The American Dream

Why is the American Dream becoming out of reach for so many Americans?

The American Dream is still available for anyone who so desires to live it. What keeps so many people from living their dreams? Here are 7 reasons why?

1) The dream is not clearly defined. How can we hit a target we don’t have? Do you have a detailed and written description of your dream? At least 95% of the people don’t have a written description of what they want out of their lives.

2) The dream is not a priority. The lack of focus leads to distractions and procrastinations. Ask yourself, what is the most important thing I want to accomplish in my life?

3) Poor handling of personal finance. The lack of understanding of money leads to lack of money, frustrations, and loss of hope and confidence in oneself.  Are you going to have any money if you think money is not important to you? Money is just a tool to do great things with.

4) Not investing in you. This is at the center of everything. The only education is a self-education. What percentage of your income are you investing in yourself? Five percent is a good point to start. Remember that from neck down we are all worth minimum wage. Ask yourself, am I better this year than last year? Compare yourself with yourself and not with anyone else. Become the best possible version of yourself.

5) Living by obligations and not by priorities. If priorities are not set, how can we protect our most valuable resource, our time? Don’t let your life be full of obligations. This is a big trap so many fall into.

6) Broken thinking. What system are you on? Where are you getting the truth from? Following a proven system leads to predictable results.  Do you have a scorecard for your life? Who are you taking advice from? Follow the advice of people with results in life you would like to have and associate with them.  The microwave thinking of quick fixes don’t fix anything. Have insatiable hunger and work to deserve living your dreams. The problem with the information age is too much information. Plug into the right system containing the right information and start applying it into your life.

7) Buried in debt. Don’t fall in the trap of mortgaging your future for instant gratification. Is interest working for or against you? Invest in assets instead liabilities. First work hard for money, then save and put the money to work for you. Make money your slave not your master.

Don’t let your circumstances distract you; turn them in your favor. Remember everything is created twice; first mental then physical creation. Never forget where your blessings come from! Tackle the 7 items above, one at a time, and you too can live the American Dream.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Educational Traveling

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page - Saint Augustine

Over the years I have been blessed to have traveled to over 20 countries and have worked in at least 15 countries for periods of weeks, some with repeated trips over the years.  I always viewed my travels as part of my life education journey. Travel was part of the life I always wanted to live.  I never regretted the long trips to Australia or the risky trips to Guatemala and Colombia. I used to call them my mission and adventure trips. I am who I am today to great extent due to all the learnings accumulated over the 30 plus years of traveling broadly and deeply. I loved it so much that I still continue to do it today. My next country to visit is Costa Rica. 

Start with the why, then to to the when, where, and how of traveling. Most people love to travel and would love to travel more. For some reason when they think of traveling, they immediately go to the how and stop there instead of going through the sequence from why to how.

Here are 7 whys or reasons that travel is so important. If we know the why, we will get the how taken care of. Travel doesn't just reduce the balance in our bank accounts; intentional travel is one of the best investment one can make. Travel does great things in us because we learn to see the world with different eyes.

1) Pick up wisdom from other cultures

2) Value who we and have; develop compassion

3) Learn, explore and make new connections

4) Get new perspectives and worldview

5) Collect images, memories and stories from the adventures

6) Savor different foods, cultures and the arts

7) Learn history and geography first hand

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Entering a new economic age

Are you prepared for the new economic age?

Is there any safe and secure jobs anymore? Security today is no longer where it used to be. Security today is in the quality of our thinking and the speed of our learning and doing. Economic history teaches us that America has had the agrarian age, industrial age, corporate age, and information age. Each economic age released the workforce for the new age. The problem with the information age was that it did not create as many jobs. Many people failed to prepare to the new age as well. We are now entering a new age called the entrepreneurial community age. Those that fail to think and act like entrepreneurs will have a very difficult time in the new age. Entrepreneurs will dominate this new age. How can you prepare for this new age? Be prepared to work hard, work smart and delay gratification like entrepreneurs do. Here are 7 ways you can prepare to win big in the entrepreneurial community age.

1) Become a voracious reader of great books. Read broadly and deeply. Read with purpose and apply the nuggets you learn.

2) Listen to audios containing stories of successful entrepreneurs. The stories will open the fuel valve to turn your pilot light into a flame.

3) Associate with entrepreneurs by belonging to a community of likeminded people.

4) Build your own business that requires leadership skills to build teams of entrepreneurs. The only way to learn business is to build one. 

