This my friends is blog post number 1000. To commemorate this milestone, I thought I would re-post the very first blog from February 2014. The subject is a ‘normal routine day’ and how we take them for granted until we wish we had them back. It goes on to say that all it takes is one bad diagnosis, car accident, loss of a family member, sick child, business failure etc. etc. and all you want is to go back to a regular routine day. The following blog is from 2014 and has just as much meaning as it did 11 years ago. Love ya. KT

Routine Life

The term “routine life” sounds terrible, right? Well, I believe we need to look at this term and what it means a little closer. It means the normal, everyday things we do that sometimes seems boring. If you were told you had cancer, would you want to get back to a normal, routine life? Sure, you would. If your child was just diagnosed with a long-term health issue, would you want to get back to a normal, routine life? Sure, you would. Therefore, take an inventory today of your blessings and yes, you may be changing diapers, washing clothes, making sales calls or just simply doing the same thing you did last week, but if are able to have a routine day, celebrate it.

I sell hotels, and today I am in Columbus, Ohio, where it is snowing. When I got here last night I thought, how many times have I traveled to a city to sell a hotel and do the same thing again and again. Well, last night I realized there will be a day, sooner rather than later, where this part of my life is over, and I won’t be able to do what I do for a living. Life seems to go by quicker than you think. If you are a young mother who is sleepy from being up last night or a young father searching for significance, as hard as it may seem, embrace these moments because they will not last. One day, you will long for and wish you could get back to a normal, routine day.  KT

Selling is many times about perspective. If a person is buying a new home, they need to envision themselves living there. The perspective can relate to business, travel, entertainment, investments etc. It is understanding the buyer’s reason.

I sell hotels and always start a new client relationship with wanting to understand the buyers’ objectives, but also his why. His why is usually his reason. It might be he wants to grow in a certain geographic region, or grow with a specific hotel brand, like Marriott pr Hilton, He may want deep turnaround investments while others want a turnkey deal. So, understanding the buyer or client’s perspective is really understanding his/her reason. If you can answer the reason/perspective, you can better help the client.

Speaking of perspective selling, I heard a story about a Cadillac Salesman that made me laugh. He would show them the car and let them test drive it, answer all their questions and if the buyer still wasn’t sure about buying the Cadillac, he would pull out a picture of a funeral hearse and hand it to them with the following statement. “I promise you, you will ride in a Cadillac one day, so why not start today.” That is perspective! He usually made the sale. Ha. KT

No country is without its challenges and America certainly has its share. Yes, we have issues, we have crime, restlessness, civil unrest at times and strife, but those are attributes that can only exist in a country where we are free to express them. Let’s not forget that many countries will take you away if you say anything bad about its leadership. So the next time you hear or see or read about some doofus (there is a lot of them) spouting off, just remember he/she gets to do so because they live in America.

 If I were asked to give a speech on the virtues of American, the following is why I believe America is the greatest place to live in the world.

This nation was built on the promise of freedom—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to dream, and the freedom to become whoever you want to be. From its founding, the United States has stood as a beacon of hope for those seeking opportunity, fairness, and a better life.

What makes America truly exceptional is not just its natural beauty or wealth—though we have both in abundance. It’s our people. A nation of immigrants, innovators, and dreamers, America is a place where hard work is rewarded, and where your background does not determine your future. Whether you’re born here, or you come here with a dream, you have the chance to rise.

Our economy is one of the strongest in the world. We lead in technology, medicine, and innovation. Our colleges and universities are among the best globally, attracting minds from every corner of the earth. We have the rule of law, a system of checks and balances, and a constitution that protects the rights of every citizen.

But more than anything, America offers hope. Hope that tomorrow can be better. Hope that your children can go further than you did. Hope that if you work hard and stay true to your values, anything is possible.

No country is perfect—but America allows us to keep striving, to keep improving, and to never give up on the idea that greatness is within reach. That is why I believe—proudly and without hesitation—that America is the greatest place to live in the world. KT

The other day I called this hotel owner that I have never met. I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I do know my way around a hotel investment.

To this guy’s defense, he didn’t know me, but he was the most rude and obnoxious owner I believe I have ever talked to. It took all that was within me to not lay into him for acting like such a dingdong.

Galatians 6:7 says, be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  That means how you act, how you treat others, how honest you are, how you live life, is a direct result of how you will be treated.

I get many sales calls in my business from new people in the industry. I always try to answer every email and return every call and be as helpful as I can to the new people in our industry. Why? I call it the Bob factor.

My very first week (May 1990) in the hotel business I decided to go down I-75 and talk to some hotel owners. What started out as an afternoon project, turned into me going to 137 hotels over a two-day period. The very first hotel I came to was the Days Inn in McDonough Georgia, (my hometown) and Bob Patel was the owner. He knew I was new and didn’t know anything, but he took a half hour to talk to me about his hotel and the industry and treated me with respect. That one first meeting gave me the confidence to go to the other 136 hotels. I won the ‘Rookie Of The Year’ award for the US that year and it all started with Bob. Every time I see him even now; I hug his neck.

I try to pass that kindness on to the salespeople who call on me. I firmly believe how you respond to others is how others will respond to you. As for the doofuss I talked to the other day. He will soon realize he needs to change how he treats others. No one is above or can escape what Galatians 6:7 says. KT

In a world where many people hide behind a website, social media platforms, text messaging etc. and send hateful, hurtful, and many times asinine messaging, I thought I would type out something Teddy Roosevelt said in a speech on August 23, 1910. It is titled, Man in the Arena. It pretty much says it all.  

He said;

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Can I hear an Amen? KT