What is in a quote?

What is in a quote?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

What is in a quote?

What can quotes do for you?

Quotes are like ammunition, they can get to the right of the matter. Quotes can be funny. Quotes can be creative and truthful. Quotes can be educational.

Here is why I love quotes:

1.      Quotes convey meaning. Quotes can awaken our dormant imagination and help bring meaning to our lives.

2.      Quotes can ignite our passions. Take the time to reflect and ponder on quotes and you will understand the power of quotes.

3.      Quotes can help us face the truth. Quotes get us thinking the right thoughts.

  

4.      Quotes can help us to become wise. Reflect on your experiences. Dream more and take more chances in life.

5.      Quotes can open our souls for the richness of life. Quotes can uplift our spirits.

  

6.      Quotes can give us perspective. We all need to stop for perspective to get better outlook in life; when things are going well and when things are not going well.

7.      Quotes compel us to take action. Actions from wisdom produce the right results.

Quotes say a lot in few works.

A great quote is the summation of a wise person’s life in a few words.

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)

Will You Decide?

Will You Decide?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Are you a good decision maker?

Do you use a process or a model to make your decisions?

What are your decisions based on?

The above are important questions as all of us make a multitude of decisions on a daily basis.

Here are the 7 Daily Nuggets on decision making:

1.      Decisions compound over time. The decisions we make and the actions we take based on our decisions either produce positive or negative results over time.

2.      Procrastination is a bad decision. Distractions lead to procrastination. Procrastinators live mediocre lives.

3.      Fear prevents making the right decisions. Fear is just false evidence appearing real. Most of our fears only exist in our imagination. Action cures fear. The best antidote for fear is faith.

4.      The right information leads to the right decisions. Get the information from the right sources; the people that have the results you would like to have.

5.      Decide once and manage the decision. Avoid the mental torture of continuously second guessing or questioning your decisions.

6.      Lack of purpose and vision leads to indecisiveness. It is easy to make decisions once we know who we are and why we do what we do. It is easy to make decisions once you know where you are going.

7.      Course correct. The most powerful way to improve our results in life is to check the results of our actions against the goals and target we want to reach. Have the courage to accept the results and make the appropriate adjustments to get back on track.

Choose a course of action and go for it!

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)

Freedom Is Fragile!

Freedom Is Fragile!

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Freedom is hard to achieve yet fragile and easy to lose!

It is obvious we are losing our freedoms very fast. Our nation’s financial freedom along with our personal financial freedoms is almost gone.  Next to go is our spiritual freedoms, then our political freedoms. Why aren't we fighting for our freedoms? Simply because we are focused too much on ourselves, on our own security. Also, it is easy to lose what we take so much for granted, what we don't know we have. Freedom is precious and fragile and it is not free. There was a high price our fathers paid for us to be free. It’s not too late if we act swiftly and courageously.

What does it take to preserve and protect our freedoms?

1.      Spread entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs via their small enterprises are the truest spreaders of freedom. The only way to secure freedom is via a drastic increase in the number of entrepreneurs. If you cannot be an entrepreneur at least think and act as entrepreneurs do.

2.      Become a true leader. Take full responsibility for your life and your future. We urgently need more big and long local thinkers fighting for our freedoms.

3.      Spread self-education. Focus on individual responsibility for education. For anyone to be educated there must be self-discovery, that wonder of learning and applying what is learned.

4.      Read deeply and widely like our founding fathers. Read history, the classics, literature, and Scriptures. Live by principles that withstood the test of time not the fads of the month or the year.

5.      Create prosperous local communities everywhere. Healthy local communities solve their own problems. Top reading communities are more self-educated and have higher standards of living.

6.      Drastically reduce the size of federal government. Drastically reduce entitlements and shift responsibility to local communities. Entitlement is the worse form of slavery, it disables the individual.

  

7.      Drastically reduce the tax rates and simplify taxation. Higher taxes should be paid locally where there is more accountability for the spending.

What role are you playing to preserve and protect our freedoms?

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 Power of the Right Information?

The Power of the Right Information?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

We live in the information age where information is at our fingertips and misinformation abounds everywhere.  The wrong information clouds our thinking and can lead to improper actions. The right information comes from the right sources. The right information is difficult to come by as it is easier for it to find you than you to find it.

Here is the sequence, the process, where we can go from information to legacy.

