When my oldest daughter was about three years old, she was learning her numbers and colors. I remember when we would ride in the car and stop at a red light, we would ask her what the colors meant. We would ask what the red light mean, she would say, “stop,” we would ask what the green light meant, she would say “go,” but when we asked her what the yellow light meant, she would say “hurry!”

We thought it was so funny, but this memory brings me to the point of this blog. When a caution light blinks in our life we should slow down and or stop, not hurry through it as though it never happened. The tendency is to rush through it because we know we are in the right, but many times God (if we will listen) flashes a yellow light because he knows what is on the other side of the intersection. Many times, the delay we experience in life is there to slow us down.

I used to get aggravated when a flight was late or cancelled or I was caught in a traffic jam, but I realized years ago that maybe it is God keeping me from where I would have been at the time I wanted to be there. I think God (if we will listen) has three lights in our life. Red for stop, green for go, and yellow for caution. Its pretty elementary but those same colors we learned when we were children are the very same colors that God used to direct our life. KT

I have heard this saying for years and while it sounds like it should be true, it doesn’t always work out that way. Imagine with me for a minute, a guy standing in a hallway with multiple doors on each side. The door on the left side he wanted to go through closes and locks and then one on the right side quietly opens without a sound. The problem is that many of us stare too long at the closed door and miss the opening door on the other side. Let me say that again, the problem is that many of us stare too long at the closed door and miss the opening door on the other side.

That’s right. We want what was behind the door we thought was the answer and we complexly miss the better door opening on the other side. We stare too long at the closed one. In life and business if you did the best you could and the door still closes, we need to (spiritually) turn quickly to see where the other door is opening.

I almost lost everything in the restaurant business back in 1990, I heard a slight creaking sound from another door when I turned around. It was hotel brokerage. Nothing I had done before prepared me for that big shift in profession but for an uneducated guy, it was the only door that seemed willing to let me go through. I hit the door at full speed because my family’s financially future depended on it.

So, the moral of the story is when you have a disappointment stop staring at the closed door and go find one opened. KT

There is a lot going on with interest rates right now. Rates for commercial investments have spiked almost double in some cases. Three months ago, we were placing hotel debt in the low to mid 4’s and today we are in the mid to high 6’s.

What many in Washington seem to forget is that there is a large percentage (35-40%) of the population that once lived off the interest of their saving accounts. Years ago, it was not uncommon to get 10% interest on your savings at the bank. For the last five years interest rates on savings are virtually less than 1 percent. People wonder why the public markets are still active, well it is all those people who used to get high interest rates on savings are now forced to turn to the bond and stock market for income. This too is changing quickly with the volatility of stocks.

Low interest rates certainly help investors and home buyers which is why we have seen a large spike in housing values over the past two years but even that is now slowing because the same home loan last year at 3.5% is now close to 6%.

The news talks a lot about inflation which today is a real problem. When businesses, home buyers, car buyers, consumers etc. can get loans at very low interest rates, guess what? They buy more and borrow more which drives up the price on almost everything. This why the Fed has increased interest rates at a greater clip than almost any period in the last 40 years because they need to slow commercial investing down which slows demand and therefore brings pricing back down to the normal range, i.e., inflation.

I am just a little hotel broker so what do I know? I do think if there was ever a time for some common sense, now would be a good. KT

There is a fact of life that is incontrovertible. The longer you stay in a ditch the farther you will sink down. This is so very true in business but also in personal life. One day you are driving along the road, and everything is good and the next thing you look up and realize you have somehow ended up in the ditch.

When this first happens, it is easy to jump out and get back on the road. The longer you allow yourself to stay in the ditch, the higher the climb out looks and if you don’t decide to get out now, you will find yourself so far below the weeds you may never get out. People who choose to end their life or do something drastic are simply people that stayed in the ditch too long.

Think of a baseball, football, basketball game. It is impossible to keep the monument 100% of the time. There will be periods where you seem to have lost your mojo and the other team keeps scoring. It is in these moments that you must pick yourself and your team up and get in a huddle and get everyone back on track. It all starts with one play or one hit when the momentum can shift.

In business, you do those three things you have been putting off. In personal life, you talk to that person or make yourself get up and lace up your boots and go do something constructive. I believe the point is to decide and force yourself to start the climb out. It is amazing how much energy and hope you have right after you start. So, the message is, if you find yourself in a ditch, start the climb. The view is much better from the road. KT

For some people, they view God as just a heavenly bellboy to meet their wants and desires and to do so when they want it. As anyone who has ever prayed knows, this is not how it works.

Sure, prayer involves talking to God and expressing what you are asking for, but it also should involve praise, thanksgiving, and worship. Philippians 4:4-7 is one of the best passages on peace, contentment, joy, and prayer. Upon close review one will see that the largest meaning of the passage is what moves God to act on our behalf. Not what we want or need. It says to rejoice in the lord and to make our supplications (desires) known while expressing thanksgiving for what he has already done.

Its like the child that asked for something, and you give them what they are asking for. It hurts the parent’s heart when the child does this over and over without thanking the parent for what they have already given. I imagine it is much the same with God when we use our prayer time like we are calling a bellboy for service.

Sometimes the fragrance/aroma that pleases God the most is when we come to him with thanksgiving and not just our list of wants and desires. KT