All posts by Keith Thompson

Taking things for granted

Life

In life there are so many things that we all take for granted. The term means to underestimate the value of a person or thing. To expect someone or something to always be available.

Last night we were watching a show about a little boy (10 years old) who had lost one eye to cancer and then developed cancer in his remaining eye. His and his family’s choice was for him to live blind or die from cancer. I don’t why, but that image of that little boy has captured my attention. I have thought about it 20 times since last night and have some thoughts.

We/you/me take so much in our lives for granted that we just assume will always be available to us. Physical abilities, eyesight, memory, health, speech, legs, arms, spouses, children and so many more examples that there is not enough room to write them all down.

There are many people who are depressed, down and feel sorry for themselves because of something someone said or did. I have a friend who lost his 16-year-old son in an automobile accident and I can’t imagine and don’t want to ever have to imagine that kind of loss. He told me one day that it put in perspective many of the issues we come across in life. What he meant was those issues mean nothing compared to the loss of his son.

I have often said that there is no such a thing as an atheist. They are just people who have never been afraid yet or held a sick child or gone through a death of a close family member. When America was fighting world war II, in my humble opinion, there were no atheists over there on the front lines, on the ships, in the fighter planes or in the trenches.

Today, right now, look at your life and say a quiet word of prayer and thanksgiving for the things you might be taking for granted and recognize and acknowledge that much of your life is not within your control. This little prayer may help you be thankful this holiday season and help you see joy in the simplest of moments. KT

Road Signs

Career, Life

When you are driving, there are road signs that help keep you safe and out of trouble and warn you of potential danger ahead. In life I believe we also have road signs along the way. Some people pay attention to the signs. but many people just ignore them.

Everyone reading this blog understands what I am trying to say. We all know there are warning signs in life and many of us at times have ignored them because we thought we knew what was best. We all are smart enough to see danger and adjust. The real question is if you want to acknowledge it or not.

Some common examples of road signs are – stop, do not enter, speed limit, yield, do not pass, detour, buckle up, steep decline ahead, proceed with caution, speed bump, no left turn, slow-dangerous intersection, dead end, wrong way,

When you see these road signs, think with your heart for a moment. We have many of these instructional signs in life. Right? Take the signs, stop or wrong way for example. I don’t know about your life and the decisions you have made, but I remember buying those restaurants 31 years ago and God giving me signs that I needed to stop. I just didn’t want to listen. The result was eight years of financial struggle. Had I just listened to the signs, it would have saved me much heartache.

Therefore, there are road signs in life that we need to pay attention to. It is God giving you the driving instructions. When you sense danger ahead, don’t just ignore it and plow into it. The older you get (I have found out) the more you see road signs that warn of possible danger. Many of these I would have never thought of when I was younger. That is why the bible says in the book of Job 12:12 “is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long-life bring understanding?” KT

One degree off course

Family, Life

In life, where we end up, can be significantly altered by a slight directional change now. Let’s take one degree as an example. If you started walking straight toward a target one mile away and turned one degree to the left or right at the beginning, you would miss your target by 92 feet. If you were flying to the moon and altered your course by one degree, you would miss the moon by 4,200 miles (twice the diameter of the moon.)

I heard a pastor say once that your direction is far more important than your intention. The example he used was that you could have the greatest intentions to go to Florida but if your car is heading north it doesn’t matter what your intentions are, you will not be going to Florida.

It is the same in life. One little direction change now could realign where you end up in life. Let’s say, you decided to cheat someone, lie on your taxes, mislead someone, try some substance you shouldn’t, have a relationship you shouldn’t etc. The list could go on for pages of the little decisions today that become very large decisions later in your life.  In a full circle there is 360 degrees so you can imagine how small a one-degree change is. At the beginning it is almost unnoticeable but that directional change could mean a whole different life for you.

In life its usually not the big decisions that get us off tract. It’s usually a combination of little decisions that seem so small they couldn’t possible influence us long term. Think again, because it is those little directional changes, we make that could result in a real shift to where we end up in life. I heard a guy say one time that, “whatever you compromise to keep, you will eventually lose.” I think he was right. If you compromise your integrity now, that little degree turn in your direction, could affect your children, grandchildren and possibly your future.

So be aware, diligent and smart about little decisions you make today. We only get one try at life and it would be a shame to miss the target 20 years from now because of a little change in direction today. KT

Look-a-like

Career, Life

When you create something new that you intend to market for sale, you must be careful about copy right infringement and trademarks, but you also must be careful of making it look like someone else’s product.

There have been 100’s of lawsuits because of look-a-like products. Some years ago, Jeep filed a law suit against Hummer because they said the Hummer front grill looked too much like a Jeep. Hummer won the law suit, but it still probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend the suit.

I have a client that owned his own hotel brand and had 26 hotels named after his family name. At the time (early 90’s) Doubletree Hotels had started giving out hot cookies when you checked in. This client of mine decided he wanted to give a free bag of candy when the guests checked in. He goes out and buys a 750k candy machine and started packaging candy with his logo on it. The candy bag was brown in color and his logo was two letters side by side with the & mark between them. The problem was that when you turned the bag over and looked at the letters upside down it looked identical like a very popular candy band. The company that owns the very popular brand sent a letter telling him to cease and desist. Ha. Today he has a 750k candy machine in his ware house that has never been used again.

It is like that sometimes on a personal level as well. Some people go to a lot of effort to look like someone else when all they really need to do is look like themselves. Therefore, it is not good business or personal choice to be copycat or look-a-like. It might sound like a good idea at first. but every person and every product needs its own identity because it is the product (or person) individuality that sets it apart and makes it valuable. KT

People will do what they want to do

Career, Life

After 29 years in this business I have one learned one incontrovertible truth. People are going to do what they want to do.

I have this deal I have been working on for a year and it has started and stopped more times than I can count. Two weeks ago, I was thinking about the deal and realized that if the buyer wants to buy it, they will buy it. If a seller wants to sell it, they will sell it. Pretty profound, right? Ha

This is also true of human nature. I was consulting a young man on a car purchase recently that made me think about this. He had this car picked out he wanted to buy, and I sat with him and told him all the reasons, based on my experience he shouldn’t buy that car.  You know what he did? Went out that night and bought the car. Ha.

See he bought it because that is what he wanted to do. Nothing more, nothing less. That my friend is a perfect example of human nature and why most times you try to change someone minds about something, they most always still do what they want to do.

There you have it. 29 years of wisdom wrapped up in one sentence. KT