Web Parley Quality Articles

Paul Eckert, founder and CEO of Family Financial Centers is a featured writer for the February 2009 issue of International Franchise Association’s publication, Franchising World. Mr. Paul Eckert ’s article centers around the importance of networking and how it can be used to your best advantage in today’s business environment.

About Paul Eckert and Family Financial Centers
Paul Eckert and Family Financial Centers is the “Quantum Leap” forward in the evolution of the alternative Paul Eckert financial service center. Located in attractive suburban centers, Paul Eckert Family Financial Centers have the systems, ambience and professionalism of a traditional bank. Paul Eckert FFC offers a full array of financial services including check cashing, money orders, wire transfer, tax preparation services and short-term consumer loans.

Paul Eckert Family Financial Centers is committed to raising the standard for alternative financial service providers both for product offerings and the way they are delivered to the market. Our Paul Eckert centers are conveniently located to our customer’s home or work. We are fully automated with systems that keep the average transaction time to just a few minutes. This allows our customer to have all of their financial needs taken care of conveniently and efficiently, in an environment that is upbeat, professional and friendly. Paul Eckert Family Financial Centers is rapidly expanding through acquisition and conversion of existing financial centers to the Family brand.

An analogous situation historically is the video store industry. In its earlier years, the industry was comprised primarily of “mom and pop” operators. Then Blockbuster Video came along with branding and marketing and point of sale systems, etc., and began operating on a completely different level. They offered their customers choices made possible by organization and systems, as well as ambience, convenience and service unlike anything they’d seen before. The customers voted with their feet, and Blockbuster’s market share grew accordingly. A similar opportunity now exists in the Paul Eckert alternative financial services industry for a professional branded player who can bring the same kind of sophistication and execution in all aspects of the business. For FAMILY FINANCIAL CENTERS, this means looking and acting like the neighborhood bank of old, while employing the technology and systems of today to meet the modern customer’s needs. Branding, technology, convenience, and good old-fashioned customer service and relationship building in the community will create the grassroots loyalty and word of mouth advertising that will establish the FFC brand in a market eager for something better.

Positive Music for a Relaxing Meditation

Lord Thompson Manor Relaxation By Daniel Kobialka.

Meditation music produces measurable results. It slows our heartbeats down to about one beat per second, which can allow us to relax, let go, meditate and/or fall asleep.

There are different types of meditation however, and different types of music are appropriate for each. A relaxing meditation is intended to help you slow down and release stress, so the best music is easy to listen to and has elements that embody peace and harmony. The instruments and type of music are those that you associate with these qualities. This can differ from person to person. For example, you might associate flute music with lilting tunes and it might then invigorate you, while someone else may equate flute music with peaceful forest scenes or waterfalls.

Positive music is the best kind for meditation because it has beneficial qualities and is emotionally and spiritually uplifting, many believe even healing. Additionally, it can be relaxing, calming, or even physically and mentally stimulating. Positive music is not about lyrics, but about the music itself.

The music of the ’50s was almost all positive, so much so that there was no need to call it that, as there was no “negative” music to speak of. Today’s music is much different; heavy metal, grunge, punk rock, and other genres all contribute to a large body of negative music, music that expresses and evokes images of anger, fear, ugliness, hatred and pain. Even classical music written with a lot of discord can be considered negative. In the early 20th century, the works of Arthur Schonburg were rejected and in some instances almost caused riots amongst concert goers. Since then discordant music has been accepted and incorporated by modern music composers and music schools.

Negative music has become a part of modern tv and movies, forming the basis of music scores that evoke terror, suspense, and fear, and thereby helping to shape modern culture.

Positive music, on the other hand, has been present through all time, and thanks to modern media, people are becoming aware of positive music forms they never even knew existed before, examples of which are Gregorian chants and ancient Jewish and Arabic music. Positive music has the ability to transform and uplift, infuse people with feelings of content and wellbeing.

Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor

Music for Stress Management

Lord Thompson Manor Music By Tracey Burchard.

There are so many kinds of music - country western, classical, eastern, rap, pop, hip hop, rock and roll, soul…what kind of music are you listening to, and how is it affecting your level of stress?

Music moves us - listening to a sad song can make us feel melancholy, soft jazz piano can calm and soothe us, and rock can make us feel strong, excited, even free. Music has been proven to speed healing, is used in malls to put us in the mood to buy, in churches for inspiration and much more. So can you use music to influence your mood and lower your stress in your daily life? Absolutely.

First, consider your general mood. Are you normally stressed, happy, positive, sad, angry, fearful, even shy? Are there consistent times in your life that you would like to change your mood - maybe the drive home from work, or getting up in the morning, or maybe you stress at night, laying in bed, tossing and turning?

For me…it’s that low energy time around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon. I’ve usually been working since six in the morning or so, and I need a little pick up. For me, it could be a little Van Halen or White Snake, or maybe a little Santana. Other people may prefer some upbeat jazz, or pop music. It doesn’t really matter, as long as it makes you feel good.

How does music influence our mood like this?

There are many ways music influences our mood. Music is energy - vibrations that have a certain frequency. As we listen to the music, our brainwaves may adjust to match the vibrations of the music. This is why music can be very effective for meditation and hypnosis, it can actually “entrain” the brain to enter a deeper, or more relaxed, aware state.

Your memories may also be part of the influence of music. Many times, the brain stores emotion alongside memories - if a song makes you blue, you might remember a time when you were really sad, and that song came on the radio, virtually anchoring itself to that sad feeling. Your brain would create a direct link between the song and the emotion, so every time you hear the song, that emotion is accessed as well.

Words can also have a large effect on us…there may be words in the music that really resonate with you, like in some inspirational songs. You may relate to the story of a song because of a similar experience. These things can strike a chord (pun intended) with you and alter your mood.

Many people listen to music in the background while they work, drive or do other things. They are not focused on the music, but their inner mind does take it in. If you listen to music with negative or harsh words or themes, you might want to consider that many times when listening to music, people have a tendency to enter into an altered state of awareness. The conscious mind is distracted with work, but the subconscious, or inner mind, is recording and storing it. This can actually cause you to feel more stress. If you listen to a lot of negative music or other media, consider that it can have a negative effect on your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and actions. Of course, listening to positive music can have a positive effect on your beliefs, thoughts feelings and actions.

Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor
Lord Thompson Manor