What is the reason for the season?

Seasons of Life

Time is the essence for the seasons of life. There is a season for everything as there is time for everything important in life. There is time to plant, time to cultivate, time to harvest, and time to rest. We are now in the time of harvest, time to reap what we sowed and cultivated. Now is the time to harvest and count our blessings. There are many great things to do in the fall season. The key question is “what is the reason for this season? Here are seven sets of words to think about fall:

1.     Time to change. Colors. Beauty. Renewal. Time for positive changes and spiritual renewal.

2.     Time to harvest. Bounty. Rejoice. Work. Time to reap and gather and that we sowed and cared for.

3.     Time to preserve. Gather. Store. Slow Down. Time to store the bounty for the future.

4.     Time to comfort. Prepare. Enjoy. Be still. Time to enjoy the cool weather in the comfort of a cozy comforter.

5.     Time to give thanks. Rejoice. Friendship. Gratitude. Time to be thankful for count all our blessings for they are more than we can count.

6.     Time to let go. Praying. Reflect. Lighten up. Time to eliminate the wasteful habits and replace them with better habits.

7.     Time to share our blessings. Hope. Giving. Sharing. Time to share our blessings and give more than we think it is wise to give.

Find reasons to experience the season!

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes

Be the leader you want to see in the world

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”

The strongest currency

The Strongest Currency in the World

Love is the currency of significance in life. Love is the currency of great leaders. Success is different for everyone; significance is the same, the amount of love we give throughout our lives, the memories we create. Does this make you think beyond success? Before we start trading this powerful currency, we must understand it and learn how to generate it in ourselves. Once we know the power of this currency, we can be free to be who we were created to be, to fulfill our purpose in life.

To live a significant life, we must be open to be hurt, to suffer, to endure doing the best we can. We must put love into our being, our core, and all that we do. All the accolades, the titles, the achievements are meaningless if we do not love. Once we are free, we realize we are no longer bound, held hostage, addicted to the world definitions of success, we can then fully love and be loved.

How do we go about generating enough of this currency to start trading it? Here are 7 suggestions:

1.     Accept. Accept others as they are. Establish common ground, the foundation of trust.

2.     Approve. Find something you approve in them. Everyone is good at something.

3.     Appreciate. Raise their value by pointing greatness they cannot see in themselves.

4.     Encourage. Show support, confidence, and hope in them.

5.     Uplift. Elevate and inspire them morally and spiritually.

6.     Validate. Find the good in them, let them know it, and do it genuinely.

7.     Reward. Reward them with confidence, trust, and love.

No one is born with any of the above, we all need to learn them. Start today finding and practicing these 7 things in yourself first. Then, you can start sharing the most powerful currency in the world, on the way to create wealth and live a significant life.

Fear and anxiety vanish once we are truly free to deal in the strongest currency in the world.

Be blessed then be a blessing to others.

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes

Be the leader you want to see in the world

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”

DERAILED

Sick of Failing?

Success looks different to everyone; failure is the same, the inability to reach the goals and dreams.

Are you feeling like a failure?

Feeling like you can’t get to where you want to go?

Are you distracted or taking many detours to your destination?

Wondering why you got off course, meandering or derailed through life?

Here are 7 reasons why and how we can deal with it today:

1.     We lack a clear destination. Only the minority has a clear destination. Because we don’t know exactly where we want to go anywhere is fine. We lack the why, a strong reason to accomplish something. We lack either a dream or a dread to get out of our current reality. We lack a clear purpose.

2.     We lack belief. We don’t have enough faith, total belief. Our decisions and actions are fully rooted in our belief system. Change your beliefs and you change your life. Belief comes first and it is the first component of true faith. We must believe to see, see to do, do to improve, and improve to succeed.

3.     We lack the right process/system. We must have a plan and a process to follow. Following the footsteps of successful people is the quickest route to where we want to go. Things just don’t happen by themselves. The best process to follow is the PDCA (plan, do, check, and adjust). Planning and doing are a lot more fun and more common than checking and adjusting. Checking the scorecard and making the proper adjustments are key to get to the destination.

4.     We lack total commitment. We must take full responsibility, total ownership. Total ownership breaths courage, resilience, and the ingenuity to navigate the turbulent world and reach the destination. We must sell out to our mission and vision. We must have integrity with ourselves and the courage to act. Burn the boat so you cannot go back to where you came from. Plans B and C are the killers of commitment.

5.     We compromise and settle. We get distracted. We procrastinate. When we don’t have items 1-4 the world will conspire against us and when we do the world will conspire for us. The ability to stay focused, with the eye on the prize, the end in mind is the key to stay the course.

6.     We make excuses and rationalize. We tell rational lies to ourselves, justify, and compromise why we are not getting the results we set ourselves up to achieve. You can make a million excuses or you can make incremental progress, you just can’t do both. This happens because we lack of items 1-4.

7.     We quit. We quit on everything these days. We buy into the lie that winning will be easy. Quitting is a permanent solution to temporary problems. Quitter never win and winners never quit. When things get tough the tough gets energized and gets things done. This happens because we lack items 1-6.

