The greatest luxury in life, is time.

I wrote a very similar blog some seven years ago, but I was reminded today of the power of the statement. I carry this little piece of paper with this quote on it clipped to the front page of my calendar book.  I look at every workday. My daughter gave it to me many years ago and it is special. The little piece of paper is getting faded and ragged, but I still see it every workday and it reminds of how blessed I am (we all are) that we have today and that tomorrow is never promised.

If you are young and healthy you may think the next car, or the next vacation is the definition of luxury. If are old enough to get past the superficial definition of luxury, you realize that time is simply the most sought-after luxury this world offers. If you have had a health scare or a bad diagnosis or lost hope in your life, you know that time is the greatest luxury this life has to offer. When you are looking at your grandchildren and you realize you have much less time in front of you than you do behind you, time becomes very important. Lastly, if you are on the one-yard line of life looking into eternity, trust me, you are not thinking about the next car or vacation or what your stock portfolio is worth. You are only thinking about time.

The other day I was driving up to our lake house to meet with a general contractor and it happened in a blink of an eye. I felt God nudge me to turn off the radio and be in that moment. I turned everything off and said, ok God, show me. I looked at the world around me without all the distractions and realized the beauty and the peace (and the value) of that moment. I said a quiet thank you to God for reminding me that the moments around us is where the beauty of life is.

It is like when your daughter or son comes to you for advice knowing full well, you would move mountains for them if needed or the total focus in your grand child’s eyes as they tell you about their day. When they say, I love you, everything else fades away and you just know this is a moment that will be seared into your memory. That my friends, is the essence of the most important and most powerful luxury this life has to offer.

So, take a moment today to look around you and to look at your loved ones and whisper a prayer of thanks to God for letting you be in that moment and to see that level of pure luxury. KT

We have all heard great and inspiring speeches from people that came from nothing and made it into something. We have also heard many people give a testimony about a very difficult period in their life and how they got through it. What I have never heard (maybe someone has) is an inspiring speech of a person that had everything given to them and never had to struggle and succeeded at everything they ever did. If there is a spokesperson like that, no one cares about what they say. People want to be inspired by the testimony of other people who went through a real test period in their life and were able to stand and give a testimony of how they got through it.

I could write for ten pages of stories like Ford, Chrysler, Microsoft, Lincoln, Churchill, Holiday Inns, MLK, Starbucks, Marriott etc. when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, only to come through the struggle.

Why am I writing this? When we are in a dog fight of life or deep struggle, the very last thing we think about is how this struggle will help give us a great testimony when it is over. All you care about is getting through the struggle. Thank goodness when we think back on hard times in our life, we have the human ability to turn those struggle periods into a message that can help others. I have had plenty of life tests as I am sure you have as well, and it is the test periods that give voice to our testimony. Without the test, we really wouldn’t have the testimony. KT

Maybe it is just me, but have you noticed a significant increase in people everywhere looking down at their phone? Airports, restaurants, grocery stores and many times even while driving. I was at the airport a couple weeks ago on a trip and almost everyone in the gate area was looking down at their phone. No interaction with their associates, family or even their own children.

Before the Blackberry (yes, I had one too) there was no reason to look at your phone unless it rang. People in restaurants actually talked with the people at their table. At the airports, people had their coffee and actually relaxed and watched the other people or read the newspaper. At a retail store, the teenagers actually looked around at the inventory and talked with their friends instead of looking at what the new insta or FB post is or what the Kardashians said.

I am ready (almost) to go back to the wall phone with the long squiggly cord and real newspapers at the front door. I am not ready to go back to the TV in the corner with three channels and all the commercials you must watch. Ha

Seriously, can’t we blend tech with actual life? Can’t we put down a cell phone and just be? Can’t we go a day without knowing who said what to who and what candidate just got their hand slapped? What I am about to say, I believe with all my heart. The person we will be in five years will be largely influenced by the books we read and the people we associate with. You might want to read that last sentence again.

I don’t want my future self in five years to be based on what some actor, actress, singer or politician said and what they wore to some event or what they ate at dinner. I am not unplugged yet, but I have the cord halfway out of the socket. KT   

Closing a hotel sale in today’s market is like hiking a new trail you have never been on. You have all the hiking gear you have always used but now your boots are too small, your pants are too short, your shirt is too tight and the backpack you’ve had for 20 years has holes in it and all your food is falling out. ha

That is a visual image of what it us like closing a hotel transaction in today’s compressed, high interest rate environment. Numbers are still numbers and cash flow is still cash flow, but everything has changed on how you get there. The metrics you have used for years, no longer work the same. Its like the wolf is not only at the front door but there are others wolfs at the side door and back door. Needless to say, it is challenging.

The other day I ordered pickup from a well-known steak house (it ends with the word ‘Back’) and ordered two grilled chicken dinners with sides and salads. After tip, it was $65. I thought ‘come on, I know inflation is high, but this is ridiculous.’

I believe we are in a bubble that is leaking air as I type this. The stock market seems oblivious to the fact that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and have less than one thousand dollars saved in the bank.  Our national debt increases 5.2 billion dollars every 24 hours. Again, I believe we are in an inflated financial bubble that will pop at some point.

Back to the Hotel sales – It’s been a tough 18 months that I believe will last well into 2025 for hotel transactions. The only deals we are getting done are with the very wealth or all cash buyers. I am being forced to tell the buyer who wants to put 20% down and thinks he can close the deal – “just stay at home and eat another sandwich.” KT

Yesterday I had something interesting happen. There was a young homeless man standing on the street corner trying to sell used jeans. He was talking to someone who wasn’t there, and I felt for him. I drove by where he was standing and went to Starbucks. As I was walking in, and it was like God spoke to me. What I heard in my spirit was Matthew 25:40 – “In as much as you have done unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me.” Needless to say, I went back and gave the young man some money.

There is a homeless issue in America. I told my girls and my wife years ago; don’t ever stick your arm out of the car window with money to help the people on the street. Before you think bad of me, let me finish. I told them to tell me where the people were, and I would go and give. I didn’t want them to be in harms way. Over the years there is no telling how much money I have given to people on street corners. In my humble mind, the gifts I give to those in need help two people. Them and me. I have found that many good and caring people will turn up their nose and say things like, “it’s their own fault – if they had done this or that – they should get a job,” and many more similar statements.

These statements help them feel better about themselves for not helping that person. Every time I give to one of these people it is like a bell ringing in my heart that reminds me of how I got to where I am, and it was not me. It was God’s hand on me. It also reminds me of Psalm 8:4 “who am I that you are mindful of me.”

So yesterday I had a little God moment and maybe because of this I was able to help the young man. It wasn’t all about him, it was also about me and my heart. God will speak to you through his prompting of the holy spirit,,, if you let him. KT