For Real?

How Real Are You?

 

 

1.      Be response-able. Take full responsibility for what happens to you. Tell the right stories to yourself from what happens to you.

2.      Get better. Work hard at being yourself, not someone else. Never live vicariously through the fame of others. Seeking popularity is a sure way to squaner a life.

3.      Know who you are. Knowing and dealing with yourself builds confidence. The more you know about yourself the more you will be able to help others.

4.      Be real. Never get into the trap of self-worship; leave that to all the false ministers out there.

5.      Handle rejection. No one will ever succeed without the ability to handle rejection. Let rejections energize you as it did Colonel Sanders of KFC.

6.      Collect memories. We are all here to use our blessings to collect priceless moments. Use your privileges for a purpose not your pleasures.

7.      Be a creator. Why not create things worthy of writing about? Let your life speak. Start by giving a tittle to your life. If your life could speak what would it say to the world?

 Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

 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)

Train wreck

The Great Train Wreck

1.      Painful truth. Discomfort and pain are always pre-requisites for lasting success. However, unresolved conflicts kill. Let go of hurts and pains. Hurting people hurt people. Watch for those train wrecks coming right at you. Watch for their piercing swards.

2.      Priorities. Things that matter most should never be at the mercy of things that matter least. Once you know where and why you are going all decisions become easier to make. We only start living once we have a clear mission, purpose, and dreams.

3.      Dish it off. Become good at making “stop doing” lists. Most of us keep adding things to our plates, why not start taking things off our plates instead?

4.      Be solution minded. Effective people are not problems but opportunities and solutions minded! Deal with problems squarely fast by focusing on the solutions. Care less about the cause of the problems and more about the solutions.

5.      Do something. In this life a person has to do at least 3 things: plant a tree, raise a child and write a book. History is only kind to those who write it.

6.      Be positive. Choose to have a positive influence in the lives of people. Make friends, find needs, and help them meet those needs. Make friends on the way up, you may need on your way down.

7.      Association is important. Spend more time with people who help you to get better. Run from people who attack you. You can not gain anything from the attacks of critics. You can start to get better today!

 Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

 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 Golden Goose

The Golden Goose

 

Feed the goose that lays the golden eggs!

1.      Find the goose. You are the goose. From neck down we are all worth minimum wage. Stop wasting money in the wrong feed for your goose.

2.      Find the right feed. Are you investing enough in yourself? What are you feeding your brain? What sorts of foods are you choosing for your brain? Our brains need the right foods not the wrong feed.

3.      Don’t starve the goose. The current education systems focus on training, the science of business and life. The synthetic feed lacks the proper nutrition. The goose wants to learn how to choose his own feed yet the world keeps throwing the wrong feed at its face. Can't you see the goose is upset? Learn how to think properly instead of accepting into junk thinking.

4.      Feed the goose. A self-directed education system focuses on real education, the art and science of business and life. Mastering the art and the science of feeding the goose is the key. Feed daily doses of the right food for your brain.

5.      Keep the goose healthy. Feed regular doses of the right feed for your golden goose. Get on a self-directed education system that gives you the courage to fix yourself. The right nutrition will sustain you through the journey and allow the goose to lay the daily golden eggs.

6.      Protect the goose. Reject the wrong feed. Become a system thinker if you want to thrive on uncertainty, prepare for spontaneity, deal with ambiguity, and resolve conflicts. Protect your thinking from being fed the wrong food.

7.      Keep the goose alive. Keep the golden goose properly fed. Money does not motivate people, helping people achieve their dreams does. Pleasure is the wrong feed; purpose is the right feed. Big dreams are what keep the golden goose alive! Never live another day without a dream.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

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)

Do you have what it takes?

Do you have what it takes?

  

1.      Uncompromised. Never compromise your dreams for what is immediately available. Delay gratification to have a bountiful harvest.

2.      Giving. Unconditional giving is giving without expectation of returned benefits. Be a giver of hope in a hopeless world.

3.      Spirit. Develop a kindred spirit. Live your spirituality.

4.      Friendship. Befriend your enemies especially your inner ones. Learn from your enemies, especially what not to do.

5.      Grace. Be merciful with everyone including yourself. Be a giver of grace to those in need. Grow in empathy.

6.      Compassion. Joy is hidden in compassion. Be compassionate to others.

 

7.      Joy. True joy can also be found in fragility and mortality. Show your humanity.

 

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

 

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)

Where is happy?

Where is happy?

1.      Can you lead? Leadership is open to anyone who wants to live a significant life. True leadership is the most valued profession in the world. Not everyone has the integrity and courage to lead. Great leaders know extremely well who they are. Most people who called themselves leaders are not leaders; they are positional managers or bosses.

2.      What do you look for in people? Look for people with a good attitude and hunger and then help them acquire the other skills. Hire hunger and attitude and the other qualities will come.

