As with nearly all of my posts, this one is especially for my grandkids.

Whether you believe in god and country is of little matter to me. I simply hope you recognize that we are nothing more than a brief guest here in this world – and we should behave accordingly.

No one likes a bad guest.

We all know the bad guest. They take advantage of everything and add little. They expect to be served and satisfied. They are entitled – and they truly believe their existence [or the brief entertainment or service they provide] justifies their insouciance.

On a small scale, they expect it all and provide little. They borrow something and rarely return it in its original condition. They order big and tip small. They drive your car and never fill up the tank. They piss in the well but expect fresh water when they are thirsty. They demand 100% and are aggrieved by anything less. And they always deserve more.

The bottom line is that they expect more than they give.

The common thread with poor guests is that they just don’t get it. They think their bill was somehow overpaid in advance. They have a steadfast belief in their exaggerated self-worth – as if they matter. They fool themselves into thinking they are valuable because they attract, support, and feed off other bad guests. They harbor a secret zest in others’ complaints. They are a nidus.

As long as they have something to complain about, they have the air-cover they need to tear down anything without consequence [to them].

In the big picture, they are more destructive. They are morally superior while always the critic and never the builder. To the bad guest, those in charge are always idiots or corrupt, the accommodations are always substandard, the water is never hot enough, the salmon is never cooked right, the weather never suits them, the service never measures up, and it is always someone else’s fault. Accountability is not their strong suit. It is always someone else who is accountable for their hardship – and their hardships are endless.

They are in no one’s debt because they believe they are always getting less than they deserve. Of course, their host is always distressed by their complaints – knowing the accommodations will never be enough.

Unfortunately, with victimhood now in fashion, it’s getting harder to tell the bad guests from the truly afflicted. But you still know who they are – and it would be a big help to everyone if you told them that they are merely guests here and should start behaving accordingly. And remind them that nothing is free – and nothing is just there for the taking. And then tell them to try not to make a mess – even if they think they are a rock star. We are all getting tired of cleaning up after them.

Of course, it might help if they knew whose guest they really were. Maybe then they would appreciate the accommodations and just how fortunate they are to be staying here for a while. After all, even if fate gives them a late checkout, their stay here will eventually come to an end – and the bill will come due. And they are the only ones who can pay that bill – the host insists.

On the other hand, I have some friends, family, and associates among the most generous guests. The family member who cares, the employee who everyone relies on, the doctor who is tireless in his aide, the business partner who builds and then builds some more, the friend who stands fast, and those that love. They are the ones that don’t just pass thorough but actually make it better. They appreciate life. They are the guests you want in your world, and it’s the guest I am trying to be [knowing full well that I’ve not always been a good guest].

Be big, be a builder. Your host will appreciate it.

Mission Statement: Providing unified and bias-free data by exposing inherent risk in data compromised by bias.

https://tonywalkerpost.com/root-philosophy/

Originally Posted: January 1, 2017
Last Updated:  April 3, 2022

From the very beginning in 1978, it has been my goal to provide the vision, resources, and confidence necessary for the development of the Advantage Co as a business experience for those willing to take the full measure of the challenge.  This approach has energized our Root Philosophy for over 40 years, and it has been our good fortune to build a number of world-class businesses.

Here is a short list of businesses we have started or helped to start over the years. [170 and counting].  The businesses in italics are partnerships. The businesses in bold are currently operational.  Each one has been visited by success and failure.  Some businesses never really got off the ground, while others have been thriving for decades.  One of these nights I’ll start filling in the stories.   The really good news is that over 50 of the businesses we have helped to launch are thriving enterprises.

All told, we estimate there have been over 8,000 participants in the building of these opportunities.  If you have a backstory for any of them, why not share it with us?  I’ll take the good with the bad [they all have their share].  It is never meant to be easy, but it is always meant to be rewarding.

A man who says he never had a chance is the man who never took one.  Be big, be a builder.

Advantage Co Businesses

1. Advantage Brands Group
2. Advantage Catalog
3. Advantage Computer Co.
4. Advantage Global Resources
5. Advantage Home Theater
6. Advantage Outlet
7. Advantage Properties
8. Advantage TI
9. Advantage Trade Group
10. Advacovery
11. Aussie T Co
12. Bogavia
13. Brinkley Builders
14. Chuggs
15. Computer Head Start
16. Giancarlo’s Sicilian Steakhouse & Pizzeria
17. Giancarlo’s Cafe & Patisserie
18. Gift Giving Registry
19. Grivani
20. Grivani Wine Cellar
21. Grivani Wine [Distributing]
22. House of Cotton
23. Forrestel Clothing Co
24. iFul
25. iSport
26. iWorldFundraising.org
27. iWorld Shopping Center
28. King Finley
29. Lab to Beauty
30. Leave It To Alison**
31. Lifetime Service Trust
32. Love Pink & Green
33. Luxuri Link
34. Merwin & Payne
35. Modern Luxuri
36. MyWarehouse.org
37. Nantucket Clothing
38. Naples Properties
39. Osaka Speakers
40. PALM Investments
41. Piece Apparel
42. Pioneer Home Theater
43. Pure + Fresh
44. Scotch Boots of Holland
45. Smart Car Store
46. Smart House Cafe**
47. Smart Squad Design
48. Smart Squad Install
49. SmartLinks
50. Sneaker Advantage
51. SONY Home Theater
52. Stereo Advantage
53. Stereo Advantage [Olean]
54. JVC Home Theater
55. Taplin Marketing
56. Tiny Walker
57. Touche’
58. TW Outlet [Niagara Falls]**
59. TW&Co
60. Walker Center
61. Walker Kids Trust
62. Walker Global Parts
63. Walker Global Solutions
64. Wehrle Properties
65. White Box Services

