I did something today I need to do a lot more often. I was outside and as I was leaving for work, I paused and stood still and and gave a word of gratitude to God for allowing me to be so blessed. I let the images of our life sweep over me. In those images I saw my wife, daughters, son in-laws, grandchildren, homes, health, and joy. It almost bought tears to my eyes when I really stopped and realized the life God has given me.

I have no doubt there are many people who are unable to do this, but this one man could. It was amazing how that brief reflection moment effected how I approached work today. Hopefully if you are reading this blog, you also have much to be thankful for and many reasons to choose joy in your life. Take a moment and go through your blessings and just maybe you will come away with the same gratitude as I felt this morning. KT

A couple weeks ago I decided to paint the garage at our lake house. As most men usually do, we anticipate how difficult the job will be and how long it would take. I missed both very badly.

The ceiling was the old popcorn sprayed texture so I thought I would start with the ceiling and work my way down to the trim, walls and finally the floor. I bought one of those roller pumps that keep the flow of paint to the roller for a quicker job. It liked to have killed me, but it took three hours or so to get the ceiling trimmed out and painted. I was pleased with how it looked so I then started trimming in the doors, windows, baseboards etc.

The person at Home Depot said I needed to do a base coat before the actual paint so that was like painted everything twice, but I said ok. Before I could get the base coat trimmed out, the ceiling started to dry and peel in flakes. I was like well I will touch up that little spot but no biggie. Well, before long I had 20 peel spots the size of your hand and I was like, “you’ve got to be kidding me.” I found out you can’t paint over popcorn and you especially can’t roll paint over it because it will come loose which is exactly what happened.

Long story short it took me three days to paint that silly garage and I couldn’t hardly walk for the next day. I still must have some experts come in and redo the ceiling. Ha. My point is this, sometimes projects take less time than expected but more times than not, the job can get more complicated and involved the further into the project you go.

It’s kind of like that with relationships. jobs, friendships, finances etc. Sometimes it just takes longer than you expect but if you stay at it, your chances of fixing the issue, repairing the damage, or competing the job go up dramatically. KT

Years ago, Jack Nicklaus was being interviewed and the reporter asked what he thought about Tiger Woods. Jack said. “he has what I had, but a lot more of it.”

Jack Nicklaus is arguably the best golfer to ever lace up a pair of cleats and for him to say that about a young golfer named Tiger Woods, means that Jack really saw something special in Tiger. Every generation has its own standouts, but Jack competed against some of Golf’s best like Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Gary Player, Billy Casper etc. Outside my office I have three consecutive pictures of Jack hitting out of a sand trap as he went on to win his sixth green jacket at the 1986 Masters

I have been a hotel broker for over three decades and worked with many, if not most, of the best hotel brokers. This new generation coming behind us is so much smarter and well educated than we were. They have so many tools available to them it is incredible, and they have the talent to far surpass what my contemporaries and I were able to achieve.

One would think that with all the technology we have today that hotel sales would increase and would be easier. That is not the case. When I was getting stated, there was no internet, emails, texts, websites etc. and if you did have a mobile phone, it was hard mounted in your car and cost about 10 dollars every time you wanted to make a call. Back then, you had to go see people if you wanted to do any business. Today, you just set up a zoom call and off you go.  

My point is that every generation seems to be smarter than the previous one but like with Jack and Tiger, you still must have the will to win and the grace to make it happen. You still must work hard and have honestly, wisdom and know how to relate to people. Without these attributes, it doesn’t matter how much technology you have. When I see these young brokers coming up, I see like Jack did, they have what I had, but a lot more of it. KT

Life has many peaks and valleys. The peaks are the high points, and the valleys are the low points. The decisions we make in the peaks (high points) seem to be different than the ones we make in the valleys (low points.)

While not always possible, we should be more careful about the decisions we make in the valleys. When you are in the valley, your spirit, confidence, drive, and hope are less than perfect, and we tend to make quicker decisions in the low points. We make quicker decisions in hopes it will quickly change us from the valley back to the peaks, but more times than not, those decisions in the valleys can make things worse.

The best advice for valleys is to just keep walking until you see the next peak and be careful and thoughtful on the decisions you make in the valleys. If possible, save the important decisions of life when your spirit is uplifted and your confidence and hope are strong. KT

Gene Dickinson was my father and he passed away yesterday. I call him my father because that is who he was to me. Technically was my stepfather but my love for him and his love for me was that of a father. He married my mom in 1967 when I was nine years old, and my sister was twelve. He was a very dear man to me because I knew he always loved me as his own.

I will never forget the first time we were going somewhere together after he and my mom married, and he introduced me as his son. Not his stepson, but his son. I was never able to express to him what that simple introduction meant to a young boy. He gave me a sense of belonging that me and my sister needed, and we never doubted his love for us. I have many fond memories of time spent together with Gene that will stay with me for the rest of my life. My daughters referred to him as papa and he loved them just like they were his own, because they were.

After the divorce between my biological father and my mom, we as a three-person family were trying to put the pieces of our lives back together and find our new place in the world. Before the divorce we lived in Atlanta Georgia but after the divorce, my mom moved me and my sister to Memphis TN to be near her family. Looking back, my mom was such a rock in our lives but now realize that she was younger than my two daughters are today. As a father, it would terrify me if my daughters went through that life altering change.

Gene came into our lives in 1967 while my mom worked at the Rexall drug store in Memphis. Gene was the Coca Cola delivery man on that route, and they met and started dating. They were married in December of 1967 and he had a profound impact on our lives. I will be forever grateful that God put him in our life and helped my mom, my sister and me pick up the pieces on a new life. He always told me to never take life for granted and live it to the fullest. Having him, helped me do just that. KT