Got a Dream?

Got a Dream?

No dreams, no life of significance.

1.      God allows us to go as far as our dreams will take us. How far are you willing to go in the realm of your dreams?

2.      The day we stop dreaming is the day we stop living and start dying. Are we there yet?

3.      We are either green and growing or ripe and dying. What color are you?

4.      Seek wisdom and you will have everything you need in life. What is the one thing, and only one, that is at the center of your life?

5.      Knowledge is the main raw material for every recipe to work. Are you applying the truth that you know?

6.      A good quote is made up of highly concentrated knowledge; a great quote is made up of highly concentrated wisdom. What is the quote that describes your life?

7.      Being in a relationship without tools to learn and grow is like being a plumber without tools to fix the broken pipes. How equipped are you to deal with your relationships?

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)

Got Courage? How About Honor?

Got Courage? How About Honor?

1.      Nothing is too difficult for the honorable and courageous. What difficulties are you enduring for the betterment future generations?

2.      Apathy is destroying the centuries of sacrifice by our forefathers. What sacrifices are you enduring to leave a better nation for our children and grandchildren?

  

3.      It takes time to build lasting trust and friendships with others. What are you intentionally doing to build relationships?

4.      Rewards aren't the issue; trust and fun are. Are you building trust in your relationships or being a moocher?

  

5.      Accentuate the positive and redirect the negative into positive energy. Are you turning rejection into positive energy?

6.      Negativity does not create positive things. Why are we so well trained to notice the negative and overlook the positive?

7.      The quality of your questions determines the quality of your life. What kind of questions are you asking yourself?

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)

Got Pilgrims!

The Pilgrims within Us

1.      Immigrants carry in them an enormous amount of optimism just like the Pilgrims did when they arrive in the new land. Can you imagine if they did not? Their hunger came from their optimism about their future and the knowing of not wanting to go back to where they came from. How hungry are you to realize your vision and live your dreams?

2.      You will never become a master before becoming a great apprentice. Apprenticeship is the key to mastery. Are you following the right leaders so you can become one?

  

3.      A true visionary is never satisfied with the current reality. Current reality equates to mediocrity and eventually bondage. Why settle for mediocrity when greatness is at our reach? The challenge for most is the desert experiences, the struggles when going from mediocrity to greatness. Significance is always found on the other side of suffering. Go Pilgrim for a day!

4.      No one can limit our capacity to think. We become what we think. Improve your thinking and drastically improve your results. Are you willing to stretch your thinking? The mere fact of changing from one land to another makes one think.

  

5.      Our parents, teachers, friends and mentors believed in us before we believed in ourselves. Are you encouraging others, pumping courage into them, so they can believe in their capabilities? As a native, are you welcoming the pilgrims into your territory?

6.      Our creativity today is rooted in our curiosity as youth. Why aren't you taking time to go back to your youth and reflect upon what made you imaginative and creative? What made you set sails and go to new lands?

7.      Often, it is the lack of action that causes one to fail, not the lack of knowledge. Are you applying what you know? If you cannot apply what you know in your current endeavors, change endeavors.

Be a native or be a Pilgrim, please enjoy the company of each other!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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 Ripple Effect

The Hidden Treasure

Our greatest treasure is hidden deep inside each of us. Why wait so long to dig deep in there, find it, then share you greatest treasure with the world? We never know where the ripple, the influence will end, do we?

1.      Books carry the history of civilization. Why aren't we learning from the mistakes of those that came before us? A lesson is repeated until a lesson is learned. The fastest way to learn is to learn from the experience of others.

2.      Remarkable human strengths are all rooted in diversity and adversity. Why is it that people complain about both? Have we already forgotten what made us great in the first place? We were all immigrants when we study our heritage. Suffering is a divine favor. It is in our suffering that we find our greatness.

3.      The freedoms we cherish are disappearing quickly, the time for courageous leadership is now. What are you doing to protect our precious freedoms? Leaders and entrepreneurs are the new freedom fighters. Why don’t you get out of your shell and join our cause? Is there a bigger cause than to protect the freedoms that our forefathers shed their blood so we could be free?

4.      We are today the result of values instilled in us as children. How come we have failed miserably in this important task? This is the first time in America where our generation is leaving behind a mess for our children and grandchildren to clean up. What kind of inheritance is that?

  

5.      One individual can make a difference, Abraham Lincoln did. What difference are you making to improve the lives of those coming after you? Abe had just about one year of formal schooling. He self-educated himself. There is nothing bigger than the security lodged in the ignorance of the so called experts. We are all students until the day we die.

6.      The valuable is the intangible, the spiritual strength inside of humans. Why then aren't you leveraging that biggest lever you have inside you? Why do we readily accept the mediocrity from strangers and failed to ask for help from those that can lead us to greatness?

  

7.      Immigrants can see things that others cannot. Why then many shun immigrants instead of learning from them? We are all in this ship together. When the Titanic sunk it did not ask what race or social status its passengers belonged to.

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)

GOT TO BE SPECIFIC!

Generalities to Specifics

The problem with most of us is that we don't know what we don't know and what we do know is not so. There is so much to know and so much we do know that is not true. Another problem is that we don't even apply the little that we do know. 

Knowing and not applying the knowing is not knowing! Start applying what you know to be true and you will start learning more truth and before you know you will be free to be who you were born to be.

