HOUSTON Nona Jones held her first executive role with a Fortune 500 company at age 23. She always was destined for success, but realized she was trapped by emotional trauma from abuse she suffered as a child. Jones knew that no amount of success would make up for this pain unless she dealt with it.

Jones' new book "Success From the Inside Out" shares her story and helps people realize they don't need to be trapped by pain they have suffered in life. It is possible to break free and succeed. The book helps readers navigate their personal storms. "Success requires more than a changed mindset, it requires repairing a broken spirit."

To order "Success From the Inside Out" by Nona Jones, click here.

For more on Nona Jones, log on toNonaJones.com.

Follow Nona Jones on Facebook at @NonaNotNora

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Nona Jones helps you create success from the inside out - KHOU.com

Life doesnt have to be perfect to be wonderful, Monica Meyer said.

In her own imperfect yet wonderful life, Meyer has overcome the challenges of serious illness to achieve professional and personal success.

Born with a rare blood disorder that makes her more susceptible to infections, Meyer has shaped her life choices around the chronic, but manageable, condition.

Although she dreamed of becoming a nurse and working with cancer patients, for example, Meyer was unable to complete nursing school because the risk of infection was too great.

I learned not to take anything in life for granted, she said.

Instead, Meyer focused on a career in the restaurant industry, in which she has worked since age 19.

For the past 20 years, she has been the heartbeat of Coralville restaurant Monicas formerly known as Bobs Your Uncle. She is quick to point out that she is the namesake and general manager of the restaurant, not the owner.

Randy (Larson, the owner of Monicas) has been so supportive and has kept me employed even at times when Ive been unable to work, she said.

For his part, Larson speaks highly of Meyers contributions to the restaurant, which regularly appears on best of lists for the area.

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She is the reason the entire staff works collaboratively and strives for excellence, Larson wrote in nominating Meyer for a HER Award. She is so admired and respected that no one wants to disappoint her by falling short of her gentle, patient but consistent expectations.

Now managing college students who were her age when she started out in the business, Meyer views her role as helping young people be the best they can be in the service industry so they carry a service mind-set to wherever their careers take them.

I know their journey, but they still have to go through it themselves, she said.

I want to show young people that its OK to be comfortable in their own skin and not have such terribly high expectations of themselves.

One of Meyers personal accomplishments, despite the challenges of her medical condition, was starting a family. Three years ago, at age 39, Meyer gave birth to her first child, a boy.

I was never told not to have children, she said. But there was a 50-50 chance I could pass on the blood disorder on to my children.

She said thus far her son has shown no signs of the disorder.

Especially since the birth of her son, Meyer said she has come to recognize the importance of her role as a mentor to young people.

I hope what I do has a ripple effect beyond my reach, she said.

Business 380 spotlights HER magazines Women of Achievement, published by The Gazette. The awards were sponsored by Farmers State Bank.

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Women of Achievement: Monica Meyer has mentored many in the restaurant trade - The Gazette

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When was the last time you asked for something?

I mean, boldly and clearly asking for something you wanted.

For most people, the concept of asking for what they want doesnt even get put onto their mental to-do list.

In my time consulting with business and entrepreneurs, the one common thread I have seen separate the amateurs from the pros is their ability to ask for what they want..So why do so few people actually do it?

One things for sure: you dont get what you dont ask for.

The good news is, its totally possible to make your asks while maintaining your composure and worth. Here are 5 tips to help you ask for what you want and get everything you want in life.

1. Ask someone who can actually give it to you.

When it comes to networking and asking people for help, I cant keep track of the times clients have said they network but when I find out who they are talking to, it is abundantly clear why they arent landing interviews.No matter how great your people skills are, if you are talking to the wrong people, you wont ever get the right job.

This one sounds obvious, but its not.

2. Be clear in what you are asking for.

There is nothing worse than someone saying, I am not happy and need help, but when asked what can be done to help them, they have no ideas or direction on their specific needs.

Start to focus on exactly what you are asking for. If it is a new job, be clear on the exact function or type of job you want to do, what city you want it in and what industry would be ideal. People cannot help you if you are not clear. Like my grandma used to always tell me: a confused mind always says no.

When you can give someone a powerful visual of what you are looking for, it will help stick in their memory. The phenomenon of the pictorial superiority effect affirms that people tend to remember visuals over audible words.When talking to someone, create as much of a visual as possible. This means being specific in your ask.

