All posts by Keith Thompson

The movie “Click” with Adam Sandler

Life

The movie “Click” should be a required movie for every parent and especially young moms and dads.

In the movie, Adam Sandler gets all caught up in life with work, kids, and trying to get ahead in the world. One night, he goes to a store and meets a guy who sells him a universal remote (like a tv remote) that would control his life. He found that when things at home were stressful, he would click fast forward, and it would speed his life past those moments. In his work, he could use the remote to speed his career to the point he would get a promotion.

What he didn’t know was that once he fast forwarded through say a tough time at home, the remote would automatically fast forward every time there was a tough time. It did the same thing for his work.

The first time he used the fast forward feature it zipped through maybe an hour of dealing with the kids or family issues. The second time it was a few days, then a few months, then a few years had been fast forwarded through.

In the end, he missed his life, moments that made up his life, all the wealth and everything he wanted in life. See he was an old man that had chosen to speed through the uncomfortable times to get to where he thought he wanted to be only to find out he had actually missed his life.

The movie ending is one of the greatest of all time because he woke up and realized it had been all a bad dream. He realized he was still young and could make a difference in his children’s life and could actually live life like he had a second chance. He rushed home and woke up the kids, started packing for a camping trip he had been putting off, and kissed his wife. He basically got to start over and got a “do over” from this life-changing dream. He chose to be in the moment rather than skip through it; he decided to make the most of his life.

When the job is rough, children are young, everything is a mess, and you just want to escape, this movie will bring you back into perspective. It will help you see how beautiful life is, how amazing time is, and what a gift time is.

If you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it. If you have seen it, go watch it again. KT

My wife

Family

My wife is Elaine Thompson, and she and I met in high school and have been married for 36 years. She is my love.

I want to tell you about her. Elaine is a classy lady who I love with all my heart; she  is also the kindest woman I have ever known. I have never questioned her love and support for me. She is the rock I lean on when things are not going the way they should.

Elaine gave me the greatest gift any wife can give her husband and that was her faith in me to make a living for our family and to do it in a way that brings honor to our life together. When you start out in life without education like I did,  to have someone who always believed in you is the greatest gift a man could ever want. It was her belief in me that made me who I am. I always knew that if I missed a sale, had a bad year, or made a bad investment that she would always tell me it would be ok and that God had his hand on us. After a while of a husband hearing these confirmations, it begins to make the husband believe he can do anything.

I have never known of her to purposely hurt someone else, to repeat gossip that would hurt, or tear down another person. I have seen her on more occasions than I can count seeing someone that needed a lift, buying their meals, helping with money issues, or lifting them up. We have been in restaurants where she would see a mother or a family that just needed a little help, and she would say, “let’s buy them dinner.”

She is a faithful friend to many and the most amazing mother to our girls than I could have ever expected. There were many nights that I traveled when our girls were little, and she never flinched when I told her I needed to go out of town. She just took care of our girls and made a home for our family where our children never questioned their mother’s love and commitment. In fact, the reason our daughters are such fine women today is because of the example she always set.

She is my closest friend, companion, counselor and love of my life. KT

Keeping a business relevant

Career

A high percentage of businesses fail because of product, market, placement or the relativity of their business. Many businesses start and do well for several years and then lose their edge because they are no longer relevant. This last point is the one I would like to speak to.

If you have ever eaten at a Cracker Barrel restaurant, you will see items all over the walls of companies and products. I would guess that 90 percent of those companies no longer exist.

There’s not a better example of what I am talking about than the automobile industry.   In the early 1900s, it was so captivating that in 1915 in the US alone, there were 632 automobile companies that tried to build and sell cars. Many only lasted a few years before they went bankrupt and went out of business. Some car companies, like Studebaker, Packard, Hudson or Edsel, made cars for many years and still went belly up.

Creating a business is one thing, but keeping a business relevant to the consumer is quite another. Staying with the car company theme, Alan Mulally just retired from Ford Motor Company and was the best CEO that Ford ever had, including people with the last name of “Ford.” Alan was an outsider to the family, but stepped in and saved the car company. See, with Ford it wasn’t enough just to have the last name Ford, they needed a person that could almost reinvent Ford Motor Company and reach the consumer in a new, relevant way. That is exactly what Alan did.

So, you may ask how can a company can remain relevant and remain vibrant through the test of time. Well, I think Ford may offer the best answer to that. Bill Ford, who was Henry Ford’s great grandson, was the CEO of Ford until 2006. Ford Motor Company suffered under Bill Ford’s leadership for several years and had experienced pretty staggering losses. To Bill Ford’s credit, he understood that he lacked the ability to turn the company around and went looking for the person to take his place and found Alan Mulally.

Think about that for a minute. Here your last name is Ford and your great grandfather founded the company, but you accepted that you were not the right leader to run the company. I have a very high regard of Bill Ford for recognizing where he was good, where he was not, and the fortitude to make that decision.

Side note here: no one is good at everything, but smart people will surround themselves with other people that are good in the areas in which they are weak.

So again, you may ask how a company can remain relevant. I believe it starts with leaving ego and arrogance at the door. No one is good enough or smart enough to act that way. I believe the second thing is to realize when your time has passed and have the foresight to replace yourself. Lastly, the first thing Alan Mulally did after becoming the CEO was call every department head into one room and without any fear of job loss, he asked every department head where Ford was failing and how did that department head think it could be fixed. After hearing that there was no wrong answer and no risk of losing their jobs, they began to tell Alan and the rest of the department heads where they were weak and where they were strong. Alan began that day to build his team and recreate Ford Motor Company into what we know today. It is relevant again to its customers.