1.      Honesty is always a bargain even when it comes at a high cost. Are you willing to put your honor on the line even if it costs your reputation?

2.      A leader cannot passionately pursue generality. How specific is your dream, vision, and purpose?

  

3.      A goal forgotten is a goal missed. Are your goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Rewarding, Timely)?

4.      Hunger  provides the reason for chasing our dreams. Hunger is the gap between your vision and your current reality. Vision is future reality expressed as an idea today. IQ is no predictor of success; hunger is. Motivation comes from you hunger. What is your level of motivation? How hungry are you?

5.      Only you can change your results. If you are check your scoreboard. You cannot score if you do not have a target to shoot at. Are you suffering from low self-esteem?

  

6.      Excusitis is the dreamers killer disease. It takes only one excuse to prevent you from making one million more of the same. Are you replacing your bad habits with good ones?

7.      Build assets instead of liabilities. Do you know the difference? Wealthy people build assets; poor people build liabilities. What are you doing today to increase your eternal value?

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)

Got LIFE?

Living Intentionally For Excellence

Learn like you are going to live forever; live like you are going to die later today. We are all here to live, to learn, to love, and to live a legacy.

1.       Books are PRICELESS gifts. Why not give books that change lives?

2.       Don’t you just read books for pleasure? Why not study, devour and feast on them?

3.       Be a creative giver; share what you know. Why not share what you just learned?

4.       Living intentionally for excellence is the true living. Can you say you are living for life?

5.       Do more things that will continue after you are gone; leave a legacy. What are you going to be remembered by?

6.       Give unto others what they would like given unto themselves. Are you living by the Golden Rule Plus?

7.       Wisdom comes from reflection and the experiences from serving others. Who are you serving today to help her/him live a better life?

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)

Knowledge to Wisdom

Knowledge to Wisdom

Seek wisdom to chase excellence.

1.       Knowledge is horizontal; wisdom is vertical. Vertical is better. Are you vertical or horizontal?

2.       Wisdom is caught, not taught. What are you doing to catch wisdom?

  

3.       Wisdom is caught through reading great books, listening to the right information, exposure to association with people much wiser than you, and seeking counsel from great mentors. Who are you associating with and do they have the results you want?

4.       Rise early in the morning to have time to think, plan, dream, and pray. Are you praying for wisdom or praying for getting out of the troubles you got into it?

  

5.       Stick to what you know and do it better than everyone else. What are you intentionally doing to achieve mastery?

6.       Face the things you fear and the death of your fears is certain. Why not face your fears square in their face so you can be greater than your fears?

  

7.       The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.  Are you overlooking the urgent so you can put your energy into the important?

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)

Camped Out?

Camped out?

1.       Never camp, keep on climbing the mountain of life. There are only three types of people; climbers, campers and quitters. Be in the first group if you want to enjoy the view. Why are you robbing yourself of the challenge to reach the summit?

2.       Change yourself and have the courage to improve. The only thing harder than change is to change when we are forced to. Are you waiting for that moment or are you doing the change in anticipation of great things to come?

3.       Do whatever it takes and don’t wait for others to build your life. Do you thrive on leftovers from others?

4.       Whoever you are, whatever you do, others are watching. Are you setting the example for others to follow? People don't care how much we know until they know how much we care.

  

5.       Bring others to your leadership level. Where ever you go there you are. Lead by example, led by duty. What happens to the leaders? Where did the leaders go?

6.       True success comes from dealing with repeated failure. If failure is not part of your success journey you are likely going too slow. Are you chasing a dream or building someone else’s business in exchange for some monetary sum?

  

7.       Great leaders pull out of you what you cannot see in yourself. Why don’t you pay forward and do the same for others?

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)

Scored to Score

Facing the Scoreboard

Are you happy with what your scoreboard is telling you? Are you scoring or being scored on? It is more fun to score.

1.       Face the brutal reality; it will do well for you. Are you hungry enough to take in what you need to hear? Don’t we all need to be reminded of what we used to know and are not doing? The paradox is that we all like to learn but few of us want to be taught.

2.       Protect your ego and sacrifice excellence.  The alternative is to sacrifice ego to have excellence. Which option do you choose? What do we really gain when we protect our ego? 

3.       Never deny the scoreboard in your life. Are you facing your life’s scoreboard or are you evading it by looking at the one of your favorite sports team instead? Living for weekends in quiet desperation is no way to live and expect to win the game of life.

4.       Winning is doing all that you can towards winning. How do you feel when you give your best, all that you got? Go from spectator to player to become alive.

5.       We need a lot more people playing with the will to win. Why have we produced a whole generation lacking hunger; hunger to begin, will to continue, and the tenacity to finish great pursuits?

6.       There is no limits to what a man can achieve.  He deeply believes, behaves like he is 100% committed, and belongs to a cause much great than himself. Why so many people avoid pushing their limits?

7.       Don’t be afraid to leave in order to live. Why are so many people are afraid of getting fired? We will never be able to take our crabby old self to a bright new future. Entitlement is the worst form of slavery. Employee happiness at work has decreased every single year for the last 25 years. Do you ever wonder why? Is your workplace culture energizing and uplifting or is it a poisonous one? Let's not forget to detox when moving into a new culture, especially if we are carriers of negativity.

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)