For example, if you are a consultant, and someone asks what kinds of business you are looking to work with, dont answer, Oh, I will work with anyone ... This is a blank slate.Instead, get specific, for example: I really thrive when working with medium-sized businesses that are in the finance industry.

Suddenly, the person youre talking to knows where to look, and who to talk to.

3. Be vulnerable.

When it comes to support and trust in a person or a brand, 86% of people say authenticity matters. If you arent being authentic with your request, you arent going to get what you want.

The truth is, authenticity requires a level of vulnerability and being open about your needs and wants.It is hard to be authentic when you consider how vulnerable it makes you, especially if someone responds to you with a no.

Remember, theres a fine line between addressing an insecurity and shining a spotlight on a weakness. Theres a fine line between whats personal and whats private, and I recommend assessing within yourself: what feels personal and vulnerable? Alternatively, what feels private? Stepping into opening your heart and creating connections through personal stories and truth is a powerful career move.

4. Ask again.

When it comes to making asks, realize that you dont have to live in scarcity. You have every reason to be able to keep asking for what you want because remember: some of the greatest works of art were rejected before the artists were recognized for their magic.

Commit yourself to be persistent in the pursuit of what you want. Realize that creativity is actually the result of persistence.You will begin to find the connection between seemingly unrelated things. Your persistence will begin to show you avenues to get your yes that werent so easy to see in the beginning. When it comes to success, persistence does play a contributing factor and research shows it even trumps talent.

I am not saying to spam a few contacts over and over with your request, but just because someone said no today, doesnt mean they would still say no in a month, or a year.

On that note, never underestimate the power of a follow-up email. Take note to follow up with people who didnt reply, as its a key leadership move not to take their silence as a rejection. Perhaps after you follow up, if you dont hear back, its then time to simply ask someone else to support you in achieving what you want.

5. Be gracious when you receive a no.

Rejection once doesnt mean rejection forever.And if it does, choose to respect the grace.

You dont want to react with anger or aggression when someone turns down your request or doesnt hire you. This will only burn more bridges for your future. You never know what led them to say no in the first place; perhaps it was out of their control.

Also realize that how you relate to someones no is one of the biggest determinants of your long term career success. Its not personal, and its not a rejection. People simply offer up what theyre game to offer, and you can always relate to someones no or non-response as a permission slip for you to also say no sometimes. Youre human, and that means you cannot do everything neither can the people youre asking!

Instead, thank them for their time and choose to view it as a learning lesson and opportunity to become better. Your response to rejection actually affects your health. People who have a glass-half-full attitude are less likely to have poor cardiovascular health, blood pressure and risk for viral infections.

I hear it all the time, a company says no, and the candidate replies with dignity and affirms their long term interest and the company ends up circling back around later to offer an opportunity.

Dont be afraid to step into your voice and speak from your heart to get what you want.Trust me, you will be surprised by how many people are willing to help.

Now get out there and go after what you want!

Excerpt from:
The Secret To Get Anything You Want In Life - Forbes

By Nicole Tarkoff

The Becoming Center

For Hank Stoebenau, who used to deal with constant back pain and other arthritic joint issues, exercise has done more than simply maintain his physical health. Since choosing to utilize The Becoming Centers personal training program, Hanks back issues have virtually disappeared and everyday tasks like climbing up and down stairs that used to be a challenge, are just another part of his daily routine.

Hank, who has been a member of The Becoming Center for more than a decade, began utilizing their personal training program after his success in physical therapy at Artmans Rehabilitation Center. The personal training virtually eliminated my back issues, which were largely addressed by the work the exercise physiologists did with me, especially their core strengthening exercises.

As Hank began noticing improvements with his weight control, energy levels, and overall physical health and well-being, he decided to continue with his personal training program and has been utilizing this beneficial service ever since. As Ive aged, my back issues have been related to arthritis and other arthritic joints that you just cant avoid when youre as old as I am, he reflects.

Hank, who is currently in his late 70s, notes that one way to maintain mobility, strength, and energy while living with these arthritic conditions is to practice appropriate physical exercise. Thats exactly what I do in personal training at The Becoming Center, he adds.

Prior to coming here, there were times I couldnt even walk up right, and now theres basically no issues, Hank says proudly. The strengthening of my core muscles that Ive done with personal training has maintained my spine and the proper configurations have allowed me to basically do whatever I want. Im not going to run marathons, he laughs, but I have no problem going up and down stairs. Before, that was often a problem.

