What Nonsense?

The nonsense we tell ourselves becomes our reality! Here are 7 things I often hear people saying:

1.      I don’t have money, I can’t afford it. People think and say this so often that it becomes their reality. Instead, think and say “how can I afford it.”

2.      I don’t have enough time. Make time for things that are important. Learn to prioritize and live by your priorities, not your obligations.

3.      It takes too much time. Time passes if we like it or not. Start today! The first step is the most important. See that needs to be done today and do it. Tomorrow’s work with be evident by the end of the day today.

4.      I don’t know how. Focus on the why more than the how. Everything we need to succeed is available. Start by asking the right questions if you want the right answers.

5.      I can’t decide. There are penalties for procrastinating. Actions have consequences. We make quicker and better decisions when we take full responsibility for the consequences of our decisions.

6.      I don’t care. Caring is a leaned skill. People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care. Presence demonstrates caring.

7.      I am bad at it, I tried it. There is no try in life, only do. We have to be bad at something before we get good at it. Do the uncomfortable if you want to live a comfortable lifestyle.

Stop sabotaging yourself and start living!

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)

Not IQ, EQ and AQ

EQ and AQ, not IQ that Lead to a Significant Life

Intelligence is not an indicator of leading a significant life. Emotional and Adversity Quotients are the indicators of leading a significant life and leaving a legacy. Knowing is not enough, doing is what separate the pros from the amateurs. While knowing is important, applying what we know in situations and opportunities, dealing with adversity, and reflecting on our results and experiences is what really counts in life.  So how does one go to acquire the wisdom required to lead a significant life? Here is what history teaches us:

1.      Associate with the right people. Hang around champions if you want to be one.

2.      Read the right books and listen to people with results. Pay for the right information.

3.      Choose the right mentors. Seek feedback and perspective on an ongoing basis.

4.      Have a clear vision and purpose for your life. Feed your hunger by chasing excellence.

5.      Have the right goals to realize your vision and live on purpose. Have a scorecard to measure and reflect upon your results and experiences.

6.      Choose the right endeavor and become a pro at it. Do the uncommon to be uncommon. Learn from every failure and success alike. Persist; be a finisher in a world of starters.

7.      Help others along the way to your significance. In our interconnected world, no one reaches the pinnacle alone.

Significance is no coincidence. Significance is an attack on the status quo. Be fully aware that on your road to significance you will meet many critics, resistance from mediocre minds, and plenty of adversity. Significance requires emotional strength to deal with the expected and the unexpected roadblocks that are a certainty to show up on your path.

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)

WHY WRITE?

There is great value in writing. Writing shapes and crystallizes our thinking. Writing unleashes our hidden potential. Writing is for everyone! What can writing do for us?

1.      Builds spiritual discipline.

2.      Helps us concentrate and focus.

3.      Helps us to get in touch with the deep chambers of our hearts.

4.      Helps us clarify our thinking.

5.      Helps us to reflect on our experiences.

6.      Gives expression to our living experiences.

7.      Stores the meaningful events in our minds.

Writing can be difficult, painful, and frustrating. Writing is a great way to document the turning points of our lives for future generations. Writing can be life saving for others and for ourselves as well. What is stopping you from becoming a writer?

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)

WHAT ARE FRIENDS FOR?

Data shows that the average person has dropped from having three to only two good friends in the last 15 years. Why? Could it be that we are too busy, stressed, and distracted? Cultivating friendships is an art and a science. It takes deliberate effort to have more and better friends. 

The best vitamin to cultivate friendships is B1. 

When we are nonpossessive in our relationships we will make many friends. 

Each friend has unique gifts for us. Friends help each other get better. 

What else are friends for?

1.      Offer affection to us (that awesome hug!)

2.      Stimulate our minds to open in us deep well of hidden treasures.

3.      Strengthen our souls and our hearts.

4.      Uplift our spirits by being there when needed the most to carry that heavy load.

5.      Allow us to offer our own unique gifts to the world.

6.      Create a beautiful tapestry of love.

7.      Enrich our lives by helping us to learn and grow.

Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human gifts. It is the best way to gain our lives back. We can only have love when we are willing to give love unconditionally. The better we learn how to tell our stories to our friends and listen to their stories, the better we want to live the stories we tell our friends.

