30th 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Education

Being in a field that stresses the importance of education, it is only a natural fit for Southwestern Company to join forces with Metro Nashville Public Schools. It directly ties in to Southwestern Company’s mission of being the best organization in the world in helping young people achieve their goals in life.

For the 2010/2011 school year, Southwestern Company will participate as an Academy Partner. This is a PENCIL Partner that will enjoy a formalized partnership with a high school academy. The activities will vary on the needs of the school and their students, but will match the corporation’s interests and resources.

The bottom line: community and corporate involvement directly affect graduation rates. When students understand their studies are directly related to their future endeavors in life, they are more likely to be engaged learners, to stay in school and make informed decisions about going to college.

The goal for this partnership is to improve graduation rates, build relationships between students and positive role models and support positive outcomes after graduation. Activities Southwestern Company will engage in include: guest speaking, mentorship, curriculum advice, field trips, teacher externships, job shadowing and participation on an academy Advisory Board.

Southwestern Company’s Lee McCroskey and Great American Opportunity, Inc.’s Kevin Hawley have taken the lead on this project and will be building a team of volunteer executives to assist with the partnership on an ongoing basis.

This is not the first time Southwestern Company has jumped in to help schools in the community. The corporation was a long-time PENCIL Partner for Metro Nashville schools, has extensively donated educational supplies and has served in various capacities in speaking engagements and job fairs.

23rd 2010f April 2010

Posted in: People

Learning how to set reachable goals sounds like a very simple task, and one that’s rather complex in trying to put into practice. It’s not that goals become daunting when there’s a map, or that the process itself is difficult, but that there is a kind of simplicity that rules over them. The simplicity is what makes them unobtainable so often, because people are constantly telling themselves that it must be more complex.

There are certainly ways of getting around this, and heading into a healthier way of thinking about goals that can make them reachable. The Carnegie goal setting quiz helps to unpack some of the major and more common issues associated with behaviors that make goal-setting difficult. It’s never as daunting as it seemed, because the practice is one that is actually based on common sense.

When goal-oriented behaviors start to become second-nature, then they are truly revealed for the potent, simple forces that they are. The nature of Carnegie’s philosophy makes it possible to unlock the things that keep businesses and individuals from reaching their full potential. It’s no more complex than the underlying principles of cause and effect , and in many regards, it is as easy as that. Because of the training and habits that everyone acquires through the stages of becoming a full-fledged member of society, there are many basic ideas that tend to get lost through socialization .

That’s not a bad thing in itself, because it is necessary to learn and grow in the world, receiving ideas from many different sources. Some of the ideas are more useful than others when it comes to business practice. There are many different core courses available that can help one to move further along in their own practice, and in achieving their own goals. The result might be in an increase in sales or efficiency, but it also carries along a great helping of self-improvement, and that’s at the heart of it all.

21st 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Money

Jobs are a hard thing to come by right now for many people. With so many people out of work and looking for jobs, many are considering other alternatives to traditional 9 to 5 jobs. One option is self-employment. This is an ideal situation for many people because it allows for a flexible schedule and you don’t have anyone to answer to but yourself. One field that has always been of particular interest to those who are self-employed is property management. It may sound fairly simple but it comes with a lot of responsibility and requires a lot of time.

To begin a career in property management , you have to begin investing in real estate. You should with something small like a house to see how you like the job before you move on to larger commercial real estate. Of course there is a pretty significant difference between the two. When you rent out a house, it becomes the renters’ home and they are more likely to call and request that fix things more often. In commercial real estate , you are still the one responsible for problems or repairs with the building; however, the calls probably won’t be as urgent or frequent.

As with any service orientated business, it is important to maintain good customer service. It is impossible to keep everybody happy all the time, but it is important to give your customers your best and show them that their concerns matter to you. Developing and maintaining a good reputation is very important to the businesses success, both for small independent businesses as well as big companies like Transglobe Property Management .

Like any new business, starting a career in property management is not easy. But with a lot of hard work, dedication, and good decision making skills the field of property management could just be the field for you.

19th 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Art

New York City gets thousands and thousands of new visitors every day, coming to see for themselves what the heartbeat of the city feels like first-hand. They come to enjoy the live performance, the spectacular restaurants, and the five star New York hotels , to see if the public perception matches reality. There are many visitors who come and never even see the excellent subway system in the city, perhaps out of fear of crowds, or simply wanting to avoid the hassle and the grit of traveling by metro.