As a pilot who flies private airplanes, Hank believes that personal training has helped him a great deal in terms of maintaining his physical and mental dexterity. Piloting an airplane is a unique combination of physical skill and mental ability, he says. Youre multi-tasking. Youre controlling the altitude of the airplane. Youre responding to air traffic directives. Youre doing mental calculations, he says running down the list of various tasks.

These are all challenges that I dont have any problems with. I believe, that the personal training helps me maintain those abilities. It certainly helps me maintain the physical reaction time I need to make a split second decision when controlling the aircraft in turbulent conditions, he explains.

In addition to how personal training has benefitted Hanks profession, he says that what he enjoys most about being a member of The Becoming Center is the way they personalize their services to each members needs.

I notice the way the exercise physiologists pay attention to and care for all of the people who come here and utilize their services. It isnt just going through a workout routine. Theyre not just having you lift weights, or do Pilates. Theyre making sure that youre feeling well, and that youre doing the right exercises in a safe way so you dont hurt yourself.

In terms of challenges along his health and fitness journey, Hank says that the biggest obstacle can often be himself. I know that left to my own devices, I would not push myself and do the kinds of exercises that are most beneficial to keeping me in good shape and good health. With personal training, they make sure that I meet those challenges without overdoing it.

Hank currently works with Exercise Physiologist at The Becoming Center, Hana Gmariam, and she certainly motivates him to rise to any challenge. Sometimes Ill joke with Hana when shes teaching me something new, and Ill say, how long did you stay awake last night thinking of this exercise? he smiles. As each personal training session is different, Hana always manages to keep Hank on his toes. Its never boring, he admits happily.

Hank notes that while Hana is constantly pushing him to rise to new challenges, she is especially attentive to any pain hes feeling or physical issues hes enduring. Every session before we start, Hana will ask me how Im feeling. Whether I tweaked my neck while sleeping, or whatever else is bothering me, shell work on it, he says.

Whats great about The Becoming Center is that the staff here have been trained to work with the kinds of health and physical issues members are dealing with. Theyre really treating the person and not just going off of a physical fitness manuscript. Its personalized. I dont know if you would get that at other places.

Hanks wife is also a member of The Becoming Center, and she enjoys utilizing their wide variety of daily exercise classes. I believe that youre better off taking advantage of everything they have to offer here. Its really a fun place, he says. As Hank and his wife take advantage of all that The Becoming Center has to offer, they look forward to continuing their healthy and active lifestyles while rising to new challenges along the way.

Explore how The Becoming Center can help you reach your health and fitness goals. Visit our website at http://www.becomingcenter.org or call us at 215-643-9908.

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Senior Life: Private Pilot Continues to Fly with Remarkable Success in Personal Training at The Becoming Center - The Delaware County Daily Times

GARDNER Once upon a time, like Poseidon, the Wildcats ruled the seas during the winter swim season.

Beginning in 1947 through 2010, Gardner High boys and girls teams combined to win an incredible 31 state championships.

Interestingly, as one looks back, the dynastic dominance became, well, almost expected.

In fact, the late John Tinker, who coached the GHS boys swim team for 29 years and led the Wildcats to 14 of those state titles, felt the need in an interview in 1997 to explain what happened in the 1955 state championship meet.

We tied Springfield Tech for the title, said Tinker. We had a kid sick.

In sickness and health, though, after Tinker, the successful Gardner High swim story sailed on through the years under the late boys coach Dave Phillips, whose team won the 1980 state and New England titles, and under girls coach Don Lemieux, whose teams won 16 state championships, including 15 straight from 1994 to 2008 and another in 2010.

Since then, for nearly a full decade, reminiscent of F. Scott Fitzgeralds famous Great Gatsby ending: like boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past, the Wildcats have bravely splashed on with little success.

Of course, no one should expect a return to the glory days mostly achieved in the Greenwood Memorial Pool, now decaying in a crumbling building, possibly to be demolished soon.

But, as we sit in the winter of 2020, heres some encouraging Gardner High swim news.

As the girls team prepares for the league meet on Thursday at Tantasqua Regional, they have won two meets against Shrewsbury and AMSA and have tied Grafton. Plus, the Wildcats narrowly lost to Nashoba, 86-83.

Coach Lisa Arsenault, based on records she has found, said that before this season, the GHS girls had not won a dual meet in five years. And the Wildcat boys, with only four swimmers, captured their first win for the first time in four years.

Senior Kiley Young in the 100-yard backstroke and 200 individual medley and sophomore Emily Murphy in the 50 and 100 freestyle, have qualified for the girls' state individual championship at Boston University next month.

