Living Life by Design

Back in the mid 1980’s I was selling commercial trucks for Trans-West Ford in Fontana, Ca. When I started, I knew absolutely nothing about trucks. My formal training consisted of my boss (on my first day of work) showing me where my desk was, pointing out the phone and the phone book, then telling me with a smile, “Now, go make my house payment.” 

I opened the phone book to find local businesses to call. I made a list and started calling. That’s how my 23 year truck sales journey began. I absolutely loved it. I was in control of how much effort I wanted to put into each day. I set my own pricing for the trucks I sold. It didn’t take long for me to discover I could make a lot more money selling used trucks. When someone sold a used truck the sales guys would ask, “What did you hook?” Each $1,000 you made in profit was considered a pound. So, if you said, “I hooked a 10 pounder,” you made $10,000 profit for the company. 30% of the total was my commission.

It was not uncommon for some of the more experienced salespeople to hook 15 or 20 pounders on some of the higher priced over the road tractors. That never set well with me. For all the time I sold trucks I struggled with keeping a balance between wanting to make money doing what was right for the buyer. I never wanted to take advantage of anyone even though there was an opportunity to make huge money. I wanted long term relationships with my clients built on trust.

Doing what is right in difficult situations in the workplace is a huge challenge. In his book*, God at Work,* Ken Costa writes, ‘There are right and wrong choices… all the invented terms such as “inappropriate” and “counterproductive” are efforts to avoid the simple ethical fact that there is a right and wrong course of action.’ It was simply wrong to reel in 15 to 20 pounders in my mind. 

The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of convenience, but where they stand in moments of challenge, opportunity or moments or crisis. It seemed like every time I priced a truck, I had a moment of crisis. I didn’t get it right every time. I got greedy and made mistakes.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Paul writes, ‘Never tire of doing what is right.’ Jesus did not go for the easy or popular solution, but he always did the right thing. This is an important principle that runs throughout the entire Bible.

Stand firm today. Do the right thing…