Advantage Co Partnerships

1. ABX Professionals
2. Advantage Business Exchange
3. Advantage Investment, Development & Oversight
4. Advantage Legal & Fiduciary
5. Advantage Marketing & Incentives
6. Advantage Systems Professionals [now iWorld Professionals]
7. Advantage Woodshop
8. American Wireless
9. AP Charlotte
10. AP Cincinnati
11. AP Cleveland
12. AP Denver
13. APHQ 
14. AP Metro**
15. AP Phoenix
16. AP Rochester
17. AP Solutions
18. AP Syracuse
19. AP Tampa
20. AP Washington DC
21. AP WNY
22. At Your Service
23. Aussie Outfitters
24. Autonomic Resources [sold to CSC]
25. Beacon Global Resources
26. Bellus Development
27. BizHop [support only]
28. Black Progress Matters
29. Black Progess Resources
30. BP Executive Staffing
31. BPM Minority-Owned Business Incubator
32. BP College Advisors
33. BP Executive Networking
34. Butler Chemical
35. Cascade Point**
36. c1 Advantage
37. c1 Secure
38. Carolina Clothing Co
39. Capax Alpha 
40. Capax Discovery [Zantaz EAS]
41. Capax Global [sold to Hitachi Data Systems]
42. Capax India
43. Capax Resource Management*
44. CARES Act ADVISORY
45. Chiampou Travis & Kershner*
46. Christeus
47. Cleary & Sullivan
48. Cleary Travel
49. Coco by CeCe
50. Consilium1 
51. Cross Pointe**
52. DACKS
53. Data Detect
54. Delta Road Properties
55. Duke Fund**
56. Fortified Law Data
57. Free Trade Consultants
58. Gauntlet Design
59. Greenview Landscaping*
60. GRW For Hair
61. Hudson Walker
62. Images & Graphics
63. Inspired Global Resources*
64. Irwin Lazarus
65. iWorld Professionals
66. JALMAR Graphics
67. JNorman & Co
68. KATINI Skin
69. King Finley
70. Kizer Data Solutions
71. LeCleanse Officiel
72. LD World Resources
73. Manzella Productions [support only]
74. My Personal Advisor
75. Mode
76. One Global Culture
77. Outback Paging [AdTel Worldwide]
78. Pacific Data Resources
79. Panther Data Solutions
80. Phroket
81. Pizza Shoppe
82. PremCloud Resources
83. Real Properties Services
84. Sceven
85. SmartLink [Bailey & Kensington]
86. SmartLink [Main Place Mall]
87. Sozae
88. State of Clean
89. Stereo Advantage [Phoenix]
90. Stereo Shops [3 Rochester stores]**
91. Strategic Finance
92. Taplin Design
93. Tony Walker Golf Club [4 locations nationally]
94. Total Health & Fitness
95. Trend Depot
96. TW Charter Stores [92 Aussie Outfitter stores nationally]
97. UnBiasIt
98. UnCarbonIt
99. UGA Capital Ventures
100. Walker Sports Audit
101. Wellingtin Resources
102. White & Co
103. Wynnovation Labs
104. Zantaz EAS
105. Zovy Cloud

Coming Sooner or Later or Never

1. Ana Blu Mediterranean Kitchen
2. Arcivium for Azure
3. 2 Girls 1 Deal
4. 2×4 Office Anywhere
5. ApothoClean
6. Bambini Beauty
7. Balance Bra
8. Beach to Beauty
9. Bedtime Monster SpraY
10. Christian Coop
11. Church of the Good
12. Clean Your Closets For Kids
13. College Rep Program
14. CopDrop
15. The Fantasy League
16. Fashion Resource Group
17. FedCloud Resources
18. FedDrop
19. FedSecure Data Centers
20. FedCloud Vault
21. Franjordalli Gift Giving Registry
22. Giancarlo’s Boutique Hotel
23. GoToCloud Express
24. Greenskeeper Coop
25. Grivani Golf
26. iTech Protect
27. iWorld Auto
28. iWorld Banking
29. iWolrd Accounting
30. Life Source Insurance
31. Merci 6
32. Meta Data Stack
33. OffShore Secure
34. Scrubs
35. Walker Global Mergers Acquisitions & Review

* No longer involved in this partnership.
**Ended successfully.

There are three worlds: the one we are given, the one we are stuck with, and the one we bend to our will.

Theodore Roosevelt’s famous Man in the Arena speech.  ‘It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, if he fails, at least fails while bearing greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.’

Reprinted without permission from WSJ.