Some Stuff I've been thinking about

People pay me for career advice. I do my best to help people start over in business. I get to experience with them the rise of their companies from the blood, sweat and tears of their hard work. It is incredibly cool for someone to call me a year after they graduate to share with me their success. Their story is not, “I'm a millionaire”. It's “I am supporting myself moving five loads a day and I am happy.”

So what I am going to do today is share with you what Joy is all about and what I think about some stuff that has to do with stuff other than making money. I thought it may be too spiritual in nature then realized it was my blog and is about me so hey - deal with it...LOL

Regardless of what anyone thinks we should be in life, we should be honest and see clearly where we are. If we are in a place we don't want to be - we can make decisions to move in a different direction.

Every day ask God to give you the desires of your heart. It is impossible to earn his blessings. He wants to make you happy like you want to make your children happy except with God he is love with a much bigger concept of love than we can fathom. He is the perfect father. I wish my children could experience me as the perfect father but they can't. There is only one perfect father and he is God.

He wants you to have the desires of your heart. He gives you a roadmap and also gives grace realizing that we are human and we are not going to be perfect. Don't try to be. It will drive you insane and everyone who knows you already knows you’re not perfect. None of us are. It is the pursuit of perfection that causes addictions. Perfect is not an option in life. Give yourself a break. We are our own worse critic.
Give yourself permission to fail. Try new stuff. If you’re not failing at something - you’re not trying enough new stuff.

What GOD does not want is for you to be always unhappy, without joy and love.

You do have the right to be happy.

Get real and get honest and you will have a testimonial that will move people.

God knows what you need - he just wants you to be thankful, to ask, then wait and see what path he takes you down.

It may not be the path you planned or expected but trust me - He will lead, if you release everything to him. (Choose faith - Fear and Faith are exact opposites - where there is fear there is no faith.
Ask God for faith in the fearful areas of your life and then hold on for dear life. Enjoy the ride, week-to-week, day-to-day, and moment-to-moment. Once this day is gone -it's gone forever. Time can't be replaced. Make the most of your time. Why not? We are not here simply to consume - we are here to give. There are no happy takers, only happy givers. Attitude is everything; perseverance is a close second and focus on progress not perfection. I wish I could say I was a great example of doing everything right, I am not but I am very certain that these words are true.

It's not the messenger - it’s the message that is important. This message is to all of our daily readers. Our blog readership is substantial. I am honored and humbled.

I think this is what we are supposed to do and I also think we should laugh, smile and hope for the best. Take personal responsibility and live.

This is not meant to be a sermon.

Big thunderstorm in Texas right now - love thunderstorms. Faith and trust in the Almighty grows in the storms.


Jeff


Jeff Roach - President
Brooke Transportation Training Solutions
jroach@transportationtraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com

Pajama Education

One of the great things about online learning is the wardrobe. You can learn a whole new career in your pajamas. And you can pick a career that you can do in your pajamas, too!

As schools and colleges gear up for another semester reflect on what you’d like to learn about to expand your mind, learn new skills or change your career altogether. Today’s generation of students aren’t traditional in their approach to much of anything, including learning. If they can take a course using their computer at a beach, heck why not? Gatlin Education offers thousands of online courses through over 400 universities across the country and through my company Justintimefreight.com. At justinintimefreight.com you can sign up for any course including the freight broker course.

Gatlin Online Education, the largest provider of online courses in America and Brooke Transportation Training developed the Freight Broker Course. The course is interactive, includes animation and you can call the teacher (that would be me) with questions. With Gatlin you can train with your computer and the Internet anywhere. As a freight broker you can earn an excellent living with your computer and the Internet.

To sign up for an online course, or online career training log onto Justintimefreight.com or contact me. I find great joy in assisting other in finding the course or career that fits them. Traditional classroom learning was a challenge to me through my educational years. I understand and appreciate alternative approaches in education.

Moving forward,

Jeff Roach


Justintimefreight.com

Three things - Seven times

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back -
1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person -
1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose-
1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable -
1. Love
2. Family & Friends
3. Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain -
1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

Three things that make a person -
1. Commitment
2. Sincerity
3. Hard work

Three things that are truly constant -
Father - Son - Holy Spirit
I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today; to guide you and protect you,
as you go along your way. God's love is always with you; God's promises are true. And when you give God all your cares, you know God will see you through.
Moving forward,

Jeff Roach - President
Brooke Transportation Training Solutions
jroach@transportationtraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com

What Does a Freight Broker do all day?

If you are a new freight broker or considering freight brokering as a career, do you know how to productively fill your day? Plan out your day or it will plan itself. By making your own plan you will accomplish priorities you have set. If you let the day just run, who knows what will be accomplished by the end of the day. Here is a concise definition of a freight broker’s job and skills.

Cargo and freight agents coordinate and track incoming and outgoing cargo and freight shipments in airline, train, or trucking terminals or on shipping docks. An ideal freight broker can talk comfortably and intelligently to a company CEO and to a truck driver. They are not simply “middlemen” who add to the cost of shipping. Their biggest contribution is their ability to expedite the process with efficiency and reliability. They expedite shipments by determining the route that shipments are to take and by preparing all necessary shipping documents. Agents take orders from customers and arrange for the pickup of freight or cargo for delivery to loading platforms. They keep records of the cargo, such as its amount, type, weight, and dimensions. A valuable agent will note missing items, condition of damaged items, and excess supplies. Cargo and freight agents arrange cargo according to its destination. They also determine the shipping rates and other charges. They verify customs’ paperwork on imports and exports. Cargo and freight agents often track shipments electronically, using bar codes, and answer customers’ inquiries on the status of their shipments.

