Do You Have It?

Can You Take It?

We don’t lack intelligence, we lack will.

Do you have the will to stay the course until your reputation catches up with your character?

1.      Be a person of value. The most basic law of prosperity is to add value to the lives of others. Always give more than you take.

2.      Fail forward. Failure is an isolated event and it should never define anyone. Failure only defines the quitters. Go to your future to get advice for your future, never go to your past.

3.      Build character. Stand behind all your promises and let your reputation follow your character. We only fear failure because we care about what other people think, yet no one in their death bed cares about what others think. There are people between your character and your reputation; people are not perfect. Only the truth can stand the test of time.  Perception is not reality; only reality is the reality. Make your character your reality. Put your character in motion if you want to change your reality.

4.      Take risks. Success is never about playing safe. The risky thing today is not to invest in your own personal growth. Imagine thinking the safe thing to do is to have a job with a bankrupt government. Yet many people are now running there thinking they will find the security where it is no longer there. No one can afford old thinking is this new economic age. Government austerity programs are all about the promises that governments made that were not intended to be kept. Don’t ignore the new economic age or wealth will ignore you. Empty your wallets into your brains. If you think adventure is risky; routine is lethal.

5.      Learn from failures. All successes come from failures, so go out, fail and learn as fast as you can. It is amazing how many people quit at the first sign of resistance or the first failure.

6.      Think about solutions. Entrepreneurs see failures to begin more intelligently; that’s the proper thinking. Choose the right entrepreneurship business. Choose a simple and difficult way to create wealth. Prepare and choose an opportunity where most people cannot see. Choose a business with the right kind of assets, brain assets.

7.      Fail all the way to success. Success is all about being able to handle a string of failures without losing enthusiasm. Success is managed frustration. We can never change what we can tolerate. Stop tolerating the conditions keeping you from success. Persist all the way until you succeed according to your definition of success. It is more honorable to die on a purpose than on a pension.

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)