All posts by Keith Thompson

There is only one you

Career, Life

We all have at least one thing that sets us apart from everyone else. At least one relatable, identifiable and memorable characteristic. This is important. In business and in life, this should not be taken lightly and never overlooked. In a time when many people wished they were like someone else or tried to imitate someone else, they are missing one of the most important aspects of their life. It is the thing that makes you different.

It could be the way you smile, the look of and in your eyes, your mannerisms, the cadence of your speech, the tone of your voice, the way you walk, the way you focus when spoken to, the spirit that resides in you, the ability to gain trust, your height, your hair or no hair, your handshake and the list could go many pages long. In my case there is so much to choose from. Ha, but it is probably my speech. I stutter. Years ago I used to think it was a detriment to my life but I later realized that it very well could be the thing that makes people listen harder (ha) and even possibly remember me. I have often thought that if I spoke like everyone else, there would not be a differentiating characteristic about me and I could have very well failed in business. It could be the one gift that God put in me as a child. Many times it didn’t seem like a gift but sometimes the very thing that you think is holding you back, could be the very thing that sets you apart.

Think of people you know, like and trust and really ask yourself, what is it that makes them different and makes me like them? What you will realize is that there are nuances about that person that you could never copy or duplicate even if you tried. By trying to copy that person, you would lose the uniqueness of your gift. That thing that you and only you have. I believe God gave us all a uniqueness that no one in the world has, except you. I have seen identical twins that may look alike but even then, they each have nuances about themselves that clearly sets them apart from their twin.

There are many slogans that include the words, be yourself. As simple as that statement is, it could be one of the smartest statements ever made. KT

The greatest role of a business leader

Career

The greatest role and best mindset of a business leader is that of a servant versus a king. Very few people will follow a self-centered and self-serving business leader. We have all seen leaders that act like the king only to look up one day and realize they have lost the trust and faith of the company.

I remember one of the most impressionable business moments I ever had. We were meeting Johnny Morris who founded Bass Pro Shops in their Springfield Missouri headquarters. We were walking with Johnny through the call center which probably had about 200 people in cubicles. It was clearly not planned, but as Johnny walked through, people started standing up to say hello to him. They ignored all of us. Ha. What I saw was Johnny calling every person by name and asking about their spouses and children by name. I have never been more impressed by a leader. We then got to the board room, there were probably 12 people at the meeting and everyone was talking about various things when Johnny spoke up to start the meeting. He spoke so quietly that we all had to lean forward just to hear the man. The meeting went well but I learned one of the most valuable business lessons that day. The best leaders take on the role of serving the employees and company rather than acting like a king.

This is good lesson for families, churches, civic organizations and business. Too often we see the self-centered leader trying to lead through control, intimidation and fear. These people almost always fail in the long term. People may tolerate it for a while, but in the end, people want to work with people they trust and believe in. I can tell you that the greatest leaders I have ever met didn’t have arrogant attitudes, big diamond rings and slicked back gelled hair. They were all approachable transparent real people who didn’t need to impress anyone.

Even our savior took on the role of a servant when he could have clearly called a legion of angels and took on the role of a king. KT

Who cares?

Family, Life

Remember this term, “those who care don’t matter and those who matter don’t care.” I am speaking about people who worry and wring their hands about what other people think or say. Obviously I am not taking about people that are close to you. What I am talking about is people who gauge their life and decisions based on what people that they don’t even know, think. In today’s society we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Foursquare etc. and sometimes people get lost in life worrying about how to please people that don’t matter in their life. Looking again at the phrase at the top. More times than not, the people who act like they care and want to say things about you, usually are the people that don’t matter. The people that matter (like your family) are usually the ones who don’t care, meaning that they are not the ones that want to talk about you behind your back.

In the world of social media, one has to be very careful what they post on the internet about themselves and their family. I have seen many make mistakes in this area where people write things they wished they could take back. The problem is that once it is on the internet, it is accessible long term.