1.     The right information leads to proper thinking.

2.     Proper thinking and right knowledge lead to the right actions.

3.     The right actions lead to proper results.

4.     The proper results lead to proper habits.

5.     Proper habits lead to proper virtues.

6.     Proper virtues lead to great character.

7.  Great character in motion leads to legacy.

It all starts with the right information from the right sources. Get and apply the information from people with the results, character, and virtues that you would like to have.

If you want to leave a legacy, start by getting the right information from the right sources.

You don’t have to be great to start; you have to start to be great! 

Start with the right information.

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)

How Deep Are Your Roots?

How Deep Are Your Roots?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let’s apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Deep inside every great person there is a deep tap root sustaining a great character. If we don’t know our roots how can we know what sustains us, what makes us strong when we are hit by the storms of life?  It’s easy to know where we are going if we know where our strength comes from.

Deep, strong and healthy roots are important to:

1.      Withstand the storms of life. Storms are certain to come. We are all tested by the winds of life.

2.      Provide nourishment during the droughts. Deep roots reach for the unique minerals deep in the earth.

3.      Provide protection for others. It’s our duty to help the weak.

4.      Produce tasty fruit. Provide results and example for others. By the fruit we shall know the tree.

5.      Provide shade for others to rest. Be the respite for others to come.

6.      Produce oxygen for the world. Allow others to breathe fresh air.

7.      Provide beauty for others to enjoy. Contribute to the scenery in your neck of the woods.

The quality of our roots determines the quality of our lives!

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)

Are you living the life you dreamed as a kid?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach us what we need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that we may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Let's strive to apply what we learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Let's be givers in a world of takers.

Life only gives us what we have the courage to dream and the confidence to pursue.

We all can develop the traits of successful people. These traits will help to boost our self-esteem, our self-image, and our self-worth. Acquire these traits and you will do more good to this world than you have ever imagined.

Here are 7 traits of successful people:

1.      Defined purpose/mission and vision. Focus on what matters most. Choose endeavors you can master. Lack of focus leads to mediocrity. Take full responsibility for everything that happens to you. Take responsibility for your results in life.

2.      Picture and chase excellence. If you chase security you will never experience the wonderful things life has to offer. Have paranoia about being productive. Get over or around the roadblocks that life brings to you.

3.      Continuously look for and take up new challenges. There is no security in the comfort or familiar zone. Do what is uncomfortable and fearful. No stretching, no growth; no pain, no gain.

4.      Have a strong work ethic. Work everyday day like it was your first day. Talent is overrated. Hard work always comes before smart work.

5.      Continuously invest in yourself. Take the time to bet better. Be prepared. Never let a day go by without reading something that helps you to get better.

6.      Be great at prioritizing. Never let the things that matter most be at the mercy of things that matter least. Learn to live by your priorities not your obligations. How good is it to succeed at something that does not matter?

7.      Persist to the end. Nothing takes place of persistence. Remember that the road to success is paved with failure. Meaningful success is not achieved until after significant failures. When you are deep in the muck picture your victory, living the life you always wanted to live.

Above all, don’t forget to help others along your journey. It is by helping others to get what they want that we get what we want.

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 7 Fundamentals of Leadership

The 7 Fundamentals of Leadership

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach you what you need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that you may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Apply what you learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Today we take a close look at the 7 FUN-damentals of Leadership:

1.      Be First in Being Yourself. Be a genuine example. Be the best in being who you were created to be.

2.      Be Foremost Committed to Excellence. Strive to be the best you can be by always having a stretch vision you are moving towards.

3.      Be Focused on Being Positive. Be faithfully positive all the time. Nothing productive ever comes out of negativity, besides people do a better job copying our negative traits than our positive ones.

4.      Be Ferociously Prepared. Master the fundamentals and details alike.

5.      Be Forever Accountable for Your Results. Excusitis is a contagious disease. The hardest thing for a leader is to explain the poor results.

6.      Be Firm and Fair. Stand up for what you stand for and believe.

7.      Be Flexible and Visionary. Be like a reed, willing to bend but not break. See close with your eyes and far with your mind.

Do the above and your leadership will emerge. 

Let the scoreboard show you leadership.

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)

Why the mighty fall?

Why Do the Mighty Fall?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach you what you need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that you may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Apply what you learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Why the giants fall?