Share the thoughts with a friend and step up your level of commitment to what matters most to you!

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

(Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes)

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”

What is true education?

True Education

True education is self-driven.

True education is all about self-discovery.

True education is about developing a plan to navigate to the right destination.

True education is about seeing the world as it is to find opportunities to make it better.

True education is about learning from those with the results we want to achieve in life.

True education is about getting the right information to improve the quality of our thinking and decision making.

True education is not about credentialism, diplomas, certifications, and passing theoretical tests.

True education is not about what others want for us but getting the skills we need to meet our needs and wants.

                                          

Why is a true education more important now than ever before?

1.      Speed of change. Technology accelerates the speed of change. What we learn today is obsolete tomorrow.

2.      Complex and problematic world. The interconnectedness of the world requires us to deal with situations involving complex individuals and problems in a multitude of locations and cultures. It is critical to make the decisions right instead of just making the right decisions.

3.      Learn from the right sources. It is paramount to learn from and follow a multitude of individuals that have achieved true success. A mentor is critical to provide the right perspective on why to learn, who to learn from, and what to learn.

4.      Problem solving speed. It is critical for anyone to have the ability to go quickly from problem identification to the right solution. A principle based true education provides lasting solutions to complex problems.

5.      Upgrade our thinking. The proper thinking leads to the right decisions and the right results. It is critical to think like an entrepreneur and owner in all that we are involved in.

6.      Best investment we can make. An investment in a true education is the best investment, not an expense as most individuals think. It is tax deductible if you own your business.

7.      Self-realization, happiness, and joy. When we fall in love with learning we fall in love with life. Happiness comes from within, from satisfying the yearning for learning.

The biggest revolution and opportunities in the next few decades will be in education. 

Are you ready for it?

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

(Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes)

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”

THE 7 BIGGEST MONEY MISTAKES

The 7 Biggest Financial Mistakes

Here are the 7 biggest and often the most common mistakes people make.  These critical mistakes keep people in financial bondage, preventing them from making bigger positive contributions in this world. Most people do not get financially educated and go through life with the wrong money views living paycheck to paycheck thinking that it is normal to live this way. Have you ever wondered why financial literacy is not taught in our schools? How good is it to work hard if one does not know how to be a good steward with the fruits of one’s labor?

Here are the big 7:

1.      Failure to invest in themselves. This is the biggest mistake people make. Investing in yourself is also the safest investment you will ever make and bring you the greatest return. Don’t wait for others to invest in yourself. Never be a mercy of someone else to invest in you. Invest in your financial literacy and invest in your continuing self-education. I am not referring to investing in the credential type of education. Practice what you learn and acquire new skills.

2.      Failure to build an emergency fund. Expect the unexpected simply because it will happen. Cars break down, houses need repairs, kids need braces, etc. The emergency fund is for emergencies and should always be there. If money is needed, use it, then replenish the fund. Prevent hell breaking lose when something happens that money could fix it and you don’t have the money to fix it.

3.      Failure to pay themselves first and save. Save a minimum of 10% of your income and save it. Get used to doing this any time you get paid. Saving is a great habit and it can be put on auto. Build targeted savings. Earn before going out and spending money you don’t have. Hard truth and easy not to do it but the consequences are the difference between being financially secure/free and always chasing money.

4.      Failure to invest. Most people spend when they should save and save when they should invest. This happens because people are financially illiterate; they lack basic financial understanding of money. The proper money sequence is understanding, earn, save, give, invest, and spend. What do most people do? They do the opposite. They go out and spend then go to work to earn it. Also, most people don’t follow the right money hierarchy. The put money on the riskiest ventures because they want to get rich quick. When we violate the basic principles, the live with the consequence of living broke.

5.    Not living within means. Finance lifestyle. Financing liabilities is a pure sign of financial illiteracy. Know the difference of an asset and a liability, an expense and an investment. Unless you are a master in personal finance, never finance a liability, especially things like houses, cars, entertainment, etc. Acquire assets instead of liabilities. Spend what is necessary and invest once you can afford to lose.

6.      Listen to the wrong people. Stop listening to broke people. Get rid of the instant millionaire mentality. Practice long term thinking, delayed gratification, and leveraging the power of compounding. Wealth is created slowly at first, then all of a sudden; the same applies to going broke. Only listen to financially free people with a track record of results. Listen to Warren Buffet because he has a lifelong track record of financial results.

7.      Bad financial thinking. Think more money solves their financial problems. Stop and think where you acquired your money views. Keep score of your money. Know your net worth and track it. Have a budget and follow it. Have a solid financial plan. Get rid of debt, invest in yourself to earn more, and make the right investments to reduce tax liability. Chase your purpose instead of chasing money!

Pride and ego keeps people in financial bondage

Financial insanity is to work for money in a job you don’t like to pay for things you bought on credit so you can impress people you don’t like!

The truth will set us free but not before it makes us really mad for our mistakes!

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

(Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes)

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”

Dealing with Darkness

Getting Out of Darkness

We are definitely in a dark age again. What is the dark age? Why are we back in the dark age?  How can we get out of it? What do we do to get out and stay out of it?