5) Learn fast from defeats and failures. Failure is never final until one quits.

6) Build a strong and true spirituality in you. Understand that greatness is polarizing. Ignore critics and listen only to those you admire and respect.

7) Become financially savvy by maximizing investments (in you first) and minimizing expenses.

Being lukewarm is a recipe for mediocrity and insignificance. Find a cause, chase it and you will leave a legacy. Be a great steward of your gifts and abilities. Entrepreneurs own the future because the created it; they spread truth and add value to people’s lives.

Have you thanked an entrepreneur lately?

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Change and Grow, Grow and Change!

Life is all about changing and growing. 

Growth comes from changing. The day we stop growing we start dying. Why are we so afraid of changing if we know it is necessary for growing? It is all about our thinking. Our thought patterns form our beliefs. So if we want to grow we need to change our thoughts first which in turn will change our belief system.

Here are 7 pitfalls that stop us from changing and growing. Be a better you, be a new version of yourself, and be the best version of yourself. Why? The simple answer is that the world around you needs you to be the best you.

1) Denial. I am right where I am supposed to be. Define where you are going, know why and GO!

2) Timing. This is not the right time. Once I am not so busy I will get started. Do not wait until a crisis strikes to change. The time to start is now.

3) Illusion. Others must accept the way I am. There is no need for me to change. Once you start to change and grow the world around you will see you differently. Have the fortitude to take criticism.

4) Quitting. Change is too hard! Don’t fall into the pitfall of going back to your comfortable old self. There is no safety in living in the familiar zone.

5) Trying. I tried to change and it did not work. Get out of the microwave mentality. Exercise patience and persistence. Change comes from repeatedly attaching the status quo. Keep faithful time after time until new thought patterns are formed. In life there is not try, only do. Trying is just involvement; commitment is doing it!

6) Failure. Not learning from failure will make you a failure. Stop going to your past to get advice for your future. Go to your future to get advice for your future. Get advice from those that have made it. Never fall into the pitfall of getting advice from those that failed, get advice from those that have succeeded instead.

7) Bondage. Caring for what others think of you. Free yourself from being bonded to what others think of you. You cannot control others, only yourself. 

Develop a new updated version of yourself and keep going until you reach the best version of yourself, version 7.7.7.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

The Examined Life - Part II

Only the examined life is truly worth living!

The ability to ask ourselves the questions leads us to the right answers to our life’s most pressing problems. Keep asking yourself the tough questions until you start getting the answers. In life we can get all we want if we ask the right questions to the right people at the right time. We can start by asking ourselves the right questions first. Be patients and keep asking yourself the questions. Those who seek the answers will find them. Being able to ask the right questions is more important than having the right answers. Write down your life’s 7 most pressing questions and start jotting down the answers. Focus on the questions and the answers will come in due time. Ask yourself one question a day for one week. Do it repeatedly 7 times 7 throughout the day and miracles will start happening in your life. Here are 7 more sample questions for you to get started. Can you pass your own life exam? It is an open book exam! All the resources in the world are available to you. Go for it! Be the minority that defines what they want out of life, the minority called dream chasers. To me that is the only way to live!

1) How can I turn rejection into positive energy?

2) How can I be a force for good?

3) How can I be completely out of debt?

4) How can I make the right things happen in my life?

5) How can I create great stories to tell my grandchildren?

6) What does my dream vacation looks like? 

7) What is the main reason/purpose  I am on this earth?

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Success to Significance

Success is earning your stripes; significance is helping others earn their stripes!

The road from success to significance is full of traps, ditches, and distractions. 

Why settling for good if great is available? 

The right thinking is required to go from success to significance. 

Here are 7 pitfalls to be watchful as you move from success to significance.

1) Ego. Upon starting the path to significance leave your ego at the gate of success. Keep at check on your attitude at all times. Success is never achieved alone. There is no self-made man. Drop the ego and seek a cause to enlist others.

2) Poor handling of finances. Poor handling of personal finance will quickly get you into a mess. Money reveals who we are, our character. Think of money as a blessing and do great things with money. Value money and be a saver. Invest in yourself and others around you.

3) Camping instead of climbing. Many successful people settle for the good instead of pursuing the great. Distractions get us out of focus. Seek mastery in what you have been called to do instead of jumping into other endeavors.

4) Lack of clear vision and big dreams. Live every day chasing a big dream. Big dreams create the hunger and the vision required to get where you are going.

