“Give it all you got” is really a simple concept. It means whatever you are doing, give it your all. It means to really try at what you are doing.

I have known people that get paid by the hour at their work, and they seem to enjoy finding ways to still be on the clock without working. I have actually heard these people brag about this. The truth is they are actually showing their own character. Don’t be like that.

I believe when you give it all you got, you will have no regrets. You will sleep well at night. When you have done your best, there is nothing else left to do. You find yourself at peace.

This can be misconstrued to think that you have to work 14 hours a day. That is not at all what I am saying. You just have to be there mentally when you are there physically. When you are talking with someone, really listen. When you are writing a letter, do the best you can. When you are giving a report to your boss, prepare before you go in and do great. If you are a salesman, like I am, know what you are talking about and look them in the eye and be honest.

What I am saying is to do whatever you do, as though everyone will see it or hear you. Be proud of what you do and do it well. KT

In business, chewing on one bone at a time will break your heart. What I am talking about is in business, when you get momentum, you cannot afford to just focus on one project. You must have several projects going at the same time to balance out your expectations.

I learned this the hard way in 1996. We were selling a 17-hotel portfolio and while I knew better, I let myself get focused on that one deal and didn’t go out and get new business. Long story short, that deal didn’t close, and it just about broke my heart. See, I let myself imagine, expect and envision that one deal closing. When it didn’t, it was a heartbreaker.

I call this the Dog Theory. A dog will get one bone and go off and chew that one bone until he is finished. I know some hotel brokers in our line of work that think like that. The point is that when something good is happening and the momentum is shifting your way, you need to go get as many deals as you can so if you should lose one or two, you still have the others to look forward to. It is a mind game, and you almost have to force yourself to ramp up your efforts when things are good because human nature says to lay back and coast. I am not a very smart guy, but I do know that the only way you can coast is downhill.

Working on more than one client, deal, or project is like insulation for your heart, and it will actually allow you to be smarter and sharper on all projects. When you have only one thing and one project to work on, you pour yourself into it and can’t understand why everyone else isn’t as focused as you. When you do this, you actually hurt your chances of that deal closing, getting that project completed, or landing that job. It is like you need to fool your own mind so that one deal doesn’t become all-encompassing in your life.

So, when you feel the momentum is shifting in your work or your business, it could very well be God talking to you and telling you to get busy, get focused and use that new-found momentum to go get more business. KT

Years ago before I started selling hotels, I owned some fast food restaurants called Mrs. Winner’s. It was basically like a Kentucky Fried Chicken without the support of the franchisor and the sales. Ha. I bought them in 1988 with an investor when I was 30 years old and thought my financial future was in the food business.

If there is anyone that reads this blog that has the desire to really complicate and jack up their life, get in the restaurant business. I lost so much money I couldn’t even keep up with it. Also, I was working 100 hours a week and all of this took place when our girls were little. It took me 10 years to get out of that investment and pay back all the money I owed.

One summer in the early ’90s, we went camping for a week. I was dreading going back to work and to the restaurants because I knew what was waiting for me. I told Elaine’s father, Max Phillips, this and he said something that stopped me cold. He said you need to find a business that you enjoy because if you enjoy it, you will be more successful. Max owed a fence company and if there was an Olympic event of fence selling, Max would have owned the gold medal for 30 years. He loved what he did, and he did it very very well.

So, I took Max’s advice in 1990 and started selling hotels while still running the restaurants. I sold the final restaurant in 1998 and the bad dream was over. By 1998 when I sold that last restaurant, I had established myself in hotel brokerage, and that is where I am today. I can say without question that I love selling hotels and look forward to each day and each week. Max was right because I found something I enjoyed doing, and it makes life so much sweeter in all areas.

When you go to work today, enjoy it to the fullest because one day you will not be able to work. I look at men who because of health and age are unable to work any longer, and I know in their hearts they wished they had enjoyed those years more. Don’t go grudgingly to work, but rather embrace the period in your life where you can work and contribute financially to your family’s future. I believe in all areas of your life if you can figure out the “why,” you can figure out the “how.”

So, Max’s advice was spot on: find work that drives you, challenges you and that you enjoy because life is too short not to enjoy that part of your life. KT

In every business and every sport, there is a time to turn it on. It’s when you are watching a football game and you see the momentum change. It is usually when the team that just scored gets a new look, refreshed perspective, and decides they can win the game. That’s when you see them turn it on.

I believe when you see that happen in sports, it is one of the most motivating things you can witness. One of the greatest I remember was watching Jack Nicklaus win his 6^th green jacket at the Masters Golf Tournament when he was 46 years old. When he made the turn at #10 he was in the tournament, but no one thought he had a chance. By the time he got to #15 and birdied the hole, everyone thought he may just have a chance. By the time he was standing on the 18^th tee, he was dead center and laser-focused because he believed he could actually win. It was one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

We have three pictures hanging on our office wall of Jack Nicklaus winning this 1986 Masters. You can look at the pictures, and you know that Jack was in full on throttle mode.

I have watched athletes over the years turn it on and turn it off. The problem with turning it off is that you can’t always get it back on. The wisdom is to go full out every time you pick up the club or the ball or get behind the wheel.

If you were a farmer, it is no different because when it is harvest time, it is also showtime. Time to do what you were born to do and to do it the best you can. The farmer just lives through the spring and summer months and gets tired and frustrated, but then one day he stands on his back porch and sees that it is harvest time. He gets on his clothes and turns it on.

In business, there are times when you ride in the pack and conserve energy and then there are times when you break out really turn it on. I am an amateur cyclist and ride with a local group. There is no other sport quite like cycling when it comes to riding in the pack and then making a sprint. When you watch the pro tours like the Tour de France, which ended a couple of weeks ago, there were several stages of the race where one rider got way ahead of the pack and everyone thought they would win the stage. Every time that happened, that rider that was ahead was overtaken at the end. See, you cannot ride out front all the time, and you can’t win every fight or every battle. I heard it said that you can win the war without winning every battle. Good advice.

So in business, you will not win every deal or make every sale, but the objective is to not quit trying. Many people fail and switch careers when they don’t have instant success. Usually the ones that win are the ones that stick around long enough to figure out how to win. So, when it is showtime, it is all business. KT