I hoping this year to place in the states in the 100 backstroke, said Young, who has a personal best time of one minute and 3 seconds in that event.

For Murphy, like Young a student at Oakmont Regional which co-ops with Gardner, this is her first year of high school swimming. She has been a longtime competitor in USA swim events.

Im really looking forward to the leagues, sectionals and states, she said.

Joining Young and Murphy in the state 200 IM relay will be freshman Ani Seppelin and sophomore Emma Dunn, both also from Oakmont.

Winning feels so good this year, said Young, a four-year starter. Now we have the numbers to compete well and actually win.

Added coach Arsenault, Its been a very positive season with many girls and boys close to qualifying for additional events. And now were hoping to swim our best in the upcoming league and sectional meets.

More here:
Against a tidal wave of success in the past, Wildcat swimmers splash ahead - The Gardner News

Oprah Winfrey has graced the covers of countless magazines, but her proudest moment was when she ... [+] appeared on the cover of Vogue.

According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is one of the 10 richest self-made women in America. And her name is certainly the most famous to appear in the illustrious top ten. No American woman has ever managed to achieve the same level of fame as Oprah by their own efforts. Oprah Winfrey grew up in very modest circumstances. But, from a very early age, her goal was to become famous. In junior high, when she was asked to fill in one of those Where Will I Be in Twenty Years? forms every child is confronted with at some point or other, Oprah checked the box marked Famous. Many of the people who knew Oprah as a girl and young woman testify to the fact that she was always driven to become a star and be very rich. For her, wealth was primarily a means of attracting attention: In this society nobody listens to you unless you have some bling, some money, some clout, some access.

Oprahs Big Break

Oprahs career got started in 1976 with a television station in Baltimore. She was given the assignment of visiting a different Baltimore neighborhood each day to interview local people. Typical of Oprah, she judged her role primarily in terms of how it could increase her own popularity. It's good P.R. for me, she explained, It was a great way of introducing me to the city. Unfortunately, she lost her prestigious position as co-anchor after just eight months. She was demoted to weekend features reporter, which, by her own admission, was the lowest position in the newsroom hierarchy. The substantive stories Oprah was now asked to report on included a cockatoos birthday party at the local zoo. But at least she was still part of the newsroom. When she was chosen as the host of a new morning show, People Are Talking, she felt she had finally reached rock-bottom. Her boss at the time recalls: She really wanted to be a news person. She knew that news was all that mattered in television at the time. She saw daytime as a real come-down, a failure. She started crying. Please don't to this to me, she begged. Its the lowest of the low. ... What I was offering her was a real job and, quite frankly, she had no other option. Oprah finally agreed to do it, but she left his office with tears in her eyes.

It is a tribute to Oprah that she made the best of the situation, and in retrospect what seemed like a demotion proved a great opportunity for her further career. People Are Talking launched on August 14, 1978, and after interviewing two actors from her favorite soap opera, All My Children, Oprah said she felt like she had finally found her place in television. I came off the air, and I knew that was what I was supposed to do ... This is it. This is what I was born to do ... It just felt like breathing. It was the most natural process for me." Her show was so successful that it was soon picked up for national syndication.

Oprahs Image Change

Her show drew its highest ratings when it covered sex-related topics. Audiences also responded enthusiastically to features on diet and relationship issues. Later in her career, she reflected more critically on the kind of shows she had initially been so successful with: Ive been guilty of doing trash TV and not even thinking it was trash, she once admitted. Winfrey wanted to elevate her shows by focusing on more challenging featuresincluding, for example, promoting books. In addition to audience ratings, image had now also become important to Oprahshe no longer wanted to shed her reputation for doing trash TV.

She now saw herself as more of a motivational guru. In the late 1990s, Oprah started a series of Change Your Life shows. She positioned herself as the embodiment of the American dream: a woman who overcame a difficult and abusive childhood and went on to craft an unprecedented career for herself as and became the worlds first black self-made billionaire. Her story inspired many millions of peoplenot only in America but also in many other countries where her show was broadcast. For Oprah and her followers, her extraordinary success was proof of the power of positive thinking. People were inspired by her gospel: If I can do it, you can do it. Ultimately, talk shows were just one of the many vehicles that Oprah used to promote herself and achieve unparalleled professional success.