The Greek, the Roman, the British, and now the American empires all fall for similar reasons. What follows applies to individuals, families, communities, companies, and countries alike.

When self-interest goes over principles, short term takes over long term thinking, immediate over delayed gratification, the blind starts leading the blind.

So here are the nuggets on the giants fall:

1.      Become financially weak by overspending and excessive borrowing. The printing press gets busy issuing fiat money.

2.      Expand beyond capabilities. There is insatiable hunger for size, control, and power.

3.      Inflexibility and slow response to others and society. Burro rats and politicians rule.

4.      Decaying work ethics. The entitlement mentality by the masses and a desire to live from the state. The mob takes over. “Feed us and entertain us.”

5.      Cultural, moral, spiritual, and social decline. Ignorance of history and literature.

6.      Infallibility mindset. “It won’t happen to us syndrome.”

7.      Lack of vision and supporting culture. Divisiveness, pride, arrogance, and apathy. Compromise freedoms for security. “I don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes my job or my pension.”



Is it going to happen in America under our watch? You can bet on it will if a shift in leadership does not take place, and very soon that is.

What are you doing to protect and preserve our freedoms?

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)

Measuring Success

success?

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach you what you need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that you may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Apply what you learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Success means different things to different people.

What does success mean to you?

An important question then is how to measure success?

Here are 7 ways to measure success:

1.      The level of freedom you have to pursue your purpose in life.

2.      The obstacles and barriers you overcome on your way to success.

3.      The quality and quantity of your relationships.

4.      The amount of courage to dream and to pursue your dreams.

5.      Discovering your gifts and giving them away to others.

6.      The level of responsibility, patience, influence, perseverance, and results in your life.

7.      The level of your gratitude, forgiveness, and grace given to others.



Success comes to those that are willing to define it, to learn from those who have succeeded, to prepare, to do the hard work, and finally to work smart as you learn from the your failures on your way to success.

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)

Practice & Preparation Produce Performance

Perfect Practice Makes It Perfect!

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach you what you need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that you may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Apply what you learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Practice is not enough; we must intentionally practice the right things.

A genius has to repeat something 50 times to know it; the average person 200 times; yet the media and the world tell us that we are inadequate if we don't succeed in the first few attempts. How many shots have Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods hit to master their game? No wonder they are so good at their game. If we practice we too become good in the game of life.

By practicing the fundamentals of life you can get anywhere you want to go.

We become what we practice most.

When it comes to practicing, here are 7 things to keep in mind:

1.      Learn from mistakes – preferably from the mistakes of others.

2.      Argue with your own limitations – discover what they are and work on them.

3.      Get “on the eye of the storm” – and get out of it unscathed.

4.      Deliberately ignore your negative thoughts – don’t fight them, replace them with positive thoughts.

5.      See your problems as potential opportunities – see problems with your mind.

6.      Do little things well – and soon you will be doing bigger things as well.

7.      Ask yourself good questions – what is important next? Will it matter one year from now?

Choose the hard path in life early on and life will get easier and easier.

Yes, practice and preparation produce predictable performance!

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)

Secrets to Success

Secrets to Success

The purpose of the 7 Daily Nuggets is to teach you what you need to know to live a prosperous life; the things that you may not have learned at church, school, home or at work. Apply what you learn here and share these nuggets with others. We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

Success is having the ability to think it, ink it, speak it, and sink it.

Can you see yourself where you want to go? We only get what we picture.

Here are useful steps that when followed become the 7 pillars, the secrets to your success:

1.      Identify success. Visualize your success. Find someone who has what you want and is willing to share the right information with you.

2.      Seek alignment. Associate with people applying the right principles of success. The right association provides the inspiration to get moving in the right direction.

3.      Find the motivation. Find out what motivates you. Is it material, recognition and respect, or to leave thing better than you found them (legacy)?

4.      Work to earn success. Step up your work ethic and stop taking shortcuts to success. Pay the price because it is well worth it.

5.      Relate with others. Build up your relationship skills. It all boils down to relationships.

6.      Grow your character. Have integrity and courage and do what the common person is not willing to do and do it consistently.

7.      Perform and lead. Leadership is character in motion. Track your performance.

At the end of the day, success is about being peaceful. It is about being free to be who you are as you play the game of life to the best of your abilities.

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)