Being unique and embracing it, is many times one of the keys to joy, peace, fulfillment and also success. Many people want to copy or duplicate another person because they see that person achieving some popularity or notoriety and think if they imitate that person, they will have the same success. Success usually comes from the uniqueness of the individual that sets them apart from the crowd. In reality we should all celebrate our own uniqueness and not try to change the thing that makes us different.

Over the weekend we were flipping through the channels and landed on the history of the Carpenters music group. I am big Doobie, CCR and Three Dog Night guy which were all in prominence at the same time (late 60’s -mid 70’s) with the Carpenters. They were all competing for the same listener but the styles could not be any more different. The three groups mentioned above were the hard charging rock groups whereas the Carpenters were love songs and easy listening.

The one thing they all had in common was a unique sound that could not be duplicated. There was only one of them and they all succeeded greatly at the same time. When the Carpenters came on the music scene, everyone just moved over a little and made room. The result was a music success.

Some of the greatest sales people I have ever known were not you would expect. So many times people think of salesmen or saleswomen as over bearing and loud. I find the greatest sales people to be the ones that are reserved and thorough in how they approach business. They are also honest, likable and trustworthy.

My point is never try to be someone else. You lose the qualities that make you, you. Embrace the uniqueness that belongs to only you. No one else has what you have. Be thankful that you are different because that is what you can build a life on. KT

When making a big decision, the first question you should be honest with yourself about is whether or not it will change your life if the decision turns out to be wrong. If the consequences of failure are life changing, one should be very careful to weigh the options.

I will give you a perfect example. Last year I bought an old truck and while I hoped it would be a good buy, I knew that if I got it home and found it full of rust or the engine blew up, it would not change our lifestyle. That is a simple example of a very important point. We all buy and sell things and change jobs and basically make decisions all the time but we don’t always really think the big ones through.

I was part of selling a company one time that for me didn’t turn out well. I had all the great ideas and good reasons why I should do it but I failed to ask myself that one simple question. Will it change my life if it fails? Before we sold the company I was happy, stress-free, content and very pleased with where the company was going. After we sold the company, I remember one day thinking about how much I wished I could go back. I couldn’t because it was already done. Some decisions are life changing and for me, that was a life changing decision that I took too lightly. Had I closed my eyes ask myself, “if this fails will we still be ok,” I probably would have made a different decision.

Before you make a big decision, look at your existing life, your children, your home, your peace, your bank account, your joy and your contentment. If you are in a good place now, look big decisions head on and be honest with yourself. I have made two big decisions in business that I dearly wished I could take back. Sometimes you don’t realize how blessed you are until you make a decision that changes your life and you cannot go back.

I believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit of God lives and resides within my heart and all I have to do is ask him what I should do. In both of those business decisions, I did not fully and openly ask God what I should do. It was what I wanted to do and I was afraid if I really ask him, he would say no.

So the point. Before you make big life decisions, be honest with yourself and be honest with God and make the decision in advance that you are ok if God leads you to go forward or walk away. KT

I got up this morning and was getting ready for work and was thinking about all the things I needed to do and the calls I needed to make and people I needed to talk with. There was a slight sense of dread because some of the calls were going to be difficult and the clients were not going to be happy. It is funny how when a broker (like us) doesn’t sell someone’s hotel for what they invested in it, it is always the broker’s fault and never the owners fault. These type deals are rarely hotels that they bought through us but instead they bought them from someone else and now we get the blame for it. Ha. It is like some people we all know that never make a mistake themselves because it is always someone else’s fault. Ever meet someone like this?

I have gotten off subject. This morning when I got up and got dressed for work and all the thoughts were going through my head, I stopped and realized that one day I won’t have the option of going to work. One day I will not be getting ready for work. One day I won’t go to the office and have things to take care of. One day the work will go on without me and one day the younger folks will be the ones leading the business.

Then I realized what a gift today was because I get to go to work. I get to be busy with life. I get to be involved. I get to work around people I like. I get to have a place to go. I get to still earn an income. I get to still play a meaningful role in our business. What a gift.

Maybe today when you got up, you wished you could sleep a little longer and wished you didn’t have to leave the house. Maybe today you didn’t realized what a joy and gift it is to still be needed at work. Many times the greatest joys in life is realizing the simple things that we already have. KT