Oprahs Diets

As a girl, Oprah had never even dared to dream of being on the cover of Vogue. However, when the idea was floated, the magazines editor told Oprah, who was overweight for much of her life, that she would have to lose weight before she would be invited to pose for the cover. Oprah promised to lose at least 20 pounds by the day of the photo shoot. She enrolled in a weight-loss boot camp, followed a strict diet and trained hard to make it onto the cover of Vogue. In October 1998, Oprahs Vogue cover hit the newsstands. It went on to sell 900,000 copies, more than any other issue in the magazine's 110-year history.

Over the years, Winfrey has gone through repeated cycles of shedding pounds of weight, only to put them all back on again. On one of her famous diets, she lost 67 pounds. In order to show her audience just how much that is, she pulled 67 pounds of greasy animal fat into the studio in a small red wagon. To drive the point home, she tried to lift the bag of wobbly fat. Is this gross or what? Its amazing to me, I cant lift it, but I used to carry it around every day.

The show was the most successful of Winfreys talk show careerwatched by 44% of the daytime television audience. Following her diet, she declared that she would never gain weight again, but she had said the same thing so many times before and eventually always put the weight back on. Her mostly female viewers sympathized with her weight struggles, especially as so many of them had their own personal experience of this yo-yo effect. Her viewers found it easier to identify with a frequently overweight woman who struggled with diets all her life than they did with a presenter with the figure of a supermodel. But whether she was climbing up or down the scales, Winfrey always made her weight a topic of discussion on her talk shows and in numerous interviews.

Oprahs Affinity For Ordinary People

Just like Donald Trump, Oprah Winfrey, despite her incredible fortune and fame, has always managed to create the impression that she not only has an affinity for ordinary people and their problems, but that she was in fact one of them. And to a certain extent this is true. The problems Oprah had in her private lifeespecially her weight and diet issues, but also her relationship problemswere the same problems so many of her viewers were also grappling with.

As Oprah became increasingly famous, a growing number of acquaintances, both real and fake, contacted the media to sell scandalous stories about her eventful life. One of her ex-boyfriends threatened to expose the details of their past drug abuseover a number of years, they had repeatedly taken cocaine and other drugs together. Oprah initially tried to kill these damaging stories, but soon realized how difficult that would be and decided to adopt a more aggressive PR strategy instead. She invited a drug addict onto her talk show and thenseeminglyspontaneously confessed that she had also been a drug addict. This was an incredibly astute move: by publicly confessing her past problems with drugs, she defused the impact of the potential humiliation and robbed any such scandalous stories of their news value.

Oprah has always done everything within her power to shape her own image. She learned a painful lesson when she was humiliated by her drug-addict sister, who sold the story of Oprahs unwanted teenage pregnancy and drug abuse to a tabloid newspaper. After this devastating experience, Oprah made almost everyone in her life her sign a confidentiality agreement and forbade them from talking openly about Oprahs private life or business affairs. The more powerful she became, the more control she exerted over the medias coverage of all things Oprah. In fact, she even frequently hand-picked which photographer would be allowed to take her pictures for newspaper articles.

Image Is EverythingSeven Factors For Success

All celebrities care about their image, but rarely has anyone crafted their image as purposefully and consistently as Oprah Winfrey. She wanted control over media representations of her character, her appearance and her life story. The most important factors behind Oprahs success were these:

The rest is here:
The Seven Secrets Of Oprah Winfreys Success - Forbes

On Sunday afternoon, the University of Portland hosted its first full indoor track meet since the mid-1990s, according to mens track and field head coach Rob Conner. The Portland Pilots posted personal bests and came away victorious in several races.

The meet which was split into two days, with day one being hosted by George Fox University was the first of three that will be hosted by UP. The second will take place on Feb. 9 and the third on Feb. 23.

I feel like everybody did a great job, especially with this being our first home meet in a long time and first meet since having the track redone. womens head coach Ian Solof said. Considering that I think it was definitely a success.

Indoor tracks are different than the standard outdoor track. Most indoor tracks are around 200 meters while outdoor tracks are 400. Those lengths still vary, with the refurbished track at the Chiles Center measured at 240 meters around. For reference, the track at the University of Washington Invitational to start the season was 307 meters. Regardless, the strategy doesnt change.

Its more just kind of getting familiar with the track, Solof said. Thats a big part of it is just getting used to the layout and having a sense of where the finish line is, but it doesnt change the strategy. The basics of racing still apply.

That home track advantage came in handy. Portland had four winners combined between the mens and womens team as well as 26 personal records across all runners.

