Most of my long-term friends are all getting older, In business, it’s important to know when to step off the dance floor. If you are in the Military, there is a mandatory age limit of service. You don’t get a choice. If you are Warren Buffett, you just keep going as long as you believe you can contribute to the success of the company. For many others, it is your choice when you hang up your cleats.

Purpose, influence, and relevance are key to understanding when the time is right. I have seen many people stay longer than they should. Most of these do so out of ego and pride. The key discussion points start with purpose- do you still have objectives to grow the company, influence – do people still respond to you and most important is relevance – are you still relevant in your business. There is no shame in stepping back and in fact, I have been told by many people that it is one of the greatest changes in your life.

I can’t tell you how many companies go forward with greater results after the patriarch retires. I could name 20 companies right now where the next in line just waited until it was their turn. When it came, the wisdom and energy of youth took over and propelled the company to greater heights.

If you are on the dance floor (business setting) and you are dancing slow while everyone else is moving to a faster beat, it may be time to reconsider if it is your time. A very smart person (my oldest daughter) once told me that the key is to already be involved in the next act before you let go of the first act. Sound advice for anyone who is nearing the age of decision.

If you have the luxury of making a retirement decision on your own, asking yourself the three questions above may just help you make the right decision.  KT

There have been many movies made about traveling back in time and while they are interesting to think about, the truth is there is no time travel. We get one shot at being who we were meant to be. That’s it. One go, one time and one shot.

If you could go back in time, knowing the future might at first seem to be exciting, but knowing the future carries with it many tears and heartbreak. If you knew the day the lord would call you home, what a terrible existence that would be. If you knew you will lose a loved one on a certain day, how very awful that would be because there wouldn’t be anything you could do to change it.

Sure, you could make great amounts of wealth by knowing the future, but could you alter the life timing of those you love. The answer is no, you couldn’t.

We could all do well to imagine we know the future of those around us because it would force us to take note, focus, listen and love deeply those family members while we have them with us. I believe if we knew the future we would take the time to listen and show love without hesitation and hug your family members and make sure they know you love them.

I can honestly say that if I could choose any time period to live in or travel back to, it would be now. Right where I am at. I think that in itself is a great blessing. Sure, I wouldn’t have made some of the decisions I made in the past but all those decisions are part of where I am today. I wouldn’t trade today for anything. KT

In life, there are many times we go through a slow periods or down cycles that at the time, seem like they will never end. These could be personal, financial, relationship, business or social. We all have had these periods in our life, but the question is what to do when faced with one.

The answer is I don’t know, or at least I don’t know what the answer may be for you. All I can tell you is my experience. When I went through one of the darkest valleys in my life back when I had the restaurants, I didn’t need motivation from books, sermons, speeches etc. I didn’t want to hear some quote from people in the past. All that is good and noble, but it wasn’t what I needed or depended on.

All I needed to get through the period was the eyes of my wife and my two daughters who believed in me. When I came home and saw their faces, that was all I needed. They loved me and believed in me and that my friend was how I got through the restaurant phase in my life. Side note, if Chick-Fil-A offers you a store, say yes. If you want to invest in some other form of restaurant, the answer should be three words. No thank you. Ha

When you’re in the dark hole in one of life’s valleys and can’t see out, it is there that you really find out who you are and what you believe in. I remember (still makes me cry) telling God if he would get me out of that situation, I never again make the same decision and would forever give him the praise for it. He did his part and I have always given him the praise. It changes a person when you go through a deep valley. You come out much more wise, thoughtful and grateful.

That is what worked for an uneducated hotel broker that stutters. It keeps you humble knowing how close you came to losing it all. In conclusion, it was the belief my wife and daughters had in me, that helped me see out of the valley and get through the rough spot. KT

Presents – When you are a child, you get big presents like a gym set, bicycles, basketball goal, play kitchen or a battery power car to ride in. The older you get, the presents for birthday and Christmas get smaller. Later in life it may be a tie or a pair of socks but regardless, it will fit into a little bitty box. Side note – For our older children and son in-laws I still like to buy them at least one toy to relive their childhood.

Clothes – For guys (not ladies) the older you get the less clothes you need. Guys could go on a four-day trip with two changes of clothes. We just seem to wear the same ones several times before washing them. When we all were in high school, you had to have something different on every day to mix it up. You never got caught wearing the same shirt two days in a row. When you get to be an older guy (again, not ladies) we can wear the same jeans four days in a row and the truth of it is, we don’t care what other people think.

Food – for guys, when we find something we like, we can eat it every day for a week and love it as much at the end of the week as at the beginning. Older folks do not like their restaurant server to be new and in training because the order usually comes out wrong. Elaine and I have this thing we say when this happens, and it involves my brother in-law.

Technology – when you get older you just want it to work. You don’t care about all the new functions in your latest update. We just want to do what we want to do and let the young folks figure out all the bells and whistles.

Entertainment – A guy may watch reruns of Andy Griffith. Jesse Stone and NCIS multiple times and be as happy as can be. Guys can read the same book several times and enjoy it as much the 2^rd time as the 1^st time. All we want is for Prime and Netflix to work when we push the button. We don’t care about all the new categories and favorites etc. We go to the “continue watching” section and we are good to go.

Standing in line – as we get older, we don’t like standing in line at the Starbucks behind someone ordering 10 different drinks with five adjectives each for their office staff. We want to walk in and go straight to the counter and get our coffee. No flavors, no whips or swirls, toppings etc. Just coffee. We like to use the terms, small, medium and large, not the fancy names the store wants you to use. I had this barista one time that made it her mission to make me use the term “grande” instead of medium. I told her to look at the three cups and with her own wisdom, pick the one she thinks is the medium. She gave me a Venti just for spite. Ha

Traffic – it is a fact of life if you drive, but older people seem a little more relaxed and acceptant because we are not in the same “hurry up” phase of life as when we were young.

Love and family – As we all get older, this is the area of our life where we like to spend more time and more focus on. Our spouse, children and grand children take center stage in our life and in our hearts. The older we get the more important family becomes because we are not thinking about business with the same intensity we once were.

There are many advantages to getting older. Social Security, lower insurance cost through Medicare, driving an old truck without trying to impress anyone, eating what you want, watching what you want, taking naps when you want, more free time and living life to the fullest. Age has its advantages and hopefully everyone reading this blog over age 60 can relate to some of the content. KT

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan gave a Veteran’s Day speech. In that speech he quoted a sentence that made headlines. He said, “Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The U.S. Marines don’t have that problem.” 

I loved that man and the American example he stood for.

I was not in the Marine Corps, but it sure felt like it. I was in the Navy and the unit I was assigned to spent half of our time dressed in a Marine uniform with Navy insignia and drilled with the Corps. It was like I was in both.

As the country observed Veterans Day this past Saturday, November 11^th, civil and global unrest was covering the news. Knowing that we have service members like the Marines, Army, Navy and Air Force out there keeping the US safe, it should humble us that we can live freely at home, spend time with our family and go to a public place of worship without persecution. Those are the freedoms many people seem to overlook and take for granted.

If you see a service member, thank them. Retired or active duty, it doesn’t matter. KT