David J. Pollay

I'm a visual learner. Lessons that come with something I can picture have the tendency to stick better than just words. This book created that picture that I need to help me let the emotions that come from getting dumped on pass me by. I can see myself waving them goodby and wishing them well. It's a pretty simple concept, but certainly a lesson that I need in my life to prevent being dumped on and dumping on others. The idea that we can change isn't earth shattering, but for me is one that I need reinforced periodically. This gives me a tool to use.… (mer)

The Law of the Garbage Truck by David J. Pollay is your typical inspirational-speaker-seminar-turned-book publication. Pollay has a moment of clarity and vows to share his discovery with the world. In this case, his discovery is that negative energy begets negative energy. Or as he terms it, "Garbage Trucks" dump on others, which creates more "Garbage Trucks" and embroils the world in "The Garbage Cycle of Energy" instead of the "The Gratitude Cycle of Energy." Yeah... it's pretty much as hokey as it sounds, but the principles behind it are solid.

One day, Pollay was riding in a taxi in New York City when a car pulled out in front of them, almost causing an accident. While the driver of the other car yelled at them, the cab driver simply "smiled and waved". When Pollay asked the cab driver about his unconventional behavior, he said:

"Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me, you'll be happier" (pg. 19-20).

And that's really the crux of the book and the "Garbage Truck" concept as a whole.

I'll be honest, I didn't "read" this book as it was intended - "as a private journal, with a pen in hand" (pg. 15). Pollay includes lots of questions the readers are supposed to internalize and provides blank lines at the end of each chapter on which readers are supposed to "write down your 'top of mind' answers". I didn't do that. I did take the two quizzes in the middle of the book ("Are You a Garbage Accepter?" and "Are You a Garbage Dumper?") and then calculated and plotted my "Total Garbage Load." It was pretty low, so that's good.

The book went on longer than I thought it would. Every time I finished a chapter I thought that there couldn't possibly be anything else to say about the "Garbage Truck" concept. And then I started a new chapter. There was a lot of redundancy, but Pollay managed to show the "Garbage Truck" idea in different scenarios (work, family, school, etc.).

I like the concepts behind Pollay's "Garbage Truck" theory. It's all about choosing to be happy, turning the other cheek, and treating others as you wish to be treated. I don't think I'll be taking the "No Garbage Trucks! Pledge", making my home or workplace a "No Garbage Trucks! Zone", or buying any posters or DVDs, but the book was a good reminder to think before reacting and not to let your emotions get the best of you.… (mer)

To Dump or be Dumped upon, learn how to deal with negative people in your life.

One day David Pollay hopped in a taxi and took off for the airport. During the ride in a the right lane suddenly a car jumped out of a parking space right in front of the taxi. The taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of The other car whipped his head around and started yelling at the driver of the taxi. The taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. He was really friendly.

So David asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"
This is when the taxi driver taught David what he now calls
"The Law of the Garbage Truck"

Translated into nearly 50 languages, people from more than 100 countries have taken David's “No Garbage Trucks! Pledge.” All over the world people remember the focusing metaphor of the garbage truck for what can be achieved in life by not staking success and happiness on the behavior of others. Powerful and easily understood, The Law of the Garbage Truck will guide and inspire readers everywhere, every day.

Easy to understand "How to Respond to People Who Dump on You, and How to Stop Dumping on Others" is the main point in The Law of the Garbage Truck. Read this book, answer the questions after each chapter and apply this simple concept to change how you see negative people in your day to day life and how to respond to them. Feel less stress overall in your day, learn to love your life and even your job again. Learn to stay focused so you can complete your daily tasks and not lose sleep over others negativity. Let the garbage truck pass you by!

David explains how most disagreements we have with others are petty and we should not let it distract us and ruin our whole day. We need to stay focused on what is important to us and not let others trash redirect that path. Also David explains how we should not use this as an excuse to dump on others which causes them to pass it on. We are all connected in this world and by breaking the cycle and not passing the garbage on to others we make this world a better place for more people than we can ever imagine. Be kind to others especially when they are unkind, it truly is as simple as that.

Ironically my first test for The Law of the Garbage Truck came just before I sat down to write this book review. It happened right in my own home with my husband. My husband and I rarely have an disagreements and arguments so this was a true test for me. I asked him for a quick favor that would have taken him 2 seconds. Get up off the computer chair and look at something for me that was four feet away. He acted like he was just to busy at the moment to help. However I needed to email someone at that moment about this so it was a true priority for me. What he was working on would have taken at least half an hour. Well I went off on him and told him what I thought about him and also told him not to ask me for any favors again. blah, blah, blah. I then came downstairs ranting and raving. Sat in front of my laptop and looked at the new blog post I was working on which was of course The Law of the Garbage Truck.

When I get mad at my husband I will not speak to him for hours, as his guilt builds and he probes me to speak to him and I ignore him. So I waited he came downstairs spoke to me and I let all the anger lift away, I let it pass by and I answered him like nothing had just happened. He felt so bad he helped me clean the house and even vacuumed. His way of telling me he was sorry for not not giving me his attention.… (mer)