Category Archives: Life

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

The dip after the start

Career, Life

With anything new, it always starts with high expectations and promise but there is usually a dip after it starts. Sometime the dip is shallow and short and other times, the dip is long and deep.

Using two familiar examples to explain what I am talking about. Say you start working out. We all have been there when you get up that first day and go lights out on a new workout. Afterwards you feel fantastic and accomplished and ready to tear up the world. It’s what happens after about day five that matters when you hit a dip and talk yourself out it. That is why workout gyms sign up more new memberships the first week of January than any other week of the year. Ha.

By way of another example, think of a plane taking off from an aircraft carrier. It starts will full thrust and power but when it leaves the carrier deck, it most always takes a dip before it really gets going. That is what I am talking about in this blog. What do you do when the dip happens?

There are many examples of a dip from new relationships, new ventures, new investments, new churches, new diets and many other examples. The theme is consistent for all these examples. There is almost always a dip and what really matters most is what you do when the dip happens, and can you rebound from the dip?

I sell hotels for a living and I cannot count the number of well -intended investors that built a new hotel or bought a new hotel that experienced some dip after it opened. Many of them fall short of investor expectations and some never recover from the dip.

In life, investments, relationships etc., the advice would be to, hope for the strong take-off but plan for the dip. If you do. it will not surprise you when it happens, and you will be better prepared for it when it does. KT

Veterans Day 2019

Family, Life

Today is Veterans Day and we should all be thankful for them.

Several days ago, I wrote a blog about the battle at Omaha Beach in Normandy France. What many people forget is that America was fighting two wars at the same time. We were fighting the Germans in Europe and Japan in the Pacific. Our troops were stretched all over the world trying to Save America.

Two years (exactly) before the battle at Omaha beach was the battle at Midway. As the Battle at Omaha Beach was the turning point in the European war against Germany, the battle at Midway was the turning point in the war in the Pacific against Japan. Midway island is located between Japan and Hawaii, much closer to Hawaii than it is to Japan. As you know Japan had already attacked Pearl Harbor (6 months earlier) and their plan was to take ownership and control of all the Pacific region.  If anyone thinks that their desire for control would have stopped with the pacific, simply does not understand history or the mindset of a dictator. Japan wanted to control the world from the west.

Simply put, if we had lost the battle of Midway and given Japan ownership and control of the island, we would have lost the Hawaiian Islands and then would eventually be defending the west coast of the United States. Much like the battle at Omaha beach, if we had lost Midway, we most likely would have lost America. So, the stakes in the battle was for the life, land and liberty of America.

The battle took place between June 4th and June 7th, 1942. Combined casualties between America and Japan were 3,364. Additionally, there was great loss of naval ships, planes, aircraft carriers, equipment and personnel. America prevailed in the battle and pushed the Japanese control back to Tokyo and retained control of the pacific.

In our personal life there are things we need to do and then there are things we must do. In the course of history, the battles at Midway and Omaha Beach were battles that America had to win. So today, wherever you are, if you see a veteran, thank them and this Thanksgiving, remember the veterans that gave their life so we could have a chance to live ours. KT