Senior Maya Murphy-Cook was a highlight for the womens team as she won the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.87 seconds, a personal record. Sophomore Grace Oswin won the 800-meter race with a time of 2:19.30, freshman McKenna Smith took second in the 3,000-meter (10:12.38) and sophomore Tara Fuitens 59.70 time in the 400-meter dash was the eighth-best time in school history.

The mens team dominated the distance races, earning the top five times in the 3000-meter and the top four times in the mile. Thomas Salas claimed first in the 3,000 with a time of 8:34.74 while Henry Chapmans time of 4:13.82 was good for first in the mile.

With this meet being the first for most of the runners this year, Conner and Solof were proud of how their teams performed.

So far, so good, Conner said. Happy with how the track held up, happy about everybodys efforts and I think its a really good place to build on.

While the meet was a successful one for their runners, the meet was just as successful from an organizational perspective in the eyes of both Conner and Solof, showing that the Chiles Center can be an option for future meets.

I was extremely happy with the organization of the meet, the structure that we provided, Conner said. Weve gotten nothing but positive feedback from the competitors and the coaches. This gets us established as a viable option for indoor track and I think youll see more people coming and coming and coming.

Kyle Garcia is the Sports editor for The Beacon. He can be reached at garciaky20@up.edu.

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First ever Portland Indoor meet 'definitely a success' for Pilots - The Beacon

Josh Donaldson was fielding inquiries from several teams at the outset of free agency when he received one in particular he found intriguing.

I think it was probably about a week or two (into the process), I called my agent Dan (Lozano), Donaldson said. I said, Hey, man, I want you to call the Twins and let them know I want to be there. I think its a real opportunity for us. Theres a lot of things for me why it drew me here. I was just hoping that they felt the same way and obviously thats where were at today and its pretty special for all of us.

The Twins felt the same way but had to wait for Donaldson to make a decision as the Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers also reportedly bid for his services. Ultimately, it was the Twins four-year, $92 million offer that the 34-year-old third baseman accepted. The contract, the most lucrative any of the teams offered Donaldson and the richest deal the Twins have ever given a free agent from outside the organization, includes a fifth-year club option that will be worth $16 million or enable the team to pay an $8 million buyout.

Donaldson was introduced Wednesday during a press conference at Target Field, one week after the news broke that he had decided to sign in Minnesota after spending his nine-year career in Oakland, Toronto, Cleveland and Atlanta. After an injury-plagued 2018 season limited him to 52 games with Toronto and Cleveland, Donaldson signed a one-year, $23 million contract with the Braves last year hoping to prove himself worthy of a much richer, multiyear deal.

Donaldson succeeded.

He won NL Comeback Player of the Year honors, hitting .259/.379/.521 with 37 home runs and 94 RBIs in 155 games for the NL East champions. Donaldson brings his 219 career home runs to a team that set the big-league single-season home run record last season with 307. Donaldson, who was the AL MVP in 2015 with the Blue Jays, does more than add power. He also brings afar better glove at third base than Miguel Sano provided. Sano, who signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Twins this month, will move to first base to make room for Donaldson.

I think the division sets up well, Donaldson said, being back in the American League fits well, personal success in this stadium has definitely been something that I was looking forward to possibly being here one day.

Donaldson wasnt kidding about his success at Target Field. In 22 career games in the stadium, Donaldson has hit .373 (31-for-83) with seven doubles, 10 home runs, 21 RBIs, an .819 slugging percentage and a 1.283 OPS. Among all active players with a minimum of 75 plate appearances, his OPS ranks first and his batting average ranks third. Donaldson hit .444/.643/.556 in nine at-bats in a three-game interleague series at the ballpark last August.

You can insert your own joke about how much of this success came against bad Twins pitching through the years, but Donaldson feels there is a reason for his success at the ballpark.

If youve ever played golf, and Im an avoid golfer in the offseason, I think there are certain golf holes that set up to your eye, he said. For some season, this stadium sits up well for me. Maybe its the background, or whatever its been, Ive taken a liking to it. Ive had some great experiences here and Im looking forward to putting up more numbers here.

Excerpt from:
Perfect fit: Josh Donaldson says he identified Twins as attractive landing spot - SKOR North

While Microsoft(NASDAQ:MSFT) is best known for its operating system and software products, the company's resurgence in recent years has been largely attributed to its successful foray into cloud computing. This success helped push Microsoft's market cap above $1 trillion in 2019 while driving its stock up by more than 55% last year, easily outpacing the 29% gains of the S&P 500.

