All posts by Keith Thompson

Being a little embarrassed

Family, Life

Have you ever done something you are little embarrassed about?

A couple of weeks ago we were going to a graduation party at my sister in law’s house. Elaine was driving her car and I was driving separate. My sister in-law and her family live in a fairly rural area with country roads and limited traffic. I had the top down on the Shelby (by myself) and the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Well I looked up ahead and didn’t see another car for at least a mile so I dropped the hammer on that Shelby. It almost scared me when the road had a little rise in it because I hit that little rise running about 110 and almost caught some air under the tires. A half a mile further there was an old 4 way stop sign. I eased through that 4 way and looked up ahead again and saw only one slow car ahead of me. I dropped the hammer again and pulled out to pass the slow car. When I went by him, I was going so fast that other car wiggled like you do if you get a chill. Burr!!

Well I got to the party and pulled up slow to the front of the house and started to walk down the long driveway. About half way down the driveway I realized I had left my cell phone in the car and went back to get it.

Yes you guessed it. When I got back to my car, the slow car I had blown by was just pulling up to the party and it was my nephew and his new wife. Ha. I thought oh my lord, here I am supposed to be setting an example for the younger generation and I just got caught like I was driving in a NASCAR race.

Needless to say, we had a good laugh about it but I was a little embarrassed and did drive more reasonable on the way home. That said, it was still fun. KT

My friend Terrell

Life

At a time in our world where the issues of race, age, health, gender, etc. take center stage, it is so nice to just be one person having a friendship with another.

My friend Terrell helps bag the groceries at our local Publix. Terrell is a young black man about 19 years old with a severe speech impediment, hearing aids, and a heart that is as big as Georgia. He is my bud. Every time I go into the store, he will see me, hug my neck and then we do our own little special handshake. When he talks to me, I really have to listen close to understand when he tells me about what is going on in his life. He is so full of joy that it is contagious to be around him. When he talks, you can see right into his soul and know he has no animosity, anger, strife and harbors no ill will toward anyone. He is just Terrell.

I love the young man because the world is simple to him and uncluttered by all the stuff the media tells us to believe and feel. For him, it is just about being friends. The other day I was in the store and he came up to me for a hug and then went to the man in line behind me for another hug. Everybody loves Terrell, and he makes a visit to the grocery store something to look forward to.

I think it is a beautiful thing to see people of all backgrounds, race and religion be able to get along and enjoy each other the way God intended it to be. If we could all be like Terrell, the world would be a much better place to live. KT

Keeping it going

Career

In business, one of the most difficult things to do is to keep the business going. Over the years, there have been so many companies that were really great for a season, but then just lost their way. They lost their competitive edge and more importantly, they lost their vision.

Let’s name a few recognizable companies that have either failed or almost failed. Blackberry, Edsel, Studebaker, Swissair, Woolworth’s, Sharper Image, Enron, Polaroid, Wang computers, Commodore computers, Kmart, Pan Am, Eastern Airlines, Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers, to name few.

In most every example above, the company had a good product and market niche, but they somehow lost sight of the overall company objective. In many cases, they just tried to be something they were not and in almost every case, the company leadership sat back and believed they had a product that didn’t need any updates and would remain successful in its present state. These companies either did not see the market changing or refused to accept that the market was changing.

Let’s also name a few companies that launched failed products but were able to rebound and survive. New Coke, Sony Betamax, Coors Spring Water (yep, the beer maker,) Apple Newton, Microsoft Zune (like an iPod,) and HP Touchpad, to name a few.

These companies launched a failed product, but they didn’t bet the future of the company on it. Take two opposite products views: Fritos and Chevrolet. Fritos is a product that tastes the same way as it did when it was invented in 1932. Chevrolet, on the other hand, doesn’t look or feel at all like it did when the brand was invented in 1911. In fact, it doesn’t even look like it did 5 years ago. The important thing is to know if you have a product that will stand the test of time or if you have a product that will continually change.

The point is that in business, everything you do may not be as successful as you envision it. The real issue is how to keep the company alive and move forward with its core business and core beliefs still intact. It all comes down to one incontrovertible truth: know what you are good at and keep improving in that area. It is ok to take side streets every now and then and to try new things, but it is important to always keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t lose sight of the business model or product that launched your company, and try the best you can to improve in that area frequently. Keep the vision of the company in first place, and with every new idea or change, always ask yourself if this decision will help or hurt the overall future and vision of the company. KT

Will you dance with me?

Family, Life

A couple of weeks ago we had all the family over to our house for dinner. At our house my two little granddaughters have clothes, toys, gamed etc. Elaine also bought them these fancy ball gowns that they like to dress up in.

After dinner that night the girls wanted to go put on the fancy gowns. We were sitting around the table when the girls walked in wearing the dresses. My oldest granddaughter (6 years old) came over to me and asked me to dance with her. I was finishing a conversation with her mother and was getting up from the table and she asked me again. I stopped and looked at her and said, I would love to dance with you.

At that moment I realized that was a special moment I needed to be in. Let me say that again. At that moment I realized that was a special moment I needed to be in. My little baby girl was asking her grandfather to dance with her. We did the dance where you hold your arms out like a Heisman trophy winner and I sang a song while we danced. It was so tender and so special. Then my youngest granddaughter (3 years old) also wanted to dance so I held her little hands and sang the song again and danced with my littlest baby girl.

That moment in time will stay with me for the rest of my life.

What are the moments you need to be paying attention to? Trust me when I tell you that later in life, those big sales, job promotions, money in bank, titles etc. will mean nothing. What you will remember are the moments like dancing with your granddaughters. KT

Our Identity

Life

There are many many stories of people we all know who went from a rough childhood to accomplishing something great with their life. I am not going to list any names because that would defeat the purpose of this blog post.

If you were hurt at some point in your life, the one theme that will change your life is the realization that:

It is not about them, it’s about me.

That right. Your identity is based on how you see yourself. Not where you came from but where you are.

There are simply things you cannot change in your past but you can decide (yes, you decide) to move forward with your life and create the life you want to be remembered for. Remember the Apostle Paul? He is the one that wrote the majority of the New Testament. His previous name was Saul and he persecuted, tortured and killed Christians and was doing so until he met the man Jesus. He decided that moment to change his life.

He is quoted as saying, “I do not consider myself to have laid hold of it, but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and pressing toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”

You could spend 5 years in therapy and still never grasp the real answer of dealing with your past. The answer lies in what Paul did and said. “I cannot change my past rather all I can change is my future.” The life we want and the life we want for our family is our decision. It is not our parents or grandparents decision. It is ours and ours alone.

If you are still dealing your past, I would not let the sun go down again until you have made the decision to stop letting it hold you back from your real purpose in life. KT