All posts by Keith Thompson

Pinehurst #2

Career, Life

For those of you who play golf and enjoy the sport, Pinehurst, North Carolina, is the host city for the men’s US Open and also the women’s US Open. I believe that this is the first time (I could be wrong) that both the men’s and women’s US Open are played at the same course in the same year. The men’s will start on the 12th of June and the women’s is the following week. Within the Pinehurst Resort there are a lot of courses, but Pinehurst #2 is the big daddy and that is where both opens will be played.

We are selling a SpringHill Suites hotel in Pinehurst, so 3 of us went last week and played Pinehurst #2. The day we played was actually the last day for public play before the course was closed off for the US Open.

We were able to have our picture taken with the actual US Open Trophy from 1895. It has the names engraved of every golfer that won the US Open since 1895. The value of this trophy is priceless because there is only one of them. You couldn’t touch it, but it was outside on a table and you could have a picture taken with it. It is probably the only time I will ever see this trophy outside of the glass security case.

Have you ever been involved in a sport that you are just not very good at? Well, that is the way golf is for me. I love the idea, the honest and the steeped history of golf, but not so much the actual playing of golf because again, I am not very good. If you are not competitive in something, you tend to lose interest during the process. For me that happened on about hole #10 last week.

For those who don’t know about Pinehurst #2, it is probably the toughest golf course in the US because of the upside down, bowl-shaped greens as well as because the rough is all sand with weeds. The rough is almost impossible to hit a good shot out of because essentially, you are hitting off sand and hitting around or behind foot-high clumps of weeds. If the rough is not enough for you to lose your composure, the greens will push you over the limit. Every green is basically shaped like an upside-down bowl. If you land and stop the ball in the middle of the green you have chance, but if you land the ball on outside edges the ball will roll off the green every single time. There were 10 times on my round last week where I hit an approach shot that on any other golf course would be considered a good shot, but not on Pinehurst #2. The ball would roll off the green 25-40 feet by the time it stopped. Simply put, it was the most frustrating round of golf I have ever played. Why we paid so much to play and drove 6 hours to get frustrated, I will never know.

As I played, I wish I could tell you I was thinking about this blog and some way for it have meaning for life. I was not doing that. I was just trying to get through and keep my composure. Since then, however, I have given this some thought, and I have a couple of parallels to life I would like to share with you.

First – sometimes you play life exactly the way you are supposed to and your ball still rolls off the green.

Second- regardless of the way it looks, you may not be in as good of shape as you think.

Third – life, like golf, is played with integrity and is meant to be played with class and not arrogance or a feeling of entitlement. You simply play the round the best you can and try to stay out of the rough and play the ball down the fairway and play safe. There is no way to cut corners for a better score.

Fourth – there are no do-overs and the round you are playing is the only one you get. You must recover if you hit a bad shot because there is no other option other than giving up and that is not an option in life. Follow through every swing and do the best you can with every shot because that is the way life is, you only get one try at every shot.

Fifth – what you compromise to keep, you will usually lose. In life, when you compromise your integrity, honesty, or composure, it usually costs you in the end. In life, the best night’s sleep is one when you lay your head down and you know you did things the best you could and you were honest with yourself. Lies and shortcuts often cause you sleepless nights because you know what really happened in your heart and you know if you were really honest.

Sixth – when you hit a great shot don’t fool yourself to believe that you have mastered it and will always hit great shots. Life is mostly about what you do after you hit a bad shot because in those moments, you really learn who you are.

So, my final advice is not to ever go play Pinehurst #2 but if you do, play it like a lady and a gentleman and try to learn about life as you play…because you most certainly will not enjoy the round of golf. Ha. KT

The 2014 NYU conference

Career

We just returned from the NYU conference. This is the biggest conference each year for hotels and it is basically meetings one after the other for two days. It’s like speed dating where you sit for 20 minutes with each buyer, make your sales pitch, and then you move on to the next one.

I use these conferences as the bellwether on how long the market cycle will last, and I try to gauge where we are in the cycle. I have been selling hotels for 24 years and have been through enough cycles to know the signs when you see them.