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)

Soul Food

Are you harnessing the power from praying? 

We become what we pray! We are the product of our prayers. Prayer is the language of our souls.

Do you have a personal prayer? What is your prayer? What are we feeding our souls?

Here is my 10 line Prayer of Surrendering and Thanksgiving developed during over 50 years of living.

1.      I believe I am always divinely guided.

2.      I believe I will always take the right turn on the road.

3.      I believe God will always make a way when there is no way.

4.      If God be for me who can be against me?

5.      I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me.

6.      Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

7.      God, make me an instrument of your peace.

8.      Thank you God for being present in my life and my relationships.

9.      Thank you God for all the blessings bestowed upon me.

10.  Thank you God for my assertiveness, courage, faith, patience, persistence, wisdom, and determination.

This prayer will lead you to freedom, abundance, and prosperity beyond your wildest imagination. Print the above prayer and say it 6 times per day, preferably out loud. Say it after getting up in the morning and before falling asleep. When we fall asleep with our minds filled with fear thoughts we will only experience superficial sleep, for beneath the surface, anxieties are disturbing us in our deep subconscious. Practice believing these words and in due time your mental attitude will change. Memorize these words and live them.

Believe in the possibility of a happy life. God is now filling my mind, my body and my soul with peace, courage and strength. I completely surrender myself to God and trust Him for the victory in my life. I put myself completely in His hands. God gives me strength to do my work each day and He is preparing for me a happy and useful future; therefore I will have no fear, I will be filled with love, I will go ahead with confidence.

For years you may have been living in fear and though you cannot change the fear thoughts of years in a moment, such thinking can change over a period of time.

There is only one power that can change human nature, only one, and that the power given to us by faith in Jesus Christ. We must surrender to Him, with all our hearts and give ourselves to Him. Christ is the only One who can release us from ourselves, the only One who can release ourselves from our defeats, the only One who can give us victory. What we lack most is faith in Christ. We have faith when we believe, behave, and belong to Him.

Practice thinking less about your worries and more about God. Instead of thinking how difficult your problems are, think how great and powerful God is. This will change your psychology; but more than that it will release spiritual power into your mind. That will enable you to meet your situations more effectively. Always repeat this prayer from memory and your anxieties will go away.

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 Five Economic Ages

It has been a blessing to be part of every economic age and to understand economic history, from being a farm boy to an entrepreneur the lessons learned during the last 50 years have provided me with valuable insights that I can share with you. 

Every economic age brings prosperity for those prepared to lead others into a better future. Every economic age was replaced and released multitudes of people to the next age. All five economic ages are still playing their part in any economy. History will not be kind to those that ignore history. If we ignore the current economic age wealth will ignore us. Here are the five historical economic ages with the core themes that rule them:

1.      Agrarian age. The law of the farm as the core. The law of the farm is a natural law governs every successful endeavor. There are seven sequenced principles (perspective, planning, preparation, planting, prevention, protection, and performance/harvest) which apply to farming, business and live.

2.      Industrial age. The assembly line, the production process, and efficiency as the core. Enormous wealth was created by the industrial age. Following a proven process produces predictable results.

3.      Corporate age. The age of scale, the global reach, the mergers and acquisitions, and the search for effectiveness as the core. The advent of computing technologies made it possible to leverage know-how to run mega corporations.

4.      Information age. Information, knowledge and service as the core. Internet technologies became the big lever. The free flow of information (data, pictures, ideas, etc.) changed the way we interact and communicate.

5.      Entrepreneurial community age. The age we are entering now. The age of community and  teams of intra and entrepreneurs as the core. The power of community culture. The power of freedom and leadership will rule this new age.

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)

What is your dream?

What we achieve in life is directly proportional to our ability to dream. 

Big dreamers are the creators of history! Why not dream big and surrender to our dreams?

Why so few people dream, dream big?

1.      It takes courage to dream

2.      It takes imagination to dream

3.      It takes faith to dream

4.      It takes hope to dream about a better future

5.      It takes belief in the unseen to dream

6.      It is scary to dream what seems impossible

7.      It is uncommon to dream big!

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)