Work is man’s best friend – Lila West, Rock Hill, N.C.
Life is a long line of opportunities. Wealth is not about making money, but in making the man while he is making money. Production, not destruction, leads to success – John Wicker
Yeah, I know, I am a slug for not keeping up with my blog. I got it, now let’s move forward.
About 5 weeks ago I was flying to Houston for two speaking engagements (I know, ‘who would want to listen to a hick trucker talk?’) and had the opportunity to sit next to a wonderful person. Now I know I should have known something was special immediately when boarding in the final section of SW Cattlecar airlines, there in aisle 1, was a middle seat. I asked the gentleman (who did not look up) and a sweet elderly lady if I may sit there and she said yes.
Little did I know that she would be the highlight of not only my day but my year. As I told her my story, she became more and more excited. This was sweet because this was a 82 year old black grandmother. She held my forearm and asked questions and by the end of the short flight, she told me something that has been pricking my brain ever since. She said, ‘You keep talking to people, Mr. Cain. You have something that people need to hear’. Thank you Lila West, you have made a difference in my life.
A couple of weeks later after returning from two other speaking engagements (roll earlier hick comment) I find on my desk a large envelope full of quotes, newspaper articles on Lila and her own personal copy of ‘ The Richest Man in Babylon’ by George S. Clason. Now even though I am self-depreciating, there are times I consider myself a captain of industry. But reading this simple 100 page book opened my eyes to a number of things I have doing wrong for decades. This was Lila’s own personal copy that she had had for years, with notes and highlights and underlines throughout. It is a true treasure to me. Thank you Lila, I am now following the 5 rules of gold.
One of the common things I have noticed over the past year is the number of opportunities that have come my way. I am certain that Karma is making up for lost time by giving me more opportunities in one month than came my way in 3 decades. But I also believe that I am becoming more aggressive in dealing with every opportunity that comes my way.
Barite is a difficult product to come by and is absolutely vital in the drilling industries. In the past 4 months I have had two very reputable men come to me and ask that I handle their barite out of their mines in Mexico. I have been smart enough (at least I make that statement at this point) to try to send these opportunities to others that are skilled in this area. I am keeping my focus of the core of our business: the transportation of drilling materials, and the sale/lease of oilfield equipment. We are turning the corner on both of these ends and look good to double our revenue by the end of the year. Since we have shown 500 percent growth in the last 12 months, I think we are on track to achieve all the goals set out in our business plan.
We are opening up a 10 acre terminal in Odessa this month. This should cement Lake Truck Lines entrance into the Permian Basin from April. We should start having our first oilfield equipment in stock by the end of August in Odessa as well.
The first Joe P. Cain Excellence Scholarship Award was presented two weeks ago at the Desk and Derrick Club and I was so very impressed with the first recipient. Please look at the videos on the website for that evening. It was quite special.
I spoke at 4 different events over the past month and made many acquaintances and business contacts. In fact I head on Tuesday to see Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad in Ft. Worth for doing the hauling of approximately 1000 truckloads of frac sand a month out of SA.
Production, not destruction, leads to success. I am glad I have all my self-destructive tendencies behind me. No procrastination, no excuses……just making the most of every opportunity. Thank you Ms. Lila West for the all the wisdom you imparted on me in a 50 minute flight.
Until next week……