If everyone is having financial trouble and the mood is low, you can expect that the next several years should be favorable to transactions and hotel selling. This year at the NYU conference, the mood was euphoric, money was flowing, and the vibe was basically off the charts. Everyone was upbeat, happy and feeling invincible.

Each of the financial downturns I have been through all started soon after this type of a conference. So we at Hotel AG are battening down the hatches and attempting to close all the transaction we can this year. I hope all the smart folks are right, and I am wrong because that would mean that the economic outlook is solid for several more years. I would gladly be wrong if it meant several more years of a good transaction environment.

I believe business cycles are a lot like life. When you are doing well, you need to be saving money for when times are not so well; when you are healthy, you need to be appreciative of that season in your life. So often, people take a season of joy in their lives for granted and miss the opportunity because they never stopped to really savor the time. Just like in business, when things are right, you need to be humble and very aware that it will not be like this forever.

History is full of people, even wealthy people, that thought life would stay good for many years, and we all know how that ended. The greatest examples of leaders are the ones that prepare for the changes in life and move through those periods with grace and humility. KT

My daily card

Career, Life

Twenty-seven years ago, I started using a day planner program that involves using an annual daily planner (book size) as well as a pocket card that I carry around every day. On that pocket card, I list the objectives and the priority I need to accomplish each task.

Something I started doing 15 years ago was to put some things I say to myself each day at the top of the card. I use initials for what it means so that if I lost the card it wouldn’t have a bunch of weird sayings at the top. Ha. I am going to share them with you.

The initials are WWF, BFOJT, WUT and NBIN

WWF – Walk without Fear

BFOJT – Be Full Of Joy Today

WUT – Walk Upright Today

NBIN – Never Be Intimidated, Never

These little things may not mean anything to anyone except me, but it is a reminder each day of what I am living in and who I am representing. God did not create in us a spirit of fear and many of you never have that problem anyway. I stutter when I talk and fear and self-confidence is a very huge factor with speech. Therefore, I need to tell myself these things every day.

I think it is good to have foundations that you use in your life and words that have meaning to you. In the Bible, it says multiple times that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Translation…I hear myself daily speak these words into being and it bolsters my faith and self-esteem by hearing these words even if I am the one saying them.

Find some things that you need to hear daily and let your inner man/woman hear the words out of your own mouth and let those words speak to your self-esteem, confidence, self-worth, self-value and your purpose in your life. Many times we just need to hear a good uplifting word, so say the words your heart needs to hear: that you are good, that you are of great value, that you are somebody, that you are loved, that you are needed, and what you are doing is important. KT

Parable of the Talents – Matthew 25:14-30

Life

The parable of the talents is perhaps one of the most beloved and misunderstood passages of scripture in the Bible. The NIV version of the parable is as follows:

14. For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

15. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

16. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.

17. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.

18. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.

19. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.

20. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

21. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

22. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.

23. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

24. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

25. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.

26. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

27. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

28. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

29. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

30. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There are many things to say about this passage of scripture, but a parable is a story that isn’t about real people, but has real meaning. Jesus used parables to teach because they were easier to understand because it was told in story form.

The first point is that the talents were given to each person according to their ability. That’s right, according to their ability. Not according to their age, color, years on the job, position, education or any other reason except their ability. God is the one who really knows what your abilities are and what you are capable of accomplishing. Our goal should be to ask God for a vision of what we are meant to be and then be ok with that vision. Not everyone can be President of the United States and some of us are just called to be salesmen. It is important to be ok with who you are and not try to be someone you were never supposed to be.

In verse 19 when he said “after a long time,” this actually meant a lifetime and the metaphor was of a person using the talents they were given over their life. The story tells of two people that used their talents well and yet there was one person that hid his talent in the dirt because he was afraid if he used it, he would lose it. The same person that hid his talent was also quick to blame the master for his fault instead of taking the blame for himself. Each of us only gets a certain number of years to accomplish what we were meant to do.