3.      Why look for shortcuts? Hard work comes before smart work and not the other way around. There are no shortcuts to success. Pay the bargain price and do the work.

4.      Where is happiness? Happiness can never be found on the opposite side of success. Happiness is found during the journey to success. The climax comes when you are at the last stretch, just before you cross the line.

5.      Why being positive works? People that learned to be positive apply their intelligence, creativity, and energy more than negative people.

6.      Can you learn how to be positive? Positivity is a learned skill. Read yesterday’s 7 Daily Nuggets.

7.      Can you picture yourself? You cannot see the picture you are in. Only others can see in you what you cannot see for yourself.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

 

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)

Flip It!

Can you flip?

How can I be positive in a negative world? Do the following daily, for 30 days, and watch what happens! You can do it in less than 7 minutes.

1.      Take a walk. Go for a short walk anywhere, inside or outside. Take deep breaths through your nose.

2.      Do the counting. Think of 7 things you are grateful for, I am ok if you don’t include “reading the 7 daily nuggets J”

3.      Reflect. Think of a positive experience you had in the last 24 hours, like expressing appreciation for someone who helped you.

4.      Go natural. Stop and look for a few seconds at something beautiful from nature, like the branches of a tree just before growth starts in hte spring.

5.      Be random. Do a random act of kindness for someone who cannot repay you, like leaving chocolate on a co-worker desk.

6.      Look up. Look up at the sky, take a deep breath and be thankful for the free air you just used.

7.      Do something. Say “today is a great day and I will do something that creates a memory.” Then, just do it!

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

 

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)

Rational Lies

Rational Lies

You know your future is greater than your past when you have felt deep pain, been hungry, been rejected, been unfairly accused, been humiliated and you keep on loving the unlovable.

Nothing great can be accomplished by being of the world. We must go against the grain to do something significant.

Be careful with rationalizations. When we rationalize things we tell ourselves rational lies. Here are a few of them:

1.      Reading. “I don’t have time to read.” Really! And you have time to visit the sports bars every week.

2.      Being informed. “I have a TV so I can watch the news to stay informed.” You mean uninformed on something you can’t do anything about it.

3.      Investing. “I don’t have the money to invest.” Wow! And you eat out at least once a week!

4.      Friends. “I already have plenty of friends.” And how many are real friends?

5.      Money. “Money is not important to me.”  Really! And you work at a job you hate for money you don’t have.

6.      Time management. “I don’t have a calendar so I am sure to have time to do what is really important to me.” Are you living by your priorities or your obligations?

7.      Advice. “My cousin tried something like that and it didn’t work for him.”  Are you getting advice from those with the results you want?

 

Can you detect the lies in each rationalization?

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

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)

Pension or Purpose

Pension or Purpose

1.      Purpose. Our lives will only change direction when we seize the helm. Who is really running your life? Be honest! Is it your purpose or your paycheck?

2.      Manifest. We were all born to manifest the greatness inside us.  What is your manifest?

3.      Dream. What would you do with your life if you could do anything? The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying.

4.      Pension. We all ought to leave this earth not on a pension but on a purpose. How significant will your pension be when inflation hits it?

5.      Money. The legacy we leave is based on what we do with our discretionary time and money. It does not matter how much money we make, what matters is what we do with what we keep.

6.      Priorities. Are you living by your priorities or by your obligations? Think and do something about it.

7.      Excellence. Leaders refuse the temptation of living a mediocre life. Mediocrity is for cowards. Excellence is for those making history!

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

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)

Wake up

Reenergize

 

1.      Self-educate yourself. Have you been watching those around you to learn and grow? If we don’t read at least two great books a month to help us get better we are falling behind.

2.      Think for yourself. Do you think you are educated or just trained? Start thinking about the quality of your thinking.

3.      Choose a vocation not a job. Vocational training has been increasing for one century at the expense of classical education as our society experiences a literary death. It is easier to give birth than to raise the dead.

4.      Restore yourself. Restoration of liberty is dependent on our literary survival. Don’t just survive, thrive.

5.      Design your life. Vocational training focuses on earning a living; classical education focuses on preparation for life. You can design your life.

6.      Be a voracious learner. The most effective way to learn is through self-discovery. What we don’t know is probably hurting us.

7.      Be a leader. Historical leadership is the teacher of life as it solves the conflicts we have in our lives. Leaders change the course of history.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

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 Miracle

The Miracle

We don’t lack intelligence, we lack dreams. Simple yet few get it.

1.      Dream. Plan with positive intent and put massive action behind it.

2.      Process. Planning, action, checking, and adjusting transform anyone’s life.

3.      Resistance. All champions are criticized and attached by non-achievers.

4.      Accept. To live without criticism is to commit to nothing and do nothing.

5.      Direction. Our lives only change direction when we take full responsibility for our actions and results.

6.      Pitfalls. There are many pitfalls when we enter any endeavor halfway.

7.      Commit. Total commitment produces miracles.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to 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.

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)