Much of a freight agent’s job is done via the computer. Typing, filing, recordkeeping, and other clerical skills are important. In house cargo and freight agents start out by checking items to be shipped, attaching labels to them and making sure that the addresses are correct,. As this occupation becomes more automated workers may need longer periods of training in order to master the use of the equipment. Cargo traffic is expected to grow faster than in the past, and so will the technologies developed to help in the process. Some recent technological advances include use of bar codes on cargo and freight which allows agents and customers to track shipments quickly over the Internet, rather than manually tracking their location. In addition, customers, reducing the need for cargo and freight agents, now can complete customs and insurance paperwork over the Internet. Buying over the Internet continues to grow which will result in more shipments. Jobs also will open up because of the increasing importance of same-day delivery, which expands the role of agents.

Training has become more important as the industry continues to evolve. We stay ahead of the curve and in touch so we can train others to succeed.

Moving Forward,

Jeff Roach,
www.brooketraining.com

Online Marketing

By Cindy Kapp, Brooke Training Marketing Consultant

I attended an all day Online Marketing Summit this past week. My brain was in information overload by the second hour. So how do you keep up with the hyper speed changing technology, on and off line? I’ve decided, I can’t keep up but I’m not throwing in the towel. I search for educational opportunities to at least help me understand terminology and what’s coming. Projections show that by 2010 all graduates will spend 100% of the day on the Internet. They have an “I want it now” expectation. Internet users are smart and incredibly impatient. So in business we have to figure out how to do things more instantaneously, simpler, no waiting. We must put customers’ needs and desires first over our own business goals. Websites must be easy to use. Know your customer and thus know what is most important to them. Make the most important thing the easiest to find on your site.

The fundamental way people do business has changed. They spend ¾ of the time online and ¼ offline. Hours online has surpassed hours watching TV (which used to be premier outline for advertising dollars). Websites need to be driven by the marketing eye rather than the IT eye. Browsers scan a website with their eyes not their mouse (so don’t hide things in drop down menus).

A hot term right now is Viral Marketing or word of mouth, online. Word of mouth has morphed into word of keyboard/monitor through chat rooms, blogs, email distributions and online discussion groups. Yet currently 99% of consumers read only, 1% comment or contribute. We get few comments on our Transportation Training blog but we know we have readers because of the analytics (technology that shows us how many readers we’ve had and where those readers are located). If you want to find a blog on something of interest to you or on your industry go to http://technorati.com/

America is lagging behind in mobile computing. Other countries mobile devises are more advanced and more used for computing, social networking and advertising.

These are a few of the interesting things I learned. So how does this relate to freight brokering? More and more of business in general will be done online so that is why our freight broker-training course teaches using the computer. We arm you with online resources. We have an online course. We recognize and try to adapt to the various ways of relating to our customer. But remember no matter what forecasts say, you have to get to know your customer to know the best way to meet their needs and communicate with them effectively (they may prefer the phone over an email).

Moving forward,

Cindy Kapp for Jeff Roach
Creativepursuits@ thekapps.net

Freight Broker Dictionary

After you’ve been working in this industry or any industry for that matter you use terminology and acronyms that are industry specific. I’ve started putting together a freight broker dictionary of terms students have asked me to define. If you hear a term you don’t understand tell me, I’ll shoot you a definition…or tell you I don’t have a clue what that means. Here are a few starter words important to understand as a freight broker:

Truck Supply or Truck Capacity - the availability of equipment for any given period.

On the fence - an empty trailer or tractor sitting on the

Loaded miles - trucks running with freight

Fuel surcharge – bonus paid to the broker then to the carrier to transport a hard to transport load.

Bid Package - forms a shipper will ask a broker to fill out to compare their rate per mile and other offerings to that of competitors. Each shipper has a unique package.

Spotted Equipment/spotted trailers - empty trailers left at a shipper's dock door to be loaded or unloaded at a specific time (=extra warehouse space for company)

Headhauls and backhauls, and hot zones - places and cities where you can find a truck easily and places you can't.

Moving Forward,

Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com

A Hard Lesson from my mentor Krish

Of all the advice I have been given over the years this may very well be the hardest one for me.

"Forgive those who hurt you while thanking them for the experience".

Krish Dhanam, Brooke guest speaker and mentor, says the unwritten part of this statement is that you do not thank the offender in person for the pain they have inflicted on you, you must thank them and forgive mentally. Unforgiveness does not hurt anybody but you because holding grudges fills you with bitterness. Forgiving gives freedom. Pain produces growth and maturity, for that we are thankful.

Forgiveness without gratitude is like a pen without ink. It is a good idea but actually worthless. God himself forgave us with grace and mercy for an eternity filled with promise.
Hans Selye, the great stress specialist, said gratitude is the most beneficial of all human emotions and anger and resentment the most destructive. Mahatma Gandhi said " an eye for an eye will leave the whole world blind.

These words came right out of Krish's book, The American Dream from an Indian Heart. I can tell you, I do not have this principle down yet. I am trying but not there yet. Thanks Krish for reminding me.

Funny thing about Krish - I have never left a meeting with him feeling bad. Whenever he comes and speaks to the Brooke Training class, all my students tell me the same thing.

thank you Krish! (krish@krishdhanam.com)

Moving forward,

Jeff


Brooke Transportation Training Solutions
jroach@transportationtraining.com
www.transportationtraining.com
www.brooketraining.com
www.justintimefreight.com