The company's cloud computing segment will likely be in the limelight once again, and many market watchers expect the segment's sterling growth to continue when Microsoft reports the financial results of its fiscal 2020 second quarter after the market close on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

Image source: Microsoft.

It's been just a decade since Microsoft introduced its Azure Cloud in February 2010, and the platform's ascent has been nothing short of phenomenal. Microsoft quickly became the second-largest cloud provider, behind just AmazonWeb Services (AWS), and continues to grow at a faster rate.

In its fiscal first quarter, Microsoft said its commercial cloud generated revenue of $11.6 billion, up 36% year over year. The company's intelligent cloud segment grew to $10.8 billion, up 27%, while Azure grew a more impressive 59% compared to the prior-year quarter.

While the cloud is currently part of a trifecta of Microsoft businesses, there are those on Wall Street who think this is just the beginning. Late last year, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Brad Reback pointed out that the transition to the cloud is still in the early stages and notes that Azure already has a run rate of $17 billion. With Microsoft's recent wins like the $10 billion JEDI contract, cloud computing could become its biggest revenue generator by 2023.

Look for more strong gains from the cloud segment.

Another factor in Microsoft's strong growth has been the company's ability to generate recurring revenue from the sale of subscriptions to its suite of software products like Office. Microsoft's productivity and business processes segment has been a consistent performer, with revenue of $11.1 billion, up 13% year over year in the first quarter. This included revenue from Office commercial products and cloud services that climbed 13% year over year, while Office 365 commercial revenue climbed 25%.

Microsoft's more personal computing segment grew at a much slower rate, up just 4% year over year, but still generated revenue of $11.1 billion.

Microsoft is forecasting total revenue in a range of $35.15 billion to $35.95 billion, which would represent year-over-year growth of about 9% at the midpoint of its guidance. This would represent a deceleration from the 14% growth the tech giant achieved last quarter. Analysts' consensus estimates are calling for revenue of $35.7 billion -- near the high end of management's guidance -- or growth of about 10%,while expecting earnings per share of $1.32, an increase of 20%.

It's important to note that Microsoft's management has historically been conservative with its guidance and has beaten its internal estimates for several consecutive quarters. Given that history, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if Microsoft were to exceed its own guidance yet again.

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The definition of a smart city essentially describes a city comprised of a more connective infrastructure. It means that data and technology are utilized to their most efficient capacity and capability to improve sustainability, spur economic development, and enhance quality of life. You can find them all over the United States. But why limit the possibilities of connecting a city, when you can connect an entire region? Welcome to The Connective, the first Greater Phoenix smart region.

Two years ago we announced the intention and vision for a smart region consortium in Greater Phoenix, says Chris Camacho, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). Now a reality, this consortium will elevate the regions competitiveness and enhance the reputation of Greater Phoenix as a preeminent market where companies can test, develop and deploy technology at scale while providing our residents with a technologically advanced lifestyle opportunity.

What will be the nations largest and most connected smart region in Greater Phoenix is the result of the unified effort of the Partnership for Economic Innovation (PEI), GPEC, Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona State University and the Institute for Digital Progress.

The connective is a governing structure that establishes a process by which the region can holistically adopt smart technology by entirely re-engineering the system as we know it today, Camacho says.

The Connective, Greater Phoenixs Smart Region Consortium, was founded with support from Cox Communications, Dell, Maricopa County, Salt River Project and Sprint.

These great organizations are conveners of ideas and are key to developing a vision for our future, says Jenn Daniels, mayor of Gilbert. No one does anything alone. Each group brings strengths and expertise to the table without an ego. Its a remarkable accomplishment to collaborate across so many disciplines, but its also the Arizona way. Weve been working together on various issues for decades and weve gotten really good at it.

This collaborative effort to construct the nations largest smart region is designed to enable high-level problem solving that encourages connectivity, affordability, and intra-operative capability of services.

The Connective is another step forward for smart community applications and services, explains Ed Aaronson, vice president at Cox Communications, engaging city leaders and citizens, nonprofits, university faculty, student researchers, industry experts, and visiting scholars to build the metropolitan and regional infrastructure of the future.

The cities interwoven into The Connective include The City of Apache Junction, City of Buckeye, City of Casa Grande, City of Chandler, Town of El Mirage, Town of Fountain Hills, Town of Gilbert, City of Glendale, City of Goodyear, City of Mesa, City of Peoria, City of Phoenix, Town of Queen Creek, City of Scottsdale, City of Surprise, City of Tempe, City of Tolleson and the Town of Youngtown, with the potential for additional cities to join in the future.

