With very few exceptions, this is the thought on every person’s mind if they are at life’s end. It is also the thought on every person’s mind who lost someone dear, or they just received bad health news.  

If this is true, it would mean that the most important things in life are not material possessions. They are in fact life itself and those closest to us. Additionally, if this is true, those of us reading this blog who are not in the position like the people listed above, we should listen close to their message and look, stop, focus, and realize the gift we have been given. KT

There seems to be some confusion in some corners as to what is right and what is wrong. The truth is, with very very few exceptions, we all know what the right thing is to do and what the right answer is. When money and people are involved, there are some who act like they don’t know what the right answer is, but they do.  

I sell hotels and over the years, I have had buyers and sellers offer me everything from money under the table to free cars if I would help them get a deal. I am proud to say that I have not only never taken the bait, but that I have never even been tempted to. There is a hotel broker that I knew well years ago who chose to take side deals, kickbacks, and money under the table. Today that same person is serving a prison sentence and has lost everything he had and once believed in.

Here is the thing, in life, whatever you compromise to keep, you always seem to lose. I believe that once you step over certain lines you never really get it back. There are certain things in your life that you must do before you can truly enjoy the rest of your life. I believe knowing in your heart that you were honest, is one of those things. Oh, sure there are some scoundrels that never get caught and live to an old age but the real question no one will ever know is, did they really have peace and joy.

My mentor Harmon Born passed away a couple of years ago and he always told me that the key to restful sleep, peace and joy is to do what is right even if no one is watching. I think those are pretty good words to live by. KT

I am not sure how to really express this, but today (and every day) is an unimaginable gift. I know people (I am one of them) that get so wrapped up in what we are doing and in our work that we just run by and completely miss the gifts around us.

Over the past 18 months I have lost some close friends who probably thought that they themselves had a lot more time, but God called them home early. I can’t explain it, but the fall season makes me reflect on life around me and the moments that have shaped who I am. I remember meeting my wife for the first time in science class in high school, holding my daughter’s hands when we had bedtime prayers, the little song I would sing to them when they were little, looking into the eyes of the men they married that would take my place in their hearts, holding my grandchildren for the first time. My specials memories could go on for pages.

My point, as the leaves are turning and Thanksgiving and Christmas is around the corner, take a moment and appreciate who and what is around you that God has let you live to see. Don’t ever take it for granted. I feel sure that my friends who left early would give everything they had for just another few days so they could properly say goodbye. In my business we have a saying, “don’t leave anything on the table” which means to give it your all. Today, make sure you don’t leave anything on the table of your life. KT

Ever been out somewhere and see something that reminds you of your childhood?

Elaine and I were in an antique store a couple weeks ago and there was a candy apple blue Schwinn bike with a banana seat, sissy bar, and chopper handlebars. I had one just like it in the 5^th grade. Memories are like that in that they can take you right back to that age. I remember riding it to school for the first time thinking, I have everything in life I want. ha

When you were young, you played with anyone, trusted everyone and there weren’t any status rankings among friends. We learned all that as we go older. I had two grandfathers, one that wanted to spend time with me and one that didn’t have the time for me. My dad’s dad always would stop and explain things to me and would let me ride on the tractor with him. He wanted to spend time with me. My dad’s mom was about five foot tall and would fuss around making sure we had our favorite meals and when she hugged you, you knew you had been hugged. My mom’s mom passed away when I was 15 but she impacted my life for God in such profound ways. I loved her dearly.

For some reason that still escapes me, in high school I moved from the great home shared with my mom and stepfather (I loved them both greatly) to live with my father and stepmother in Georgia. It was a terrible several years and I ended up leaving home during my senior year of high school. As I have gotten older, I realize that God wanted me in Georgia because he could see my future family and knew who I was supposed to marry and who my daughters, son in-laws, grandchildren were going to be. I have said this before, but we look at life decisions in terms of today where God can see 10 years out. He knew where I was supposed to be.

Hopefully your childhood memories are good, safe, fond, encouraging and up-lifting to you as an adult but I also know that many people would rather forget their childhood. Childhood memories are funny, you either want your family to be like your memories or you know you need to create new memories. That is the thing about growing up, you get to decide the person you want to be and the kind of memories you want your children and grandchildren to have. KT

40 years ago, before I got into the hotel business, our church had a guess speaker named Bob Dollar come deliver the sermon one Sunday. He made such an impression on me. The Days Inn hotel chain was started in 1970 by a guy named Cecil Day and Bob Dollar was hired in the early 70’s to head the development team for Days Inn.

One thing he said (and acted it out) I will never forget. He said, “if your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep will be your downfall.”  As he said it, he did the following hand motions. He pushed his hand straight out and said, “if your outgo” pulled his hand back “exceeds your income” pushed his hand up “then your upkeep” lowered his hand “will be your downfall.” That little visual has been fixed in my mind for all these years. I know this because it was so true during my restaurant years.  

We as Americans do not have the ability to live beyond our income. Including debt, we must spend less than we bring in. If you find yourself borrowing on credit cards to live, its only a matter of time before the chickens come home to roost. In that case your upkeep will be your downfall.

Except for some complicated measures, each state must (generally) balance their budget yearly because they have no means to just create new money, unlike our Federal Government. The last time the Federal Government had a balanced budget with a surplus was in 2001 under Bill Clinton. Since then, the US has gone deeper in debt each month and each year. Today, the federal deficit is 220 billion dollars a month. That is each month.  12 months/ one year equals a deficit of 2.6 trillion dollars. Our national debt today is 30 trillion and growing by 2.6 trillion a year. It doesn’t take a math genius to understand this cannot last.  Annual GDP (gross domestic product – monetary value of all goods and services made in or sold from the United States) equals only 22 trillion. On that 22 trillion, the federal tax revenue (from all of us) is only 4.8 trillion and the government is still losing 220 billion a month. You can see what the problem is.

My point? Let’s elect people who understand money that hopefully come from a business background where they understand what it means to hire people and meet a weekly payroll. We have so many elected officials that have never been through a downturn and many that have never held a job other than a government position. They simply don’t know what it is actually like to depend only on themselves to go out and earn a living. Let’s elect the right kind of people. KT