Southwestern Advantage Blog

sometimes it seems as if people spend years of their life shying away from the things they are most passionate about, their likes, their tendencies, quirks, styles, habits, hobbies, or loves and desires that are within them. they muffle these things down and it ends up stifling their progress; all because of a fear of failure, rejection, judgment, or disdain. it's so much easier to put our true passions on 'mute' because it's easier to stay on the safe side, more commonly traveled. i did this for quite some time. i think we all do it at some point, for some length, and usually for some irrational reasons. but, it's important to understand that we were each put on this planet to embrace our quirky, sophisticated, daring, goofy, edgy, unique, passionate, shy, lovable human selves.  don't ever take that appreciation away from yourself. notice it. embrace it. celebrate it. bask in it. learn it. and most importantly -- love it. your light is in there -- you ca...

"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." I believe Shakespeare was on to something there. In Hamlet , Act II, Scene 2, his lead character makes that simple but profound revelation.  And so it is with our everyday lives. Our encounters, victories, frustrations, close misses -- all are subject to our own internal voice. Those little electrical connections that are buzzing in our brains are evaluating, judging, and commenting on the activities and events that are happening throughout our day. We've all found ourselves at the mercy of our own thoughts, but when we figure out how to actively divide our thoughts into different categories, we begin to make some headway.  I discovered that my own natural tendency is to drift towards negativity. Left to itself, my internal dialogue is rarely uplifting unless I'm actively pulling it in that direction.  "Do I like this?" No. "Am I good at this new activity?" Not rea...

lately i've caught myself noticing and trying to notice how different people in my life seem to express their affection towards others. i don't necessarily mean the mushy smoochy romantic love, but friendship, respect, and admiration included. even a general "i like you." this is mostly due to one of my favorite books called the five love languages , by gary chapman , which explains in detail how there are five main ways that we as people like to give and receive love and affection.  the five "love languages" are 1) words of affirmation 2) quality time 3) gift giving 4) acts of service and 5) physical touch.  the book explains that every person has their primary love language. this means that they feel most loved when someone displays one of these 5 languages towards them. think for a second how you can apply this in your daily relationships with your significant other, friends, neighbors, customers, etc.  is your special lady's primary love l...

Hey friends! Have you ever been at work and felt as if you were getting stuck mentally? In other words, you thought: "This can't be done," or "Hitting that goal seems impossible!" Of course you have, because we all have. We all tend to limit ourselves at times -- we get stuck in a comfort zone, and some irrational fears start chattering. Here's a principle of human nature that we can use in these moments. NLP shows us that questions are the answer. When our brain hears a question, no matter how unreasonable the questions may be, it automatically imagines an answer to it . Try it for yourself. Pick something that you feel like you cannot do, or never do very well. Then, ask yourself this question: " What would it be like if I could do ____ really well? " Example: "What would it be like if I could sing really well?" Or "What would it be like if I took action instead of procrastinated on my to-do lists?" Your brain automat...

it's such a pleasant surprise when a person or business delivers more than you expected or even asked for. in business, and in life, going above and beyond can do a lot for your reputation, win you a lot of new customers, and put some needed smiles on all of our faces. the nice man who serves up my lunch some days at the deli near my building heard me mention that i like tortilla strips in my soup. after a few visits, he began to prepare me a small to-go container of tortilla strips for my soup without me even asking. now there are better places in town to get soup, some are even within walking distance, but you better believe i'll be visiting my over-delivering buddy with the tortilla strips when hunger strikes.  the bakery that opens their doors at 7:56am instead of 8:00 because someone is standing outside. the local dry cleaner who tirelessly remembers the names of his frequent guests. the dressing room attendant who brings you a shirt on sale that matches the pants y...

Earlier this year, I was invited to teach at a seminar, specifically a workshop, on different communication styles. One of the points I tried to convey heavily to my audience was the importance of teaching others how to treat you, from the start.  " You only get once chance to make a good first impression! " Thanks for the reminder. We get it. First impressions can be tricky sometimes. People can make a quick assumption about who you are, what your "value" might be, and how they feel that they can treat you.  If you're going to be spending time with or working alongside someone who you may not know very well, you need to manage your new budding relationship; not just that first impression.  I'll give you an example. If you've set an appointment with a co-worker and they show up annoyingly late, you're now presented with a few options: Ignore the fact that they're 15 minutes late and proceed as planned When (or if) they apologize, yo...

i recently went with a few of my best friends on the planet to see a concert. we watched passion pit perform at terminal 5 in new york city. we went into the show with complete disregard for the opinions that other concert attendees may have had about us. we had the time of our lives. our entire group was sporting glow-in-the-dark florescent colored glowsticks -- around our necks, our wrists and forearms, our belt loops, and sticking out of our hair. we wondered beforehand if we might be the only ones glowing that night. we were; and we loved it. we bounced and danced and sang our hearts out. we were 100% in the moment and loving the experience for exactly what it was, while we were in it.  so thinking about our night struck a chord with me. who the heck cares what anyone else thinks about you? who cares about that opinion someone has created in their mind about you? opinions always change anyway, because as people we always grow and learn.  if you follow your priori...

The reviews keep coming in from excited families using Southwestern Advantage products all across the US and Canada. Thank you so much for the feedback you've sent us. Also, thank you for being a continual inspiration to those of us at the company and to our student reps who visited your family! Tell us your story: Facebook.com/SouthwesternAdvantage Twitter.com/Southwestern Email:  sw@southwestern.com Read August reviews here Read July reviews here Read prior reviews here  

i'm not a big fan of the phrase, "curiosity killed the cat." instead, i'd rather hear, "curiosity is what makes my cat so darn interesting." have you noticed that we sometimes tend to just accept the answers that others give us without digging deeper? how often do we ask 'why' or 'why not'? the intention is not to challenge or attack the other person, but to learn - and potentially gain - a little something more valuable or worthwhile.  people often give the answers that they think are correct, but really, that answer is just a symptom of a problem.  boss: "we don't have the budget for that team building course in colorado." you: "why not?" boss: "well, we're spending far too much on the training courses that we provide here at the company." you: "i see. are the courses we provide well attended?" boss: "not particularly." you: "do employees find them helpful or ins...

Homeschooling is no easy task. It requires an extensive amount of dedication, time, and resources. We're always excited to hear when our student reps are able to positively impact the efforts of homeschooling families across the nation. Here are a few reviews we wanted to highlight. Tell us your story: Facebook.com/SouthwesternAdvantage Twitter.com/Southwestern Email: sw@southwestern.com