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"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dare believe that something inside them was superior to circumstances." -Bruce Barton- It was about 1920 when the father of a large hardworking family, sharecropping on a small farm a few miles outside of Palma Kentucky, scratched his leg while crossing a rusty barbed wire fence. In a matter of days he was dead from blood poisoning and the family, unable to maintain itself, was split to the far winds. As fate would have it, one male member of this family had become friends with the Poe twin brothers whose family operated the General Store at the Palma crossroad, and their family took him in. He was about seven at the time. Over the next few years he worked at the Poe General Store while finishing his meager schooling. Early on, life dealt him a bad hand and he had to become self-reliant. He discovered several things about himself; he was good with people, he had an innate capability to earn their trust and he liked to drive. He became friendly with the fuel delivery truck driver and talked his way into a job driving a fuel truck and then driving passengers, between Kentucky and Michigan, for Brooks Bus Line. He married a childhood sweetheart, moved into a house about a mile and 1/2 down the road from the general store and began to raise a family. He had an infectious laugh and loved to whistle. People always knew when he was around because they could hear him before they could see him. Self-confidence? While he never achieved monetary wealth, he achieved riches beyond his station. He was indeed the best liked, most trusted and deeply respected individual I have ever known. He was my Pop and he taught me above all else....
"You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was." - Irish proverb - Last evening I watched "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" again. Now if you have ever watched this show you know that the contestants are asked trivial questions and provided with multiple-choice answers as they attempt to progress upward toward the Million Dollar Prize. To assist them when they come to a troublesome question, they are provided with three Lifelines; Ask the Audience, Phone a friend, and 50-50. Because this is TV, (a visual medium) the entire premise of the show is built around sight. The entire set is configured around the "hot seat" where the contestants sit in front of a large screen with Regis setting directly across in front of an identical one. As the game begins the lights flash and pulsate, ending with a final zoom in to the two of them (Contestant & Regis) where the first question and the four multiple-choice answers appear simultaneously on the screens in front of them. The contestant is most often intensely focused on the screen as he/she, one by one, eliminates the wrong answers, then provides Regis with their "Final Answer." If that "final answer" is the correct one the screen lights up, the lights pulsate and the audience goes wild. If along the way the contestant is stumped Regis might say to him/her: "Why don't you use one of your Lifelines, this audience "looks" somewhat intelligent, why don't you ask them?" Other times Regis might say: "Why don't you use the 50-50 Lifeline?", "You could have two of the wrong answers removed from the screen!" Self-confidence? Last evening one of the contestants on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" was vision impaired! "It is the surmounting of difficulties that makes heroes" - Kossuth - Gerry and I spent the better part of a recent week in Barbados. Picture if you will, a sea with such a wide array of blues, turquoises and aquamarines between the shallows and the deeper water beyond the reef, that the Maker must have used the full spectrum of available colors, hues and shades. Add to that vision a magnificent beach where the sand had blended with millions upon millions of tiny particles of eroded shells to create a pink tinge unlike any other. A beach so stunning that Lifetimes of the Rich and Famous counted it among the top ten beaches in the world. Hear, if you can, the roar of wave after wave as they pound on rugged cliffs and the song of tropical birds as they swoop and soar above a 113 year old Resort, The Crane Beach Hotel, perched there on the wind swept vista. Place all of this on the exquisite Southeastern coast of this Caribbean Island, an approximate 3 1/2 hour flight from the Miami Airport, and turn green with envy. Directly beside the original Crane Hotel, a developer by the name of Paul Doyle is creating the Crane Beach Private Residence Resort, a Timeshare or Vacation Ownership product. Believe me when I say that the quality of this product is by far the highest I have ever observed. RCI recently granted the Crane Gold Crown status and RCI Points assigned its residences the highest (to date) point value ever given. Phase one of this development was completed in early January of this year, Phase two is under construction and expected to be ready for occupancy in approximately 9 months. Ultimately the site will contain 160 private residence units. Units in the original Crane Beach Resort are all sold, Phase One of the Private Residences are almost all gone and reservations for Phase Two are pouring in. Needless to say, Paul Doyle has invested Millions into the purchase of this site, and the Development of the Crane Beach Private Residence Resort. You can visit the product at www.thecrane.com . Self-confidence? Not the slightest semblance of any timeshare resort sales or marketing effort that I have every seen or heard of. No Sales Center, OPC, lead generation, salespeople or commissions. No pressure to buy, first day gimmicks, pitch book, movies or slick slide presentations. Just a price list, Paul and his administrative staff. "Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear - Dr. Robert Jarvik -
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Jerry Sikes, RRP / CHA, is President of Professional Resort Operators, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona. He has 35 years in the Hospitality Industry / 25 years in Timesharing, and is the current Co-Chairman of ARDA Arizona as well as Chairman of the Arizona Timeshare Management Association. Jerry is a frequent guest speaker regionally and nationally on all aspects of Timeshare Management and a frequent contributor of articles for industry publications. Email: boyjerry@cox.net Phone 480-947-3300 Fax 480-947-6853 Web site: http://www.protimeshare.com |
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