What is you legacy?

Want to leave a legacy?

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 or are not currently learning in 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.

Here is the sequence, the process, to go from information to leaving a legacy.

1.    Information. Information is the key to jump start everything we do. We live in the information age yet most of the information out there is useless. Like anything else, we get what we pay for. Everybody has opinions so be careful where you get your information. Do a results check. Do the people providing the information have the results you want? If not, their information may be harmful to you. Pay for the right information. The right information leads us to the next step in the process, proper thinking.

2.    Thinking. The right information leads to the right thinking. In some form or another all of us suffer from stinking thinking. Why do people go broke? Because they have broken thinking. Look at the people who win the lottery. Most of them don’t have the thinking to go with the money, wealthy thinking, therefore they lose their new money very quickly. Spend time around great thinkers. Read the right books to connect with great thinkers. We are the product of our own thinking. Proper thinking leads to proper actions.

3.    Actions. We are the product of our decisions. Decisions compound over time. Make sure your actions are based on solid decisions. We are all emotional beings on this earth having spiritual experiences. Check with your coach or mentor before making important decisions. A mentor will likely ask you about the thinking that led you to the proposed actions. Proper actions lead to proper results. We all want to have great results in life. There is predictability in the results coming from the right thinking and right decisions.

4.    Results. Results, at the center of this 7 step process, is the key to a leader’s life. We all want great results. If you don’t like your results, go back a step in the process. You may have to go back all the way to step 1. Proper action leads to proper results. Have the humility to accept the results and study them. Make adjustments if you want to improve your results. Great results are the biggest self-esteem booster. Proper results lead to proper habits. Winning is a habit, unfortunately so is losing. Which one do you want? A string of great results creates winning habits.

5.    Habits. Yes, winning is a habit. Think of great coaches Vince Lombardi, John Wooden, Tony Dunge, etc, etc… and the many star athletes and sports people that the world has given us (Michael Jordan, Pelé, Jerry Rice, Ayrton Senna, Lee Trevino, etc. etc…). There is a common denominator about the habits of champions; they kept on improving themselves, competing with themselves, getting better and better, day by day, every day. Proper habits lead to growth in character.

6.    Character. All the role models we read about in history - statesmanship (Washington, Lincoln, Gandhi, King), religion (St Francis, St Augustine), business (Warren Buffet, Sam Walton), sports (Michael Jordan), etc. were people of character. Their character was forged in the battles they fought. Their character springs out of their continued impressive results. Great character leads to great legacies.

7.     Legacy. Leadership is character in motion. Great leaders leave great legacies forever. The amazing thing is that many of them do not live to see the impact of their character in civilization. Think of Christ, Plato, Washington, Lincoln, Reagan, Churchill, Confucius, Aristotle, Apostle Paul, Mother Teresa. Think the impact they had in civilization.

The process is predictable. It all starts with getting the right information from the right sources. Learn from those that came before us. Plug in the right channels of information, great books, great audios, great friends, great coaches and mentors. 

The future belongs to those who take action now.

What is your legacy going to be?

What are you going to be remembered by?

Why aren't we teaching this to our children in school?

Now you know so apply what you know!

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)