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Winning in life

1.      The secret to life is found in the seconds between stimulus and response. Are you reacting or responding by the stimuli you receive daily? Examples abound where people reacted then regretted later. Animals react and we as humans have the ability to respond; that’s what makes us different than animals.

2.      Turn rejection into positive energy. All we have to do is to do something different, something noble, and the world will reject you. The greatest humans that have ever lived, like Abraham Lincoln, turn negativity into positive energy and we are all better because of them.

3.      Let go of the things that led you to success in the first half of your life if you want to live a significant life in the second half. Are you taking a sabbatical between the two time periods? A sabbatical is a must if you are to transition to a life that bears real fruit.

4.      The agenda we live early in life is not a bad agenda, it is just someone else’s. Living their agenda we give them our most precious treasure, out time, in exchange for a little money. It pays your bills but it may wear you out. You may obtain power and be successful, achieve your dreams. The challenge will come when you retire and realize you lived your life for someone else’s agenda and did not develop a game plan for the second half of your life. Does it sound familiar anyone?

5.      Embark on an ambitious journey for a worthy cause. How about dedicating your life to counteract the five laws of decline going on in the world today? The forces of mediocrity can only be neutralized and overpowered by the forces of entrepreneurship and leadership. Without a sabbatical, the second part of life will be a repeat of the first on, and who would want to do that?

6.      No one that achieves significance does it on autopilot. When we read the stories and biographies of any great achiever, Sam Walton, John Wooden, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa, just to name a few, we learn that they attacked the status quo, they swam against the current and kept on swimming until the current turned in their favor.  Don’t you think you will need a lot of positive energy to swim against the present current of mediocrity ravaging our land?

7.      The most exhilarating experience occurs during the takeoff. This occurs when we fully let go of the past that is holding us back. Let the new pull you away from the comforts of the old and focus on future significance. This happens when we overcome inertia. I still remember the first time I flew in a Boing 737 taking off on the evening of June 8, 1979. I will never forget that feeling. Nothing contributing to human progress is achieved by unanimous consent. Human progress always occurs because someone boldly pursued a great idea despite opposing forces by those protecting the status quo. Do you have a liftoff date for the second half of your live? Don’t forget to have a game plan ahead of time including plenty of energy, the fuel necessary to overcome inertia, leaving burnt fuel fume dust for those the opposed you. Thank the opposition for creating the required resistance to propel you into a whole new world of possibilities. 

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)