5) Lack of gratitude. Count your blessings and know where they come from. Show your gratitude for what you have been given and you will be blessed with great resources to accomplish more.

6) Seeking pleasures instead of fun. It is easy to fall in the trap of worldly pleasures and entertainment. Seek fun activities with people that are helping you to get better in life. Learning is fun and a stress buster. Weekends of pleasure only increase the threshold for the following week’s high.

7) Lack of investment in others. Significance comes from pumping value into other people’s lives. Invest in others by giving them the best gift possible; the gift of you, the gift of your most treasure resource, your time.

Ask yourself 

“What my great grandchildren will know about me?” 

“What would l like to have said on my eulogy?”

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

The Examined Life

An examined life is worth living. The ability to ask ourselves the questions leads us to the right answers to our life’s most pressing problems. Keep asking yourself the tough questions until you start getting the answers. In life we can get all we want if we ask the right questions to the right people at the right time. We can start by asking ourselves the right questions first. Be patients and keep asking yourself the questions. Those who seek the answers will find them. Being able to ask the right questions is more important than having the right answers. Write down your life’s 7 most pressing questions. Focus on the questions and the answers will come in due time. Ask yourself one question a day for one week. Do it repeatedly 7 times 7 throughout the day and miracles will start happening in your life. Here are 7 sample questions for you to get started. You can pass the life exam!

1) What does success look like to me?

2) What relationships do I need to repair?

3) How can I make more quality time with those that I love?

4) How will I know when I am wealthy?

5) How can I turn fear and stress to my advantage?

6) How can I become a better friend and servant?

7) How can I find a great mentor to help me get better?

To be active on the above requires thinking. Thinking is hard work especially when we have not been educated to do it. You can start  seeing the world differently and by doing that you will change the world around you. Examine your life and you will live a legacy.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Words of Wisdom

The Wit and Wisdom of Orrin Woodward

Orrin Woodward is currently ranked the 6th most influential leader in the world. Orrin has depth and breadth of wisdom delivered with incredible teaching skills. He combines story telling packed with nuggets of wisdom. His brilliant mind and vision are truly amazing. One cannot listen to Orrin without being inspired to chase one’s dreams. Thank you, Orrin Woodward for creating the most powerful leadership development system in the world. Here are 7 nuggets Orrin shared in the last few days.

1) The limiting factor on your success is not the size of the obstacles, but the size of your dream!

2) Leaders don't correct people to success as much as believe them to it.

3) Access to information can free you when you apply it!

4)Thinking is the toughest kind of work which is why so many people avoid it.

5) People forget what you kept, but they will never forget what you gave.

6) There are no dead ends in life, only dead end thinking.

7) Lack o time cannot kill success, but lack of prioritization will.

I am looking forward to reading Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille’s next best seller book coming out on April 16, 2013 – Leadershift.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Words of Wisdom

The Wit and Wisdom of Christopher James Brady

Chris Brady is ranked the 11^th most influential leader in the world. Chris is a remarkable communicator, likely the best in the world today. Chris has depth and breadth of wisdom delivered with incredible teaching skills. He combines story telling packed with humor. His facial expressions and vocal abilities are truly amazing. One cannot listen to Chris without laughing and learning. Thank you, Chris Brady for co-creating the most powerful leadership development system in the world. Here are 7 nuggets Chris shared in the last few days.

1) The most surprising thing about enemies is not their existence, but their cleverness.

2) Cynicism is what happens when skepticism is given too much latitude.

3) You can't heal your own wounds until you help someone else heal theirs. Stop wallowing, start serving.

4) You can't take your same, crappy self into a bright new future.

5) Stop making the mistake of not asking what mistake you are making.

6) Mudslingers have dirty hands.

7) Quitting is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

Christian Unity

Faith always strengthens community.

It is time for Christians to unite and to serve as examples for others to follow. True faith comes from believing, behaving and belonging. The belief Jesus Christ lived a perfect life, died for our sins, and was raised to be united with the Father. Our behavior is a reflection of our beliefs. We all belong to Him. We all belong to the same body, the multiples Christian churches; the places where we can live in community to lessen the burdens of life. We know that we will be held accountable for our lives.

1) Denominations are not the problem. The problem is us. We create the problem amongst ourselves. We are all sinners, we the ones that make the Christian community. We make the churches. The central message is the same. There are different paths to come to the truth and salvation. We all know we by ourselves are not good enough to be saved.

