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:  January 17, 2026

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.

Note:  The Advantage Co is not an operating entity; it is simply an informal name that has evolved over 40 years to reference the eclectic mix of independently owned and operated businesses and partnerships that I am involved with in some manner.  Likewise, there is no Tony Walker.  It is also a legacy name that has evolved over the years as my nom de plume, starting with my authorship of The Third Factor [The Advantage Co Handbook].

Here is a short list of the independently owned and operated businesses we have started or helped to start over the years. [157 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 40 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 a 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. Ana Blu Mediterranean Pizzeria
12. Aussie T Co
13. Bogavia
14. Brinkley Builders
15. Chuggs
16. Computer Head Start
17. Giancarlo’s Sicilian Steakhouse
18. Grivani Gift Giving Registry
19. Grivani
20. Grivani Wine Cellar
21. Grivani Wine 
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. PALM Investments
40. Piece Apparel
41. Pioneer Home Theater
42. Porta Via Cafe
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 Funding

Advantage Co Partnerships

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

Coming Sooner or Later or Never

1. Advantage PEO
2. Aussie T Co [Retro]
3. 2 Girls 1 Deal
4. 2×4 Office Anywhere
5. Bambini Beauty
6. Balance Bra
7. Beach to Beauty
8. Bedtime Monster Spray
9. Christian Coop
10. Church of the Good
11. Clean Your Closets For Kids
12. College Rep Program
13. CopDrop
14. The Fantasy League
15. FedDrop
16. FedSecure Data Centers
17. FedCloud Vault
18. FedCLOUD Resources
19. Forrestel Clothing Co [Retro]
20. Giancarlo’s Boutique Hotel
21. GoToCloud Express
22. Greenskeeper Coop
23. Grivani Golf
24. International Transfer Pricing
25. iWolrd Accounting
26. Life Source Insurance
27. OffShore Data Secure
28. Scrubs
29. Walker University

* 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.

I had my second shot today.