I Never Thought of Hotel Ownership Until David Byrd &
J.W. Marriott...
by Von Mickle
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September 18 was definitively one of my best days of
2008. I began by attending a Residence
Inn by Marriott ribbon cutting ceremony at the National Harbor where Ken Fearn
was about to open his eighth and ninth hotels that month. Soon after arriving there, I met Leroy Howard,
owner of the TownPlace Suites by Marriott in Sterling, VA.
Mr. Howard and I chatted just before I was introduced to Andy Ingraham,
President of NABHOOD (National Association of Black Hotel Owners Operators and
Developers). Relax, I'd never heard of
it either until I attended the ICSC event in Las Vegas last year thanks to David
Byrd. Both Andy and Leroy spoke highly
about hotel ownership and told me I should consider it. Andy broke away as Leroy and I continued to
chat about one of my favorite subjects---exotic cars. Most importantly, he pointed out another very
important man of the hour, Mr. J.W. Marriott Jr. As he softly moved across the room, I thought
to myself he sure seemed to be a humbled and genuinely nice man. He took center stage and quickly pointed to another
powerful, yet attention dodging person, legendary developer and National Harbor mastermind Milton Peterson. Knowing
none of these people at the start of the day and having no idea they'd be in
attendance, I was simply in my element enjoying every second but I wouldn't
have known anything about any of this had it not been for David Byrd.
I couldn't even stay and have cocktails as I had to rush
into DC to have lunch with a few NBA superstars before getting a VIP tour of
the Verizon Center.
Because I was late leaving the Harbor, I took the last open VIP parking spot
below the arena which sandwiched me right smack dab in between a 62" Maybach and
a drop top Rolls Royce Phantom. Lunch
was great and I even left with a brand new Gilbert Arenas jersey.
My next task was to hurry home and read a few chapters of hotel
developer Don Peebles newly released book as I was attending his gala event the
next day. Once again, thanks to David
Byrd I met him exactly a year ago last week at the gorgeous Prince George's Small Business Awards
breakfast.
Since that day, Mr. Marriott and I have sort of become pen
pals with the difference being I type and he prefers handwriting. Getting hand written letters from him and his
Executive VP, former ABC News 7 anchorwoman Kathleen Matthews adds a very
personal touch to his global organization. All that's nice but
let's get back to Mr. Byrd. He has given
economic development a whole new meaning.
I've owned millions worth of property in multiple states but never
thought much about county economic development centers. Recently, I sat in on a franchising event at
the D.C. center to discover a $100K business plan challenge.
Since franchising was the topic of the day and hotels are
franchised, I decided to call on Mr. Marriott once again via my H.I.P. DVD to
see if he would enlist the help of one of his staff members to answer a few
questions as I prepared my D.C. hotel business plan. He quickly one upped me by having his Senior
VP of Lodging Development invite me to Marriott HQS for TWO DAYS to
discuss.
I can add more details but the point is none of this would
have happened if it wasn't for Mr. David Byrd.
To him he may consider it just forwarding an email, but to me it's the
very key that has been unlocking the doors and lighting the path to my ultimate
dreams. He can't possibly light my path
without lighting his own.
That beautiful September day ended with my son running two
80 yard touchdowns in the start of what would be his best football season ever so the Arenas jersey
was all his. Mr. Marriott even agreed to
be a part of my upcoming book, Slide 68.
I've never totally shared the material reasons I grind so tenaciously
every day, but today Mr. Byrd I'll make it known just for you. Someone said life shouldn't be measured by
the breaths you take but instead by the moments like September 18th that
take your breath away. You are a great
community leader, much like an eagle.
They don't flock, you find them one at a time.
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Whether Weight Lifting or Earning Money You Are Company You Keep!
The Law of Attraction is Always at Work
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When I began lifting weights I recall watching the loaded bar
as strong men bench pressed 225 lbs. I thought
it looked so cool having two massive 45lb plates loaded on each side. With some effort and continued gym visits,
before too terribly long I became a part of the 225 club. I quickly shot past 225 however and stagnated
around the 240lb mark for a long time. That's
about all everyone else in the gym was doing.
Then one day I decided I wanted a bit more. I started attending another gym and was
getting there around the same time as some of the strongest guys who frequented
the place. They were all capable of
bench pressing over 300lbs. When you add
3-45lbs plates (315 lbs) to each side you separate the men from the boys. Just the sound of adding the third plate to
each side makes people stop and wonder who in the world is about to lift
that? At that point it's half man, half
amazing. That amount of weight even
bends the steel bar.
I decided to set out and see if I could one day lift
315lbs. One guy told me it would never
happen because my arms were just too small.
I kept at it anyway and it was surprising to even me that I soared past
the 315 mark. It wasn't so much that I
passed the mark, it was how I did it. A
young lady I was dating at the time made a friendly fitness wager to me and I
accepted. As I pressed 315, I clearly
remember looking her in the eyes and making some type of super hero wise crack. I went on to bench press over 330lbs. Shortly afterwards I changed gyms and the
most anyone was lifting in that gym was about 225lbs.
My little arms were the big man on campus...for about two weeks. Shortly after that, I struggled to lift even
240lbs. Why? Because that was the company of the gym I was
in.
What's the point to all this? The video and book entitled The Secret highlights the law of attraction and you can hate it or love it but it applies
to a lot more than just weight lifting. You
earn within 20% of your closest associates.
Regardless of what you do, you are the company you keep!
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