2) Unity under the salvation message. We believe in the same Christ, the One that gave us the key to salvation by dying on the cross for our sins so we could spend eternity in heaven.

3) Stop spreading misinformation. Provide our testimony to others without pointing to the faults of other denominations. It is not the denomination that is at fault. Yes, when we accept the fact we are the problem we then have the power to come up with solutions.

4) Edify other Christians. We all need to encourage more people to go to churches, to worship the One who created all of us.

5) Cooperate instead of competing. Yes, are competing for souls to be saved. Imagine if Baptists see themselves as having a mission to get Catholics "saved" and into what they think is true Christianity. I would be concerned since anyone who claims to be a Christian but then judges others for what they believe is NOT, in fact, a Christian. Imagine instead Catholics loving Baptists and Baptists loving Catholics since we all know and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as out personal savior. We can think of religions as bringing people together instead of dividing them.

6) Know who the enemy is. The enemy is evil. The enemy is sin. It is important to understand that the enemy always works its ways to come from within; within us to break the unity that makes us strong. The enemy always wants to divide us from the unity in true community. Let’s foster unity among Christians.

7) Lead others to the journey to faith. No one can be rushed to faith, only led to the truth. Sooner or later we are faced with the truth that there is eternity. Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Let’s unite and keep the central message, the message of salvation to our decaying world. We will never find our callings by trying to figure out whether we are better or worse than others. We are good enough to do what we are called to do.

We can build community supported by faith. Faith greeting faith, that's what community, is all about. Community is not the place where we are no longer alone but the place where we respect, protect, and reverently greet one another's faith. When we allow our faith to lead us thinking we are equal to others, our faith will enable us to rejoice in the faith of others. Our faith roots us in our own hearts. Instead of making us yearn for company that will offer us immediate satisfaction, faith makes us claim our center and empowers us to call others to claim theirs. Our various Christian faiths are like strong, straight pillars that hold up the roof of our communal house. Thus, faith always strengthens community.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx

Co-author of the book Follow to Lead (The 7 Principles to Being a Great Follower)

Author of the book PRICELESS (Sixty-Six Simple Stories of Reflection, Love, and Legacy)

The Leadership Journey

What separate great leaders from non-leaders are sets of skills? Great leaders have breadth and depth of skills in many areas. We are all born without the skills needed to become leaders. Let’s dive into the different sets of skills.

1) Lifetime assignment. Leadership is a long process for carrying out a lifelong assignment. Leadership is for everyone choosing to lead; it is a choice. Leadership is influence in a positive driven direction. Leadership is an attack on the status quo. Leaders inspire others to change and grow so they can acquire and master the necessary skills to produce results. Leaders have a vision and a plan to achieve uncommon results. Leaders do the work and seek council. Leaders measure themselves so they can get better in their character, getting things done, and their relationships. Leaders are always working in their foundational qualities, learning, performing, leading, developing leaders, and developing developers of leaders. The Process of Becoming a Leader starts when one makes the decision to become a leader and ends the day of passing into eternity.

2) Foundational qualities. Do I have what it takes to become a leader? Ask yourself. Am I truly. . .

 Honorable?  Hone-able? Hungry? Leaders know the importance of building a strong foundation to withstand whatever comes their way.

3) Attitude skills. Leaders know that attitude is a choice. They know the importance of having a positive uplifting attitude, especially in times of trial. The right attitude is a state of mind. Having a clear vision helps us to have faith, the belief in what’s to come.

4) People skills. No matter what our line of work, job, profession, career or calling, people skills determines how far our level of influence goes. The strongest of all sets of skills is people skills. Great leaders inspire others to do what needs to be done because the people want it done. Leaders make a compelling case for doing whatever needs to be done, moving organizations forward.

5) Relationship skills. Life is all about building and maintaining strong relationships. Leaders know the importance of having strong relationship everywhere they go. Trust and love is what fuels are relationships.

6) Business skills. Understand the laws and principles of money and profit is very important. However, business is all about relationships. Relationship is all about people skills. People skills start and end with our attitude skills. And attitude skills come from our foundational qualities. People buy from people they like. Learning the business skills becomes easier and more fun once the previous sets of skills are strong.

7) Leadership skills. Leadership skills is all about continuously learning and applying through the journey of life. Talent is truly overrated. All the skills we need to succeed in life can and must be learned and mastered by those aspiring to reach the pinnacle of leadership.

Be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Carlos Fontana, President of Phalanx