him. I will pay more attention from here on out. On I-75 N now. We always run 75, 65, 94 & 43 on our Tennessee-Wisconsin trips.