I know people who literally make decisions based on what other people think. They worry what people think about them and lose sleep based on someone’s opinion that really doesn’t matter in their life. This social environment where everything is subject to the opinions of others, may not be the healthiest way of making decisions and the healthiest way to live.

I remember when I was young going to my grandparent’s farm. My granddaddy didn’t care if someone else thought he should buy a green tractor or a red one. He didn’t ask if other people thought he should plant beans or corn. Sure, it was a simpler time in life but it was also not cluttered with social media and everyone knowing every time you walked outside. Their idea of social media was seeing their friends on Sunday at Beechwell Baptist Church in Campbell Missouri and actually having human conversations about what was going on in their lives. Sounds simple but it also sounds smart. KT

The difference between courage and honor

Life

Courage sounds like a noble thing to have. In many cases it is noble and right, like say, military combat, speaking in front of people, standing up for what is right, facing a fear and many other similar examples. Courage can also be stupid. Like trying something you shouldn’t be trying just because your friends dared you. The wrong kind of courage happens more when you are younger than after you have some age on you. One example from my youth (there are many to choose from) I was around 19 years old and that winter it snowed about 5 inches in Atlanta. Me and my best bud decided it would be a great idea to tie a ski rope to the back of a truck and use water skis in the Winn Dixie parking lot. See what I mean, it took courage but it was the wrong kind. Needless to say, our little skiing venture didn’t end well and we came close to being in the newspaper under the obituaries.

Honor is an entirely different thing. When you act honorably, it is right, pure, transparent and honest. It builds you up on the inside and edifies your self-esteem. It means that you are doing what is best and don’t care who gets the credit. It is the process of doing what is right even though no one is watching. When you strive for honor, it builds credibility in the belief that doing the right thing is the right thing to do. It is like seeing someone that needs some help and helping them without being judgmental. It is called grace. It is like finding someone’s purse or wallet and doing the right thing by finding its owner and returning it. So courage is a great thing and in many cases the edge you need in various situations but it can also be misinterpreted as wisdom and boldness. It is important to know the difference.

It is my personal opinion that in every situation if you asked yourself, “What is the honorable way to handle this?” you would know the answer without hesitation. If this is true, then we all have honor within us and we all know what honor looks like. Therefore if we already know what it is to act honorable, the only decision left is deciding to do it.

In life we all should aim high, be truthful, act honorably and be noble. KT

What to do when someone tells a lie about you

Life

We have all probably had this happen before when someone tells a lie about you. The question is, what do we do about it?

This happened to me recently. Over the past 3 weeks, a person was told a lie about me and believes it. This person has a very trusted advisor who is also a very close friend of mine who heard the lie being told and choose not to step in to straighten it out with the truth. What do you do? I of course told the person that it was not true and never happened but it is funny how believing a lie can cloud the truth when it is exposed. The person’s advisor who is my friend, will have to live this.

There are just some things that God has to handle. This is one of them. We as humans do all we can but at some level have to understand that talking about it, texting about it, emailing about it is doing no good. See, this is where Satan lives and what he lives for.

I am going to give you a little bible here. Tithing is the act of giving a percentage of all your income to God (your church) regardless of how small or how large. Tithing is the single greatest investment you will ever make. Here is why. Malachi 3:10 and 3:11 deals with tithing. Many people only read 3:10 but don’t bother reading 3:11. Since the financial realm is so terribly difficult for people to trust and have faith in, that is what makes 3:11 so beautiful. To my knowledge this is the only place in the bible where God tells us he will fight the fight on our behalf. All the other areas of our life he equips us to deal with the situation but he will not do it for you. Malachi 3:11 (in the Keith Thompson commentary) tells us that he will protect what we do for a living and will not let other people destroy what we have built.

It is kind of like that Prudential Insurance commercial where the guy has a red umbrella in the rain. This passage of scripture doesn’t mean you will never get wet or never make a mistake but I believe given the course of your life, that if you are a tither, you will look back on the years of your life and realize that God was with you many more times that you may have thought. KT