In verse 30 when he cast the servant into darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth, many have interpreted this to mean he cast him into hell. Not true at all. God doesn’t cast us in hell for not using our talents. Heaven and hell are only about one thing and that one thing is what did you do about Jesus. This verse means weeping and the gritting of teeth like when you made a mistake and you gritted your teeth and got mad and maybe even cried over a mistake. It means that if you don’t use your talent you will have a life of mistakes, crying, and gritting your teeth over bad decisions. My suggestion is to not let this happen to you, and don’t let fear lead your life

Again, there are many points to this passage of scripture, but the main point for me is that God will find someone else to do your role if you don’t. He gives you skills and talents that others do not have, but if you decide to not use your talent, he will simply find someone else. It may not be scriptural, but I believe God will not give you a new revelation or a new vision for your life until you act on the one he has already given you. I believe he says “what did you do with what I already gave you”

As many of you know, I stutter and I sometimes think God had a sense of humor making me a salesman. Ha. I can tell you that there have been thousands of times when I wanted to quit because of stuttering, but there were also thousands of times when I refused to let fear be my guide. I don’t know what is holding you back from becoming what you were meant to be, but I suggest to you it is time to face it head on. KT

Time

Life

Elaine and I were in Newport, Rhode Island, in early April and went to see the mansions on the coast. If you have ever seen the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, think 50 times that and you will have an image of the mansions in Newport. The Biltmore in Asheville was built by George Vanderbilt, and all the other Vanderbilt brothers and sisters built their mansions in Newport. If you have ever seen the Millionaire village on Jekyll Island, most of the same families that had cottages on Jekyll Island had their main summer homes in Newport, Rhode Island.

If you like history as I do, it is simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Newport mansions started to be built in the late 1800s up through the early 1900s. We took a tour through two of the homes and they are like the Biltmore in Asheville in terms is grandeur and size. There is a walking path between the homes and the ocean that runs for 3-4 miles called the cliff walk; there are also two beaches that the people used. They referred to the owners of the mansions as “the 400” meaning that they were the 400 wealthiest people in the US.

We bought a book that had pictures of postcards of the Newport homes and many with people walking along the streets and along the cliff walk. The cliff walk is said to be the most beautiful walk in the world.

Again, I am very interested and intrigued with historic homes and historic hotels, but mostly I am intrigued with the people that lived in that day. I can only imagine people in Newport knew they were rich and believed they had all the time in the world and all the wealth to live life to its fullest.

All the people in the postcards of Newport also have one in common, they are all dead now.

I think often about our life – how fragile it is and how quickly it can all end. I have come to the conclusion that once you have passed away, you no longer have the opportunity to forgive a wrong against you, choose to change your life, or influence anyone. Your legacy is simply made of what you left behind and what you stood for when you were alive.

My brother in law, Ted Phillips, says that on a tombstone there is a dash between the date your life started and the date your life ended; it is what you do between that dash that defines who you are.

When I look at the faces of the people in Newport, RI, in 1900, I wonder what they stood for. Did they teach their children what it meant to be honest and walk a life of integrity or did they just live each day regardless of the examples they set and regardless of the memories their families will remember them by?

I’ve never seen a tombstone with two dashes representing two lives. I only have seen one dash, which means we only get one try.

Anyone reading this is still on the living side and still has an opportunity to do what is right. To leave an impression on your children and children’s children.

I told a client a few weeks ago to imagine if he knew for certain that another financial crisis would begin next February and to think about the changes he would make now in anticipation of that date. Whatever action is exactly what he should be doing today. When I said that, his jaw dropped and he swallowed real hard, but I could see it in his eyes that he was about to make some decisions that would affect his financial future.

It’s the same with us in that if we knew for sure the day we would pass on, I am certain each of us would make some changes in our life leading up to that day. Thank God in heaven that we do not know the day, but are able to just imagine what it would be like to be prepared for that day. As I told the client, the changes you would make are the exact changes you need to be doing.

Like the folks in the Newport, RI, postcards, one day we all will be looked at in a picture 100 years from now; we will either be remembered as someone good and honest or not. It all comes down to what you want your dash to be remembered as. KT