All posts by Keith Thompson

Chewing on one bone at a time

Career

In business, chewing on one bone at a time will break your heart. What I am talking about is in business, when you get momentum, you cannot afford to just focus on one project. You must have several projects going at the same time to balance out your expectations.

I learned this the hard way in 1996. We were selling a 17-hotel portfolio and while I knew better, I let myself get focused on that one deal and didn’t go out and get new business. Long story short, that deal didn’t close, and it just about broke my heart. See, I let myself imagine, expect and envision that one deal closing. When it didn’t, it was a heartbreaker.

I call this the Dog Theory. A dog will get one bone and go off and chew that one bone until he is finished. I know some hotel brokers in our line of work that think like that. The point is that when something good is happening and the momentum is shifting your way, you need to go get as many deals as you can so if you should lose one or two, you still have the others to look forward to. It is a mind game, and you almost have to force yourself to ramp up your efforts when things are good because human nature says to lay back and coast. I am not a very smart guy, but I do know that the only way you can coast is downhill.

Working on more than one client, deal, or project is like insulation for your heart, and it will actually allow you to be smarter and sharper on all projects. When you have only one thing and one project to work on, you pour yourself into it and can’t understand why everyone else isn’t as focused as you. When you do this, you actually hurt your chances of that deal closing, getting that project completed, or landing that job. It is like you need to fool your own mind so that one deal doesn’t become all-encompassing in your life.

So, when you feel the momentum is shifting in your work or your business, it could very well be God talking to you and telling you to get busy, get focused and use that new-found momentum to go get more business. KT

Enjoy your work

Career

Years ago before I started selling hotels, I owned some fast food restaurants called Mrs. Winner’s. It was basically like a Kentucky Fried Chicken without the support of the franchisor and the sales. Ha. I bought them in 1988 with an investor when I was 30 years old and thought my financial future was in the food business.

If there is anyone that reads this blog that has the desire to really complicate and jack up their life, get in the restaurant business. I lost so much money I couldn’t even keep up with it. Also, I was working 100 hours a week and all of this took place when our girls were little. It took me 10 years to get out of that investment and pay back all the money I owed.

One summer in the early ’90s, we went camping for a week. I was dreading going back to work and to the restaurants because I knew what was waiting for me. I told Elaine’s father, Max Phillips, this and he said something that stopped me cold. He said you need to find a business that you enjoy because if you enjoy it, you will be more successful. Max owed a fence company and if there was an Olympic event of fence selling, Max would have owned the gold medal for 30 years. He loved what he did, and he did it very very well.

So, I took Max’s advice in 1990 and started selling hotels while still running the restaurants. I sold the final restaurant in 1998 and the bad dream was over. By 1998 when I sold that last restaurant, I had established myself in hotel brokerage, and that is where I am today. I can say without question that I love selling hotels and look forward to each day and each week. Max was right because I found something I enjoyed doing, and it makes life so much sweeter in all areas.

When you go to work today, enjoy it to the fullest because one day you will not be able to work. I look at men who because of health and age are unable to work any longer, and I know in their hearts they wished they had enjoyed those years more. Don’t go grudgingly to work, but rather embrace the period in your life where you can work and contribute financially to your family’s future. I believe in all areas of your life if you can figure out the “why,” you can figure out the “how.”

So, Max’s advice was spot on: find work that drives you, challenges you and that you enjoy because life is too short not to enjoy that part of your life. KT

Turn it on

Career

In every business and every sport, there is a time to turn it on. It’s when you are watching a football game and you see the momentum change. It is usually when the team that just scored gets a new look, refreshed perspective, and decides they can win the game. That’s when you see them turn it on.

I believe when you see that happen in sports, it is one of the most motivating things you can witness. One of the greatest I remember was watching Jack Nicklaus win his 6th green jacket at the Masters Golf Tournament when he was 46 years old. When he made the turn at #10 he was in the tournament, but no one thought he had a chance. By the time he got to #15 and birdied the hole, everyone thought he may just have a chance. By the time he was standing on the 18th tee, he was dead center and laser-focused because he believed he could actually win. It was one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

We have three pictures hanging on our office wall of Jack Nicklaus winning this 1986 Masters. You can look at the pictures, and you know that Jack was in full on throttle mode.

I have watched athletes over the years turn it on and turn it off. The problem with turning it off is that you can’t always get it back on. The wisdom is to go full out every time you pick up the club or the ball or get behind the wheel.