While the needs of individual cities will certainly be addressed, The Connective seeks to solve the challenges of all jurisdictions by approaching solutions on a larger, regional scale.

According to Diana Bowman, associate professor for Arizona State Universitys School for the Future of Innovation in Society, The Connective is meant to identify what the challenges are from a regional vantage point. This is not about ASU having a research agenda and going out to deliver technology to the cities and region because we think thats what needed. Its about each participating city telling us what they need and The Connective finding the best solution to address that need.

Bowman provides a real-time, palatable example of how the concept of interchangeable systems will play out in the Greater Phoenix Smart Region.

When I wake up in the morning, explains Bowman, I wake up in the City of Phoenix. When I go to work at the Tempe campus, I cross a jurisdictional border. Most citizens in Greater Phoenix cross-jurisdictional boundaries every day whether they know it or not. To have smart system transportation that only operates in Tempe or Phoenix (independent of one another) makes no sense. Having an intra-operable system allows a seamless flow of vehicles and people.

Intra-operative transportation is but one aspect of The Connectives drive for refined fluidity between municipalities.

Seamless borders need to be seamless by way of technology, data sharing and integrated solutions, too, Daniels says. I would love to work with The Connective to ensure that solutions dont end at municipal boundaries, but that as a region and state, we all work together to ensure total integration when it comes to traffic management, 5G connectivity and resource protection.

Whereas smart technology solutions have historically come in the form of a pushed product upon a city council, Camacho reiterates that The Connective works in opposition to this strategy.

Ours is a partnership and governance that enables us to form audits with our cities to find out what residents want in terms of issues that they foresee in their communities, he says. We find common ground in shared challenges that propel the governance system to enable a call for innovation and to ultimately come forward and address what those issues are.

While The Connective goes to work on addressing the varied issues within the new Greater Phoenix Smart Region, there will be added advantages for those involved.

The training, knowledge sharing and awareness that will result from participation in The Connective will greatly benefit cities as they seek to better understand how and when to implement smart technologies in their cities, says Dan Cotterman, deputy city manager for Goodyear.

Often, cities share common challenges, further reinforcing the value of regional collaboration in working toward connectivity. Camacho explains that the likely shared challenges of The Connectives participating cities allow for the adoption of a scale. This scale enables the overarching cost that a city or set of cities would normally incur to procure needed technology to significantly decrease.

Cities arent the only entities that have the potential to save. Because The Connective ultimately seeks to provide the smartest solutions through the most efficient solutions, Greater Phoenix businesses and universities will likewise reap the rewards.

Think of Arizona in the last five years as becoming known as the proving ground for emerging technologies, Camacho says. In 2015, there was executive order on autonomous vehicles, then theres the FinTech sandbox, wearable technology, and the recent emergence of PropTech (property technology) and new regulatory sandboxes. All of this has evolved into a partnership with private industry, including APS, SRP and others with ASU.

The result of such partnerships is going to enable a mass number of proving grounds, testing models, where Internet of Things (IoT) devices can be deployed alongside other forms of state-of-the-art smart technology to be tested and validated before they get brought back to the consortium for adoption, according to Camacho.

Businesses are increasingly incorporating technology in their workplace environment, affirms Cotterman. The use of technology spans all business sectors, from engineering companies to advanced manufacturers, who use sophisticated technology to grow and compete in the global marketplace. The Connective allows us, as a region, to stay relevant and become more competitive as we vie for knowledge-based and other highly desirable companies.

While financial and logistics benefits are likely to manifest in both public and private sectors, Bowman emphasizes that there is a far greater motivation at play when it comes to the underlying drive of The Connective.

At all times, the discussion has ultimately centered around quality of life, Bowman says. Having the mindset that the Smart Region isnt so much about technology or business development but rather improving quality of life in the region has been the driving force for everything weve done and is critical to our mission moving forward.

If we do this well over the next few years, Camacho says, We believe as we put the new governance structure in place, well have a structure by which public and private interest in smart technology advance together, the result of which will yield an innovative brand for the region.

And, Daniels adds, When we demonstrate our willingness to drive change, we will attract others who see value in the same. Our universities are turning out world-class graduates already contributing to our economy. All levels of government are challenging the status quo and clearing the path for business and personal success. Our businesses are investing in solutions and in people delivering unprecedented Arizona growth. Were all in this together and it shows.

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Here's how the Valley evolved into the nation's largest smart region - AZ Big Media