I am convinced that opportunities come to those who are really trying and using their talents. Ever seen the person that lays back and says, “someday I will do this or do that, and things will be great.” That is a comforting thought but very unrealistic in real life.

In real life it’s the basics that matter. If you are a salesperson, it’s amazing how many sales you make if you make sales calls. Kind of self-explanatory, isn’t it? If you are the head of a company, it’s amazing how much good happens when you start showing up and meeting the people under you. If you are a teacher, it’s amazing how much more enjoyable the class is when you, the teacher, prepare. If you are a line employee, answer phones, work on an assemble line, install HVAC or work on cars, it’s amazing how you seem to like your job more when you put effort into your role.

When you work hard at whatever your job is, that’s when the somedays happen. You want to get a promotion? Do your current job so well that people notice. If you find yourself down, confused and dismayed about life – Ask the lord to show you the path he wants for you and then turn the TV and cell phone off and go clean and organize your areas, whether it is your garage, closet, laundry room dresser, or your office. I really believe that in the midst of the “doing” you will experience the “hearing” you need from God to show you the path for your life.

Casting Crowns wrote a song titled ‘Nobody’ The chorus words are “because I am just a Nobody, trying to tell Everybody, all about Somebody, who saved my soul. I am living for the world to see Nobody but Jesus.”

Whatever your job or role is, my suggestion is – get up, brush yourself off, forget the past, decide to be the best version of you, you can be, turn it on, turn it up, get after it and just watch God show you that your someday, could start today. KT

When was the last time you had a silent night? The term doesn’t only mean quiet. I believe the author meant to convey being at peace, contented, restful, joyful. Void of anxiety, strife, jealousy and anger.

2,029 years ago, some scholars Jesus was born during King Herod the Great reign and Herod died in 4-BC. Is believed Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC. He died on the cross in 33-AD, so Jesus could have been a touch older than what we were taught growing up. 

The term ‘Silent Night’ is not in the bible. The song was written in 1816 and put to music in 1818 and sang for the first time, Christmas Eve 1818. The song’s writer all those years ago named it Silent Night. That title/name seemed to capture the essence of that birth that changed the course of history. In that manger, it was a silent night in that it was void of distractions, fear, anger, resentment etc. because the mother and father knew that child was God come in the flesh. That night was silent and peaceful, but they knew their lives would never be the same. It was calm before the storm.

We all have storms in our lives competing for attention in our thoughts. It sounds cliché but if you can find that silent night and experience that rest, peace, and contentment – what a joy that is. I think our objective this holiday season should be to have more silent nights by finally, putting our trust in God to handle the storms in our lives. What a joy to be at rest and content in life. It doesn’t mean you have everything you every wanted, it just means you have chosen to let God be the director of your life. Merry Christmas. KT

Business and life are full of success and failure. I don’t know of a person that only knows success without also knowing failure. Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Milton Hershey, H.J. Heinz and Abraham Lincoln all had one thing in common. They all filed bankruptcy before going on to great success.

I heard a quote the other day that I wrote down. The quote was “failure is the fog from which we all glimpse triumph.” I have thought about that quote for several weeks and think there might be some truth to it. See, if you only have success, you will not be forced to improve, change or better yourself. It is usually a failure (hopefully a small one) that forces us to look deeply at what we are doing and how we are doing it. It also forces us to ask; how can I improve on what I do?

I like the words haze and fog because they can sometimes be a metaphor for our life when we can’t quite see the path forward. Life is like that sometimes. When you get turned down for a job, lose an account, don’t get selected for a promotion, have a business failure etc. you find yourself in a little haze (fog). 2024 and 2025 have been slow transactional years for hotels due to many reasons but mainly the cost of debt. In my 35 years of selling hotels there have been many cycles but one thing is consistent. The cycles and seasons always change.

As with every haze and or fog, it is usually short on duration and then the light comes through, and you see a whole new day stretched out before you. Life is a gift so don’t waste one day rehashing old disappointments. John Wayne said – “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” KT

When you think of the word hope, it generally means things that are not certain but hoped for. I hope I passed that test, I hope I get a good doctor’s report, I hope I get that promotion at work etc.

In the spiritual sense that word hope means something different. It means the forward looking of something that is certain. What are you striving for and looking forward to? The hope of heaven means a full-on expectation of what is fact and real.

I have been a little captivated the last several days by this concept because there is a person we know through family that just had her life expectancy dictated into weeks and or possibly months. I won’t get into the details, but I ask myself what I would do if the doctors told me I only had a short time to live. What you thought was so important, instantly changes. The reality crashes in on you as you somehow come to grips with planning the end of your life.  

All the noise (news, events, who said what etc.) mean nothing any longer and your world just became very very simple. This is selfish and self-centered, but I don’t care, my controlling thought over the past few days since hearing of this friend, has been the unconditional thankfulness for my healthy family. This Thanksgiving, they better get ready for an extra strong and long hug and kiss from me.

This Thanksgiving, take an inventory of your life and those closest to you because they are the real important parts of your life. Tell them so. Tell them you love them, Hug and kiss them even if they don’t want it. Some of the sweetest memories I have are of my mother hugging and kissing my cheek and telling me she loves me. Don’t miss the opportunity this Thanksgiving provides to do just that to those you love. KT

Years ago, our congressman was Mack Collins, and I had him as a guest speaker at a men’s event I was hosting. After the event he invited me to come to Washington to his office for a day and he would show me around. I went and it was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen, and he took to meetings that I had no business being in. One of the things that impressed me was s sign he had hanging over his desk that simply read, Be Real. I know he practiced that because Mack was the same Mack in DC as he was in Jackson Georgia.

I continue to be amused by people in my industry that put on a good show but don’t have anything to back it up. I called it all show and no go. Ha. They look good, smell good and have perfect gelled hair, but couldn’t buy their way out of a wet paper bag.

Think of a Peacock bird.  That is exactly what I am talking about. They fluff out the amazing feathers and they look much bigger than they really are, they are beautiful and amazing, but their only skill is to fake their predators into thinking that they are bigger than they really are. They can’t fight, they are slow runners and can only fly a short distance. Basically, they are all show and no go.

I was on a conference call yesterday with the grandson of the founder of a large privately held hotel company. This guy was probably late 30’s and early 40’s and he didn’t try to impress with his name and the way he looked, but when he started talking, everyone on the call took note. I respect people who are authentic and not styling and profiling. They are who they are and don’t try to be someone they are not.

I believe people respond to people who are real and comfortable in their own skin just the way God made them. The ones I have trouble with are the ones that try to be someone they are not to impress people they don’t even know. People who try to be a peacock can quickly become a feather duster if they are not authentic.

The sign in Mack’s office said, “Be Real.”  That’s pretty good advice all around. KT