I love cars and I think I need some therapy and counseling. I am thinking about checking myself into the Henry Ford Institute (not Betty Ford Institute, ha) so they can help wean me off this addiction. If my wife would let me, I would have 20 today and looking for more.

I counted the vehicles I have owned over my lifetime and can remember 61 of them. I feel sure there were 8 or 10 more that just escapes my memory. Needless to say, there has been a lot of driving going on and I am only 39 years old.

The most used vehicle I ever owned was a 1998 Tahoe that I ordered with every available option. The most joy received from a vehicle is probably the Shelby I currently own and by far, the worst vehicle was a 72 Jaguar that needed to be worked on every other day. It was probably the best looking of all the cars but that joy was quickly overshadowed by the nightmare of owning it.

Some years ago, I was selling a hotel in Nashville for a guy and when I got to the hotel, they had a Boss Mustang on the lobby floor when I walked in. After I picked my tongue off the floor the owner’s son told me his dad had a few cars in a warehouse just down the street if I wanted to go see them. It took me a while (1 second) to tell him I would love to see the cars. I was thinking 5 or 6 dusty old nothing cars behind a few old dirty garage doors. When we pulled up to the “warehouse,” it was a purpose build 100k sq. ft. climate controlled facility. It had a full-time staff that took care of the cars and a better security system that the White House. As we entered in the foyer there were double doors leading to the area where the cars were and when the client opened the doors (literally true) I almost went weak kneed. The first 13 of 67 cars was one of every color 69 Yenko Camaro that were made. Yenko Chevrolet only made 201 in 1969 and each one today is worth 300-400k.

For the second time in the same day, I picked my tongue off the floor and looked around the room and realized he had the first ZR1 Camaro, several factory Copos and one of the two actual 1969 Daytona 500 pace cars. As I looked around the warehouse there were Shelby’s, Boss Mustangs, Hemi Cudas (maybe it is Cudi for plural, ha), Vettes, GTOs, Super Sports, Superbirds, Trans-Ams, and some of the most rare and valuable muscle cars ever produced. My guess is his collection was probably worth 20-25 million dollars. When I left that day, I needed a tongue lozenge and a shower. Ha

I believe after I retire from selling hotels, I want to have a muscle car shop where we buy and sell vintage muscle from the late 60’s and early 70’s and the back-ground music playing will be Three Dog Night, Doobie Brothers and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Except for long hair, double knit bell bottoms, Woodstock and Vietnam, 1967 – 1971 could be the greatest error of cars and music of all time. KT

There is something different in all of us that sets us apart and makes us unique. Many times, it is the very thing that you most want to change. Let me say that again. The thing that makes you unique is many times the very thing we most want to change (if you could) about yourself. I don’t want to get too spiritual on you here but if you step back and think outside the box, you can recognize Satan at work telling you to change that aspect of your life. See, he knows it is the one thing about you that makes you different and the one thing that will have the greatest impact on your life and those around you.

Case in point, I stutter and I am a salesman. God must have a sense of humor. Ha. The speech thing I have is the aspect I have most wanted to change about my life but it is also the one thing that makes me different and even possibly memorable. I have a dear friend/client who told me the first time I called him, he picked out three words (ha) he understood and formed his response around those three words. Makes me laugh when I think about it. Today, this client has transacted with me many times over the years and is one of my dearest friends. I know I could call him at any time any day.

A few examples of the things about us that we most want to change could be our looks, hair, weight, physical appearance, clothes, education, candace of our speech, accent, the way we think about things, skin color, habits, ticks, your eyes, your hands, your ears etc. etc. and many, many other examples. The truth is that God made you like you are and gave you the personality you have for a purpose. Take me for example, if I was educated, polished, fluent and good looking, maybe I would have been just like many others in my profession and would not have seen his hand in my life like I have.

This is not to say we shouldn’t try and improve our health, habits etc. but it does mean that each of us has a gift that only we have. As hard as it is to believe, out of the 7.5 billion people on earth, there is no one just like you. There are people that are similar but no one exactly like you. Think about that just a minute. God made 7.5 billion people (living today) and made them all different from each other. Why did he do this? Well, I believe it is because he put something unique in each one of us that no one else would have. It is that one thing you possess that is unique to you and allows you to be honest, transparent and engaging when people meet you.

So, as you look at your life and take an inventory, don’t be so quick to want to change who you are because it could very well be the character trait you most need to be what God intended you to be. KT