Southwestern Advantage Blog

We aren’t as busy as we think.  Have you ever noticed how some people seem to have extra hours in the day? They go around being involved in about five million different things, plus have time for work, school, church, family, and a social life. And here you sit, just trying to figure out how to make time for getting your laundry done between the homework, the job, and having a least a little bit of a social life. What gives? The answer is SCHEDULE (or as business gurus call it, time management). Those people who seem to accomplish everything and then have time left over have a schedule and they stick to it. Now, a lot of people react to the word “schedule” the way they react to the word “budget.” It seems to reek of constriction and suck all the fun out of life. But the reality is just the opposite . Being on schedule, like being on a budget, simply means knowing what you are doing with your time and making intentional choices about how you want to use it. Just as a good bu...

I follow a lot of people on Twitter. It’s kind of like my daily headlines—if it’s important, it’ll show up. But it’s better than just having a newspaper because I can create the atmosphere of news I want to be exposed to; I can make sure that most of my headlines will take me to things that will help make me a better person today than I was yesterday. That means I follow a lot of people like Dave Ramsey ,  John Maxwell , and of course Southwestern Advantage . (I also follow Mental Floss because I love trivia.) Another one I follow is Inc.com , and last year, they tweeted a headline titled “Want to Be More Effective? Try a Mental Detox.” Intriguing, right? After all, who doesn’t want to be more effective at what they’re passionate about? So of course I clicked. Now, if you can, I recommend reading the whole article: the author lays out four things you can do on a regular basis to keep yourself focused on the important things and to do them better. But I just want to focus o...

Several generations ago, during one of the most turbulent of the desert wars in the Middle East, a spy was captured and sentenced to death by a General of the Persian Army. The General, a man of intelligence and compassion, had adopted a strange and unusual custom in such areas. He permitted the condemned person to make a choice. The prisoner could either face the firing squad or pass through the Black Door.  As the moment of execution drew near, the General ordered the spy be brought before him for a short, final interview, the primary purpose of which was to receive the answer of the doomed man to the query: "What shall it be - the firing squad or the Black Door?" This was not an easy decision and the prisoner hesitated, but soon made it known that he much preferred the firing squad to the unknown horrors that might wait for him behind the ominous and mysterious door. Not long thereafter, a volley of shots in the courtyard announced that the grim sentence had be...

If you have a child in school today, chances are you’ve heard something about the Common Core State Standards . Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have decided to align their instruction to these standards, promising sweeping changes to classrooms across the country over the next several years. What are the Common Core State Standards? Why are they important? Where did they come from? What is Southwestern Advantage’s connection to the Common Core? The answers to these critical questions will help parents understand exactly what the Common Core is all about, and what it means for your child’s education. WHAT ARE THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS? Common Core State Standards are a set of standards, not a curriculum . The Common Core State Standards are a common set of educational standards defining the mathematics and English language arts knowledge and skills all United States students in grades K-12 need to be successfully prepared for college and the workforce in the 21st...

Recent events in the news  reinforce the notion that any child can fall prey to sexual predators. Such a horrifying notion makes most of us cringe and quickly change the subject. But the responsible parent faces this possibility squarely and takes steps to keep children safe. As a parent, here is what you must be aware of: 1. Notice that sexual predators are most often known personally by their victims. They are not “strangers.” Most predators do not snatch children off street corners. Most predators get to know their victims very well. So don’t teach your children to distrust strangers. Teach your children to distrust anyone who acts strangely. 2. Predators often are counted as family friends and are trusted members of the community. This is not an accident. Predators carefully craft their image so that adults admire and trust them. Pay attention if an adult friend seems too friendly and takes too much interest in your child. 3. Predators act like children to cover up th...

What value have you been placing on negative thoughts? What great thing has ever been accomplished by someone who believed it couldn't be done? How much mental energy do you waste on anger, resentment, or envy? What value will these thoughts ever add to your own life or the life of another? 

 We are creatures of emotion. Learning to control our emotions is a life-long practice. Negative thoughts will always come to mind. When we choose to allow those negative thoughts to remain in our minds, and to influence our words and actions, we selfishly turn our focus toward ourselves instead of toward the betterment of others.  What is gained by letting someone or something get you down?  Is the satisfaction of harboring dark emotions worth the happiness and meaning that it robs from your life?  We cannot control what life brings our way, but we  can control how we respond. We can always control our actions and attitude. Negatives will always be easy to find, 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 ...