The dark age is a period when mediocrity rules. It is a time when the world is full of zombies numbly going through life without really living it with full expectation that the world must provide a living for them. It is a time of great division when the focus is on two groups of people, the bad ones and the good ones. Both are hated, persecuted and killed; sadly, by the mediocre ones. The majority survives by playing safe, going through the daily grind. The majority live a life of quiet desperation, going to their graves without admitting and wisely dealing with their suffering and pain. The world created, we bought into it, and we adopted the wrong models and idols to live our lives. Our subconscious minds have been badly programmed without our noticing.

Somehow, we think that by following the popular individuals we can live the ideal life. In reality, many live a fake life. Yes, it is true, the world is full of falseness, fake news, fake science, fake advertising, lots and lots of fake things. Folks are confused. Another sign of dark times is when the con artists rule the day. Truth is the least common currency around the world today. Most of what we know is no longer true; we have been led to believe it is. Common sense is no longer common. Example, get into debt to establish credit and financing things we don’t need to have a high credit score.

We are in the dark age because we bought into the big lie. The lie that we can and should go through life without suffering, pain, and periods of darkness. We stay there when we refuse to accept it, live in denial, and fail to learn how to get and stay out of it. Technology has a lot to do with it and it has accelerated the race into darkness. The smart phones are making people less smart, more dependable, less self-reliant, and unable to deal with all the nonsense thrown at us. Technology gave birth to a vicious and superficial social media portrays how wonderful things are when in reality more and more people are getting deep into the darkness.

We go to great lengths to protect our children from experiencing suffering and pain, thinking that this is a must in the modern age. Life is going to hit everyone with suffering and pain and the key is to learn how to deal with it; the younger the better. Many believe that technology is here to prevent suffering because suffering is socially unacceptable. We end up consuming an enormous number and quantity of drugs (legal and illegal) to deal with the blows from life we did not learn how to deal with.

We must learn to survive the trials of life. We must become resilient and self-reliant by learning how to deal with adversity. Adversity is everywhere when we deal with neurotic people, from friends, bosses, family, church, and community members. We must understand that those we respect, trust, and love will sooner or later fail us, they are humans, imperfect beings.

Know that it is in the darkness that you will find and value the light needed to live a more fruitful life. Here is what we do to get out and stay out of DARKNESS:

D=Discernment, A=Awareness, R=Renewal, K=Knowledge, N=Notice, E=Engage, S=Silence, S=Solitude

1.      Discernment. Know the truth and live by it. Know how to defend what you believe in. Know who you are and understand your vulnerabilities. Understand and prepare for suffering and pain. Know how to prevent the downward spirals. Know your biorhythms and use them in your favor. Learn to manage your energy level along with your time.

2.      Awareness. Be aware of the big lie you bought into and get over it.  Watch out for self-destructive behaviors. Get rid of resentment. Don’t go to petty parties or resentment reunions. Know that if you want love you must give love and be willing to lose love. Know that others will fail you. Know that whatever you are going through at the moment will pass.

3.      Renewal. Unplug from the system keeping you in mediocrity. Unlearn, relearn relentlessly. Plug into to right self-education system. Get the right information from the right sources. Read the right books. Become a writer. Pick the right friends, coaches, and mentors. Renew your mind. Grow and expand your ability to deal with the blows of life. Build resilience to deal with any adversity.

4.      Knowledge. Apply critical knowledge to deal with the nastiness and evil in the world. Prevent the wars between your better educated conscious mind and the badly programmed subconscious mind. Learn to reprogram your subconscious mind. Know these wars do come and attempt to distract you. Unplug from the mediocre world of social media. Develop the right habits.

5.      Notice. Be a prodigious noticer and see the obvious. Notice the signs and do not engage in battles that are not worth fighting. You do not have to participate in every battle or conflict you are invited to. Be on the alert that evil is present everywhere by evil, ignorant, stupid, clever, and good people alike. Notice when you are about to make critical mistakes. Use both your logical and emotional minds to make better decisions.

6.      Engagement. Engage in the right battles, the battles where the victories will be celebrated in the afterlife. Engage in behaviors that result in the right type of security. Security is not where you think it is. This world will not provide any kind of security whatsoever. Engage in the creation of treasures that will last into eternity.

7.      Silence. Get some quietness into your life. Unplug from all the noise. Conduct some mental hygiene. Spend time in and with nature. Travel to places that can re-energize you. This is easier than you think. Be aware others will think you are crazy.

8.      Solitude. Develop the ability to go for days in complete solitude. Praying, thinking, meditating, and expanding your ability to deal with a dark world. This will help you be calm and collected under any and all situations. Learn to rise above the problems you created and those you want to solve. Be aware others think you are crazy for sure!

Did you found the above helpful? 

Be blessed and be a blessing to others.

Carlos Fontana

Financial and Leadership Coach

(Get out of debt, make more money, pay less taxes)

"Those that take swift action will always leave those that don't breathing the dust"

"The future belongs to those who can see and pursue opportunities before they are obvious"

“Managers influence numbers, leaders influence people by inspiring them to pursue excellence”