If you were a farmer, it is no different because when it is harvest time, it is also showtime. Time to do what you were born to do and to do it the best you can. The farmer just lives through the spring and summer months and gets tired and frustrated, but then one day he stands on his back porch and sees that it is harvest time. He gets on his clothes and turns it on.

In business, there are times when you ride in the pack and conserve energy and then there are times when you break out really turn it on. I am an amateur cyclist and ride with a local group. There is no other sport quite like cycling when it comes to riding in the pack and then making a sprint. When you watch the pro tours like the Tour de France, which ended a couple of weeks ago, there were several stages of the race where one rider got way ahead of the pack and everyone thought they would win the stage. Every time that happened, that rider that was ahead was overtaken at the end. See, you cannot ride out front all the time, and you can’t win every fight or every battle. I heard it said that you can win the war without winning every battle. Good advice.

So in business, you will not win every deal or make every sale, but the objective is to not quit trying. Many people fail and switch careers when they don’t have instant success. Usually the ones that win are the ones that stick around long enough to figure out how to win. So, when it is showtime, it is all business. KT

What hangs in the balance of your life

Family, Life

I was listening to a message by Andy Stanley last week on the subject of the impact our decisions have on our family. I thought I would share a couple of my own points on the subject.

Think about your parents and the decisions they made that had an impact on your life. Is it safe to say that the financial decisions they made or didn’t make has affected your own life? It is probably true. The same question can be asked about their lifestyle, marriage, education, honesty, health, temper, language, etc. Parents often think that decisions they make will not have an impact on their children. For example, I came from a broken home where my parents divorced when I was about to start the 3rd grade. God picked up the pieces of all of our lives and it all worked out ok, but the point I am making is that the decisions our parents and grandparents made have an effect sometimes for generations.

You see, many criminals say that they did the crime because of their childhood. Well, that is hogwash. They did the crime because they wanted to do the crime. Plain and simple. That said, if they had a better home life and better example to follow growing up, their life may be much different. It would have probably changed how they made decisions.

Make no mistake, I am saying that we all get to choose our own life and we can’t blame our failure on our parents, but the life your parents lived does have an impact on how we process decisions.

Examples in our life can be good or bad, but both can be useful. I have a friend (several actually, ha) that has a terrible parent. I was talking to the child one day and I told the child that we can choose to use that parent’s example as the perfect example of what we don’t ever want to be. A bad example is as powerful as a good example to follow. See, we need to have good and bad examples in our lives so we know the difference.

During my high school senior year I left home, and I have been supporting myself ever since. I could have easily gone the bad route that impacts your life long term, but I had several good examples to follow that pulled me through the season. Those examples and the US Navy got me on the right path. Two of the best examples were my Mom and Gene (stepdad) and my wife’s parents. Between leaving home my senior year and joining the Navy, there were times when I didn’t have meals because I could not afford them. It always amazed me how Elaine’s mom seemed to know what was going on; she asked me many times to stay for dinner. She knew what was going on in my life, and she cared and loved me, which is why I love her so dearly today.

Back to the point, if the decisions your parents and grandparents made had an impact on your life, do you believe the decisions you and your spouse make will affect your children and grandchildren’s life? With absolutely certainty.

The examples you had growing up do not determine your life and the life you want to have for your children. The examples you want to set and the memories you want to leave is your choice and your choice alone. Don’t ever find yourself defending your actions because of what your family did. It is your choice.

Therefore, what hangs in the balance of your life is your family and the impact your decisions will have on them. Be careful and vigilant about the decisions you make because the results of those decisions go beyond you and beyond today. KT

What you’ll never see at a funeral

Life

Picture any funeral you have ever attended. Think about the pictures that are near the casket and imagine the things people said about the deceased person. Now, imagine the PowerPoint picture presentation at the reception along with the sweet, gentle music that plays in the background.

Got the image?

What you’ll never see at a funeral is a picture of their car, house, bank account, boat, etc. When the family and friends stand up to share about their life, they don’t hold up a picture and say, “this is a picture of his car and the car cost x,” or “this is the list of the stocks he owned at the time of his death and this was his net worth”

Why?

Because after you have died, all those things don’t mean anything. The only thing that is discussed is your life, your family, and what you stood for when you were alive.

In your life now, while you still can, it would be good to remember what people will be talking about at your funeral because it will give you some perspective on what is important and what is not. KT