Whitestone: A Country Tennessee Bed and Breakfast

THE 10,000 HOUR RULE

In his book, OUTLIERS, Malcolm Gladwell presents neurologist Daniel Levitin’s study of world-class experts. Levitin says that “scientific” studies indicate that 10,000 hours are a pre-requisite to be a world-class master in any arena. He gives several examples to prove his thesis.

As I read this, I thought about Innkeeping. Specifically I thought about what I enjoy most about Innkeeping: being the host for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Whitestone. In the 12 ½ years since we opened, I have greeted guests at approximately 4,000 breakfasts, 1500 lunches, and 4,000 dinners. That equates to about 17,500 hours of interactions with guests to our Inn.

I love these opportunities to hear the stories of weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, sanity breaks, escape from children, rest from stress, preparation for tomorrow’s struggles, honeymoons—and the list goes on and on. I love answering the question: “What possessed you to build Whitestone?” (I wonder how many times I have told the story.)

But if Daniel Levitan’s study is true about being a master after 10,000 hours—I am there! My goal is to make each guest feel comfortable and cared for. It is getting increasingly difficult to remember what story goes with which face and name. After 27,000 couples, I need a bigger chip! More gigabytes!

Being a master innkeeper is not just about the 10,000 hour rule. I guess you could just put in the time and not care and not get any better with more hours. But the years have not diminished the joy of getting up each day and renewing my relationship with former guests and meeting new friends.

Everything in my life has prepared me for the opportunity to be an innkeeper. I love my life. I love my guests. After 17,500 hours I am getting this innkeeping thing down. Everyone should be fortunate enough to get to practice what they love at least 10,000 hours until they really master their arena of service .

Time to go to bed and joy—joy, I get to practice grace-based southern hospitality again tomorrow. And I (humbly) think that I am getting good at it.

Paul

Whitestone Inn is lucky enough to have 360 acres on lovely Watts Bar Lake for our guests to explore and enjoy while staying at our Bed and Breakfast in Tennessee. Take out a canoe or a paddle boat and try your hand at some fishing.

All of our rooms are outfitted to make your stay next to Watts Bar as enjoyable and relaxing as possible. Whirlpool tubs and cozy fireplaces make these rooms appealing all-year long.

There are a lot of lodging choices at Whitestone Inn. Make your Watts Bar Lake Rental as all-inclusive or self-catered as you want.  If you stay in one of the suites at the Entrance Barn, you will have a full kitchen in your suite as well as a spacious guestroom. These suites are well-furnished and inviting; no drab grey and brown condominium decor here! We want our rooms to match the beauty of Watts Bar Lake and the natural beauty of the Kingston region.

Beautiful Watts Bar Lake at Whitestone Inn

Or stay in the School House in one of the full suites there with private porches overlooking the Whitestone Property. Look forward to whirlpool tubs and waterfall showers in these suites along with kitchenettes.

In the Osprey Suite in the Lion and Lamb Victorian home, enjoy water views from the inviting room that has a whirlpool tub as well as a jetted shower. These rooms are some of the more intimate and romantic Watts Bar Lake rentals we have.

One of our favorite and most secluded rentals is in the Rose Cottage. The Oriole Suite is on the second level of the Rose Cottage and has a beautiful view of Watts Bar Lake from it’s tree-top porch.

So no matter the lodging experience you are looking for while visiting the lake, we have something for you at Whitestone Inn, an East Tennessee Bed and Breakfast.

I have recently been involved on a board where the institution felt the need to re-brand itself and present a new image to the world. As we went through the agonizing process I re-evaluated Whitestone Country Inn’s “brand’.
When I made the first notes about what would become Whitestone in 1963 I didn’t have our brand clearly defined. But the place that I now call “a sanctuary for the soul’ was at the core of my dream. Thirty-four years later I opened Whitestone as a place of peace and refuge from all the stressors of daily life. As I thought of re-branding, I was thankful that what I envisioned so long ago didn’t need re-defining or changing to some other image. After 30,000 couples have re-created here and 1000 brides and grooms have united their live together at our chapel the reality is better than I dreamed.
Whitestone remains “a sanctuary for the soul’: that deepest part of us that longs for a gentler time.
Paul

The National Opinion Research Center study shows that the happiest people in America have common circumstances: they enjoy what they do for a living; have a sense of security;have close friends; are optimistic;believe in God. I am blessed that I enjoy those things listed. Life is good!
Paul

A friend from high-school came to Whitestone. I had not seen him since 1959 and would not have recognized him if he had not identified himself when he pulled in the entrance to the chapel. I was parking

cars for a wedding, greeted him warmly and told him to go to the next entrance to check in.

Two hours later we renewed our friendship in the dining room after not talking for all those years. I greeted other guests, poured tea and water and was enjoying  a beautiful Saturday evening. As I was pouring my high-school friend more tea he said “Back in school you were a bit unusual and the class was about evenly split about what career options you might choose. Half of us thought you would be a parking lot attendant and the other half said you would end up waiting tables somewhere. Now I see that you have been able to roll both of those jobs into one!”

My 50th class reunion is in June.Now I am nervous about going. I may find out what they were saying behind my back.

I have been sitting on the back deck of the Farmhouse at Whitestone. It is an absolutely perfect Spring afternoon.I can see over 4 miles of lake frontage and 4 islands.(Watts Bar Lake embayment of the Tennessee River) The Smokey Mountains are visible in the distance today. There is a nice breeze and it’s 75 degrees.
A big study by the University of Illinois says that looking at trees even through windows produced an uplifting effect both pscychologically and physically. The study also concluded that urban noise depleted the participants both psychologically and psysically.
The study collected evidence from ADD children in an attempt to alleviate their hyper-activity. These children were divided into two groups–half played outside in a park and half watched TV and played video games inside.
The clear conclusion of that part of the study was that children and adults who spent more time outside coped better with life and were better able to focus and were happier than those who stayed inside.
Whitestone is surrounded on the lakeside by 8000 feet of the Paint Rock Wildlife/Waterfowl Refuge. Away from the laleside are hills and trees.
Being outside today added sanity to my life. Nature seems to put smaller issues in perspective. God was at His creative best when He did East Tennessee.I suspect He was looking down on this region when He declared “This is good!”
Paul

The root word for hospitality is the same as hospital. Hospitality is simply taking care of real needs. The guests who come to the inn recently have had a greater need for rest and stress relief than I remember anytime in the past.
I see more clearly the connection between the words as our guests come to be
treated with attention and care. As preassure increases, those wounded by the outside world are seeking refuge;a place of safety and peace. Sometimes as I relate to our guests I feel like Doctor Paul!

Here is the link to the Biffar Blog http://biffarblog.wordpress.com/

Great pictorial of Wayne and Lura Biffar’s new home under construction at the Pointe at Whitestone

It is a complicated, complex world out there today. Figure our the U.S. tax code before tomorrow. try to grasp what is happening to our economy, figure out how business works, etc. (long list) I was reminded of a quote from Nicholas Butler,president of Columbia University in 19th-20th century “I have divided the world into three classes:the few who make things happen;the many who watch things happen; and the vast majority who have no idea what has happened.”
I’m in the third class today but by tomorrow I need to think life thru. Right now I think I will take a nap in prepration for profund thinking later.
Paul

Reunion! Easter always carries a different set of feelings since my son’s death in 1992. It means I will get to see him again.And that belief is not based on wishful thinking, but on historical facts and 700 eyewitness accounts.There is more historical evidence about the resurrection than many ancient events generally accepted. If we had hope only in this life we would be most miserable. But reunion with those we love is in our future.

Paul