But there is a whole life here, and one that’s a daily experience for New Yorkers. It’s an exhilarating experience for first-time visitors, as the rush of the trains and the movement of so many people making a kind of splendid organized chaos really does feel like entering into another world. Many people have noticed the tiles decorating some of the stations, and these are art works that were started at the turn of the 20th century. There are also plenty of other fascinating art works here. About twenty years ago, with the help of the Metro Transit Authority , the Arts for Transit project started, and there are now more works in the stations than ever before, offering an unusual glimpse into the interior life of the artists and people of the city.

Some of the thought behind the project developed in response to the subway graffiti, realizing that there was an enormous, untapped creative possibility here for demonstrating works of stunning visual art. Over the past two decades, the Arts for Transit has sponsored over a hundred new works, by many of New York’s most renowned artists, to display their inner visions in the subway stations. There are also street musicians and performers connected to the project. In part, this, too, was an effort to control the traffic of subway performance all over the city, and to give the artists a little protection so that they could play for a few dollars with the cooperation of the authorities. It’s another view of the city, and one that is radically centered in New York.

04th 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Automotive

Restoring old cars is an invigorating hobby, but keeping cars running is a necessity. Some have a little more charm than others, however, and the big, old cars have a special place in the hearts of anyone who ever fell in love with the sound of a V8 engine. The sound suggests a bark that drivers know is every bit as big as its bite, and there’s still nothing like the feeling of being behind those particular wheels. Not everyone can afford to buy a new Buick every five years, but with a great repair manual , it’s possible to keep it running just like new for a very long time.

There’s a sturdiness to these that is still very attractive to buyers, and it speaks to a kind of solid craftsmanship that’s hard to find these days. They are definitely built to last, and there’s reasons why the old Buicks are such classics. For some people who love them, they have a direct memory, where their first or second car was a model very close if not the same as the restored versions. For others, it’s more of an image thing, where the sight of something solid and kept in perfect condition is a reminder of how sweet life can be.

With some makes, the new models still have the same power and weight that the older ones had, and that makes them particularly attractive to those who look into the future. The new models are classics in the making, and this makes it even more necessary to keep them running smooth. It’s not just a question of running well for the moment, but giving it a chance to have a life that might be passed down to another generation. A little bit of knowledge of auto repair can go a long way, and a good manual can certainly help. When Springsteen was singing about the big old buick , he wasn’t just singing about a car, but a way of life.

04th 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Travel

London has so many different kinds of tours to take that are not just of the most famous sites. There are tours like the a trip to the London Tombs that has extra warnings because it is so very scary. Catch a tour that takes you along the road that the Beatles took while they were recording records and dazzling the world with their revolutionary music. Take a tour that will walk you around every corner that Jack the Ripper walked looking for his innocent female pray. Now all the rage are the movie tours. There are so many films that are created in cities and countries all over the world and catching a tour that goes along were the filming happened has become the new hottest tour thing. In Rome, the big movie tour is the Da Vinci Code tour. In London, visitors are drawn to the tour that walk the path of were the Harry Potter movies were filmed. They will talk about how films are made and give some stories of what the actors may have done while on the set. There are some visitors who like to dress up like the characters of Harry Potter and walk the walk. The tours also often end in main attractions sights such as at the London Eye which is were the Harry Potter Tour ends. There is also the romantic movie tour which has filming locations for movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral , the Holiday and Bridget Jones’s Diary. The locations are filled with such a great British experience. Each site has a story of its own because it has been there for hundreds of years. So drop your bags at the London hotel you are staying at and catch a unique tour of the city. There are many ways to see this historical city and the amazing sites it houses.

01st 2010f April 2010

Posted in: Money

Getting a payday loan for emergency expenses or quick cash is becoming an increasingly popular method of money management. And as the number of payday lenders and stores increases, so too do the restrictions on them. Though there are some federal regulations on payday loans most of it is regulated at a state level. As a result there is great diversity between each of the states. Arizona is one state that has begun making changes to their regulations.
The current status of payday loans in Arizona is rather precarious. In an effort to make the situation more permanent, they developed a bill to be put on the 2008 elections that would give them the regulations that state laws require to allow them to be in the state permanently. However, the bill did not pass. So for the past year and a half they have been under somewhat of a probationary period.
This spring the Arizona state senate will attempt to rectify the situation. There are several bills currently in the works. The regulations vary in their strength from caps on the amount and number of loans that can be taken at a single time to caps on the interest rate. If these regulations are passed than that will allow the payday loan stores to stay in the Valley permanently.
Across the country, states are making changes in their in their laws concerning payday loans . Most are moving toward increased regulations and more strict laws. And while you would think that this would lead to a decline in the number of payday loans quite the opposite has occurred. The uncertain economy and job loss has led to a record number of payday loans. Even if there are no payday lenders in your town, you can find them on online at www.moneymutual.com .