All posts by Keith Thompson

What time is it?

Life

What is the value of now? Now, as compared to an hour from now, tomorrow, next week or next year. I know many people (I used to be one of them) that looked toward the destination as the chosen point to be happy. Not the journey, the destination. You know the ones, wait till we get married, then we will be happy. Wait till we have children, then we will be happy. Wait till the children are potty trained, then we will really be happy. Wait till the children can dress themselves and we sleep the whole night, then we will be happy. Wait till the children graduate from high school or college or get married or have grandchildren, then we will be happy. Wait till I get that job, move into that house, make that sale, get that raise, marry that person, have enough money in the bank, retire and etc etc etc.

What happens in these simple choices is that we wait to be happy until a planned event or timeline. We hurry through the whole journey to get to the destination because we believe it is the destination that will make us happy. Does this sound like anyone you know? It sounds like me at one point. When you are young and struggling with life and trying as best you can to find your place in the world, it is easy to fall into this temptation and miss many of life’s greatest joys.

I believe if you could sit with older people and ask them what they would change about their life if they could, you will hear these people tell you to be in the moments. They would tell you to be where you are not where you want to go. There are some things in life that you can learn without having to experience it, if you will really listen. This is one of those lessons. I don’t know of one dying man that would say “I wished that I had spent more time at the office or I wished I had bought that fancier car or moved into that bigger house.” No, they would tell you that they wished they had been present more times with their children and watched their son play baseball or their daughter do ballet. They would probably tell you that they would give all their money to have a chance to do it over and to make the main things the main things.

Look at your life today and ask yourself, what is really important and what will mean the most to you when you get older. I believe those are things we should make time for today and not just another sales call or business meeting or church social. To my knowledge the most valuable things in life are not the things that cost money. In fact they are not things at all, they are the people you love and the moments you spend being there and looking them in eye and telling them how much you love them.

The next time someone asks you what time it is, tell them it is now.  KT

Is that my daddy?

Family, Life

Yesterday we had our two granddaughters over at the house. The youngest (3 yrs.) was supposed to be taking a nap on the bed but it just wasn’t happening. We were doing more wrestling than anything and I was kissing her and telling her stories. Her daddy came to the house to pick them up and she heard him talking. She looks up at me and asked “is that my daddy?” See, she recognized his voice even though she couldn’t see him.

In the bible it speaks many times of shepherds and their sheep. What many people don’t know is that at night multiple shepherds will put their flocks of sheep together in the same area and the shepherds will keep guard over the sheep. The next morning one shepherd will call his sheep and watch as his sheep move out from the other sheep and come to him. See, they recognize the voice of their shepherd. Of course in the bible the metaphor is that Jesus is our shepherd and we are his sheep and we know his voice.

Just like my little granddaughter knew her daddy’s voice, I know my heavenly father’s voice when he speaks to me in my heart. Just like the sheep didn’t come when the other shepherds called, because it wasn’t their shepherd. They only came when they heard the voice of their shepherd.

I suppose the question is, do you recognized when God is talking to you? Can you hear his leading among all the other noises in the world? I will tell you that when he leads, it will be in your heart and it will be a still calm voice that is easy to trust and full of peace. It will come from the God of peace. KT

Leading by example

Career

Leading by example is probably one of the greatest and yet least taught business lessons in companies today. It is too simple to write a book on. We have more books on business than just about any other topic other than the Bible, and the average book on business has all manner of strategies to grow a company. Sadly, very few of them work. The principles look good and sound good but when put into practice, have very little effect on the trajectory of a company.

There is no greater business principle than leading by example. Just to look at a few random jobs, let’s say you are a mechanic. You lead by doing the job right the first time so the customer is happy. The other people working around you will see this too and they will want to up their game by seeing you as the example. For another example, let’s say you are in sales. People will gravitate to you if you lead the sales board. If you are average, they will find someone else to follow. Another example, let’s say you work as cook. If your work area is clean and food quality is important to you, other cooks will watch what you do and try to emulate you.

This business idea of leading by example can be applied to every job and every business. The truth is we all know this intuitively in our line of work. The problem is many times people want to do as little as they can to get by. It has been my experience that when promotions come, they come to the ones who work as though the business is their own. Think of where you work for a minute. If you treated your job as though the business was yours, it is my guess that you would get noticed and respected.

I remember one time when I was the leader of a men’s church organization. One of the roles was the secretary that would write down the minuets of the meeting and would give a report the next time we met. We had this gentleman acting in that role who came from a law enforcement background and he took the job serious. He was about doing the best he could in his role. The result was that in each meeting when he gave the minutes, it became one of the highlights. He did such a detailed job that it became the example to follow.

In summary, whatever job you hold, if you try as best you can to do the job well, you will be a better person for it and you will feel better about your role in your company. Doing the best you can and leading by example would be a small book to read but would probably be on the best sellers list. KT

Loving life

Life

I was speaking with a client/friend yesterday who I have known for many years. Our conversations usually start with an update on our families and life in general. He asked me a simple question, how I was doing? We all get asked that question from time to time as a conversation starter but it is not usually a request for a detailed honest answer. Ha. Many times our answer is, great, fine, doing well, etc. With this particular person, he really was asking how I am doing and really expecting a detailed answer.

I thought about my answer and what came out of my mouth surprised even me. I told him that I was a very blessed man in every area of my life. I went in detail about the areas of my life to this client and friend. I told him about my wife, children, health, grandchildren, business, peace and joy. He told me about his life and it almost mirrored what I had told him. There we were, two men on call, both of which not only were blessed in life but most importantly, recognized and acknowledged how very blessed we are.

See, many people take for granted when things are good and forget to tell God how thankful they are. I find that most of the joys in life start with taking a personal inventory. When you stop and recognize God’s hand in your life, it brings a sense of well being and fulfillment. I have lost friends to an early death that should be still be alive, but are not. I have friends with health challenges, family challenges and many other life challenges that probably could not answer that question the way I was able to. Therefore, today, I can answer that question with love, joy and peace with a thankful heart. KT

From the first moment I saw you

Life

When I think of this phrase, I think about when I first saw my daughters and granddaughters. It was the suddenness and completeness of the love I want to talk about.

When two people date and marry, it is usually over a period of time that the relationship and love grows. With your children, it is not like that. It literally overtakes you in a moment of time. I remember when Elaine was pregnant with both of our daughters, I knew I would love our daughters but I didn’t know until the first moment I saw them how fierce, protective, perfect and unconditional the love would be. I remember literally crying when I first looked at my little girls and also at my two little granddaughters. It is the kind of love that you do not even know you have inside you until that moment you first see them.

In that moment, a screen flips in a dad’s heart, and he becomes Rocky, Rudy, Jason Bourne, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Statham and Jean-Claude Van Damme all rolled up together. You know in that moment that you would give your life for that little baby girl. No hesitation, no “let me think about it,” rather just pure willingness to die in order to save that little girl. Side note: it doesn’t change when the little girl grows up either.

So, it is the suddenness of the moment that I am talking about.

Here is something to think about today. When God looks at you, he loves you with the same perfect, sudden, complete and unconditional love you have for your children. Oh, and the part about being willing to die to save your child, he already did. KT