Whatever your business is or whatever your job is you should ask yourself, are you current and relevant to the times and are you moving toward being better at what you do. The next time your boss talks to you, tell him your ideas on how to improve the company or the work you do. Most people only talk about what is wrong. If you talk about what is right and how to improve it, trust me, he/she will look at you differently and will have a new respect for you. It is my guess that when most layoffs happen, they don’t lay off the ones who try to improve the company and have the right attitude.

There is not a set age where you are no longer relevant. It is an attitude, humility, and sense of being that defines this. In the hotel business, look at Bill Marriott; he is 82 years old and will still stop the conversation in an entire room when he walks in. So, just because you are 50, 60, 70, or 80, don’t think you are no longer relevant just because of your age. That said, know what you are good at and also be honest with yourself on what you are not good at.

Be smart, be active, read, exercise and improve who you are and always have something in life you want to strive toward. KT

Witnessing to someone you don’t want to spend eternity with

Life

How is that for a title?

The gentleman’s name was Ray, and he was the wealthiest man in Columbus, Georgia. Ray was a major shareholder in two large publicly traded companies and owned much of the commercial real estate in Columbus, Georgia.

Back in my restaurant days, Ray owned the fee title to a restaurant I leased. Ray never missed an opportunity to tell me how insignificant I was and how big he was. Ray’s own children had nothing to do with him when he was alive. Ray and I had met and talked on a number of occasions, which for me was good because he was literally the example of everything I did not want to be. See, examples are good for us even if they are bad examples because they teach us what not to do and who not to be like. So, when you intersect someone you detest, say to yourself that you will learn from this person.

Ray had cancer and was dying. He was at Emory Hospital in Atlanta in the late ’90s. I was coming back from Columbus one day and his assistant called me and said Ray “requested” I go by and see him at the hospital. I almost hated Ray and to be asked to go see him was offensive to me. As soon as I hung up the phone, God told me with pure clarity why he wanted to see me. Ray was dying and he wanted me to tell him about Jesus.

I took a deep breath and said “ok Lord, I don’t want to, but I will go.” I stopped on the way by a bookstore because I did not have a Bible with me and bought a Bible that I still have today. I went through the New Testament and marked the plan of salvation, so I would have it with me.

Have I told you yet that I hated Ray? Did I tell you that the last person I wanted to see in heaven was Ray? Just checking.

So, I went to Emory hospital and asked for his room; the nurse told he was in the executive wing where each room was like a hotel suite. When I walked into his room, I looked at him and he was reading his stock report for that day on all he owned and how much his net worth was. He held up the stock report for me to see; I told Ray that I was not there to talk about money, and he looked at me and said “I know.” He then asked me to come sit in the chair beside his bed. As I sat down, he told me to “scrunch” the chair up close so he could hear me. Already knowing why I was there and why he wanted to see me, I told him I was there to tell him about Jesus.

He looked at me and said “I know, and I want to know him.” I lead Ray through the plan of salvation like a little child verse by verse. When we got to the end, I asked Ray if he would like to accept Jesus. He held my hand and like a little child, he asked Jesus into his heart. The look on Ray’s face told me everything I needed to know and at that moment in his eyes, I wasn’t insignificant and Ray wasn’t big. Ray died three days later, and I know when I get to heaven I will see him there.

On the drive to the hospital, I came to terms with how I felt about Ray. I knew in that moment that if I didn’t go, I would miss something beautiful God wanted me to do. I may have been the only person in the world that Ray would have listened to about Jesus… I may have been his only hope of salvation. I decided on the way to the hospital that I could not live with myself if I denied Ray this final act of love.

It’s been many years since Ray passed away, but even to this day when I think of that event and even now as I write these words, the emotion of watching him take that final step toward Jesus still pierces my heart. I know I will see Ray in heaven one day. KT

The greatest luxury in life

Life

“The greatest luxury in life is time.” I listen to Andy Stanley a lot, and this is a quote he has said several times that has made an impact on me.

You ask anyone who is at the end of life and they will tell you that the only thing they want is more time. Time is literally priceless, and so often we take it for granted. We just plan our day, week, and year and say I will do this or that and accomplish A, B, and C. The reality is any of us may be called home today, and then all you leave behind is the memories of what you stood for.

When you are close to the end, all the debate about whether there is a God, I believe this or that… it all comes to a screeching halt. When it is just us and the lights are off, we know there is a living God and we all know what decision we have made about him. Salvation is as simple as believing in your heart that Jesus is and was God in the flesh and that he rose from the dead to save our souls. If you are young and life is ahead of you, it is easy to get complacent and take time for granted and just assume you have enough life ahead to make that decision later. Well, you don’t.

There was a funeral for a gentleman that stated in his last will and testament will that he wanted all of his money in the coffin with him. He didn’t want to leave anything to anyone. He wanted it all. His darling wife read his will and confirmed that she would, in fact, meet this obligation in his will. At his funeral while she was paying her last respects, she slipped a check totaling all his net worth into his coffin. Ha.

Do something with the time you have because it is so very precious. KT