Southwestern Advantage Blog

You have probably heard the saying –  If you always think the way you’ve always thought, you will always do what you have always done, and you will always get what you always gotten  – and quite frankly sometimes that’s not good enough for us. To illustrate the point, let me share some information with you about why train tracks in the United States areas wide as they are. See if you think it has applicability. The United States standard railroad gauge (distance between rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. That’s an exceedingly odd number. Why was that gauge used? Because that’s the way they built them inEngland, and English expatriates built the American railroads. Why did the English people build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the same people who built the pre-railroad tramways, and that’s the gauge they used. Why did they use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jugs and tools that they used for bu...

One of the most sobering thoughts I have been confronted with is, "What you are someday going to be, you are now becoming." You are now, this moment, exactly what you have been in the process of becoming all your life. Are you now the person you dreamed about becoming? If you had written down several years ago exactly the type of person you wanted to be today, what kind of person would you have described? How close are you to being that person now? What kind of person do you want to be a year from now? Or two years from now? Or five years from now? 10? 20? Right now you are in the process of becoming the person you will be a year, or two, or five, or 10 or 20 years from now.  The habits you have now will determine the kind of person you will become unless you change those habits now. What attitude would you like to have someday? The attitude you have now is a good indication of the attitude you will have someday, unless right now you begin to develop a new ...

what’s the best way to get better at ping-pong? hitting against a wall won’t do much. playing with your 4 year old nephew will entertain him for sure, but won’t do much for your game. the only way to get better at the sport is to play someone that’s better than you are. period. and so it is with life. if we would like to improve ourselves in a particular area, we’ve got to find people who have mastered whatever it is that we are looking to be better at! ask them questions, observe their behaviors, analyze their attitudes, values, and habits . how do  they  prioritize? how do they communicate? how to they carry themselves? having a mentor – whether an official mentorship, or a more casual one – is remarkably beneficial. not only can we learn from them and the things they have accomplished, but mentors are great to bounce ideas off of (no pun intended). they help us decide where to focus our energy, and they help to keep us motivated and focusing on ...

John Dryden once said, "We first make our habits, then our habits make us." Now that the school year is underway, it's a good time to rethink your personal habits and patterns, and perhaps make some adjustments. We've all heard the Biblical saying, "You reap what you sow." In other words, what you're doing today will have an impact on your future self. Everyday we are consciously (and unconsciously) planting seeds of a sort. Our seeds germinate. Most people do not live intentionally, with a purpose. Consequently they're operating in a less-than-conscious manner. Unless we are consciously forming good habits, we are unconsciously forming bad ones. What habits are you forming today -- right now? Have you noticed how easy it is to be lazy? It's easy to sit on the couch and watch re-runs of The Office. It's easy to browse Facebook until you look up and notice that four hours has passed and you missed class, lunch, and study time (and a...