Honesty is still the best policy

Honesty was, is, and will always be the best policy. 

How can we be honest with others if we are not honest with ourselves first? 

Self-deception is the enemy of honesty. There is a cost to being dishonest. White lies are at the beginning of dishonest lives. 

What can we say about dishonesty besides being a form of torture?

1.      Dishonesty is a bad habit and a vicious cycle.

2.      Dishonesty leads to manipulation.

3.      Dishonesty eventually catches up with us.

4.      Dishonesty prevents self-fulfillment.

5.      Dishonesty ruins relationships.

6.      Dishonesty is bad for our health.

7.      Dishonesty cannot be hidden for too long.

To thine own self be true! We owe it to ourselves to be true.

Honesty leads to:

1.      Peace of mind.

2.      Mental and physical health.

3.      Good reputation.

4.      Authenticity.

5.      Productive relationships.

6.      Reaching our potential.

7.      Leaving a legacy.

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)

A Tribute to All Mothers

Thanks to all mothers that brought us into this world. Mothers are the superheroes in this world. 

My mother raised 11 children without ever going to school. At 85 she is still going strong. As I reflect on how did she do it? What are the traits that she exhibited throughout her life? Here is what comes to mind:

1.      Faithful, kind, and unconditionally loving.

2.      Compassionate, hopeful, and consistently caring.

3.      Present, concerned, and patient.

4.      Strong, tenacious, and courageous.

5.      Empathetic yet gutsy.

6.      Flexible, insightful, and financially responsible.

7.      Teacher and educator.

I am proud of you my mother.

Obrigado Minha Mãe

Agradeço hoje a todas as mães deste mundo neste dia especial a elas. Nossas mães são os super herois deste mundo. Minha mãe criou 11 filhos sem nunca ter ido a escola. Ela aprendeu na escolar da vida. Ela continua vivendo e ajudando os outros com 85 anos. Reflito e questiono, como ela conseguiu? Quais são as coisas que ela aprendeu e usou durante sua vida. Aqui estão algumas que vem na minha mente:

1.      Fe, bondosa, e cheia de amor.

2.      Compaixão, esperança e cuidadosa.

3.      Paciencia, presente e com preocupação.

4.      Forte, tenaz e corajosa,

5.      Empatetica e ainda bravia.

6.      Flexivel, compreensiva e responsavel financeiramente.

7.      Maestra do lar e educadora.

Santina Lucia Fontana - Tenho muito orgulho de voce minha mãe.

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)

Did You Know?

Do You Really Know What You Think You Know?

The less we know the more we think we know. What we don’t know may be hurting us.

1.      We don’t know what we don’t know.

2.      What we know may not be so.

3.      Know what you don’t know.

4.      Know what you know.

5.      Apply what you know.

6.      We all want to get to where we don’t know what we know.

7.      Knowing and not doing is not knowing.

If I knew what you know and did what you do I could be who you are and have what you have. 

You can’t have what you know you want if you are not willing to know what I know and be who I am.

Read again the 7 lines above. Pause and ponder after each statement and you will realize you will need to know more than you actually know. 

It is always good to be reminded of what we know and are not doing yet.

Happy Mother’s Day to those who gave us life!

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)

Habits to Character

Habits determine our character and that is why it is of paramount importance to have good ones. 

We all have the choice of changing our habits, no matter how old we are. The most effective way is to replace a bad habit with a good one. It takes 30 continuous repetitions to acquire a new habit. 

An example of a bad habit is complaining. How about stop complaining for what you don’t have and start being thankful for what you have? 

Here are 7 examples to completely transform a life by replacing a habit for a better one.

1.      Replace TV watching with reading great books. Read 30 minutes per day, every day, for 30 days to acquire the new habit. You will read at least 2 books per month, 24 books per year and 240 books in 10 years. Imagine your value after acquiring and applying all that knowledge?

2.      Replace listening to the radio with listening self-improvement CDs while driving to and back from work.

3.      Replace going to movies with self-improvement seminars.

4.      Replace swearing with praying.

5.      Replace going to pro sports games with helping local community projects.

6.      Replace going to bars with going to help in local service organizations.

7.      Replace dinning out with home cooking with and for friends.

By doing the above we can improve our finances, help others, and enrich our lives! Just do it!

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)

Free Will – The Power of Choice

The greatest power we have is the power to choose among the options presented to us. 

We become the product of our choices. 

Our results in life come from our open mindedness to generate options and make our choices. 

Here are 7 important areas in life which our free will can lead us to greatness or insignificance. The choice is ours to make.

1.      We are free to choose our character.

2.      We are free to choose our attitude regardless of circumstances.

3.      We are free to choose our values and belief system.

4.      We are free to choose how to handle our emotions.

5.      We are free to choose how we handle adversity and how much we learn from it.

6.      We are free to choose our purpose and mission in life.

7.      We are free to choose how to treat ourselves and others.

Is your desire strong enough to make the right choices? Choose wisely!

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)

Reality or Illusion?

The sooner we accept life’s realities the sooner the truth can work in our favor. 

We can all live great lives despite our circumstances once we decide to accept responsibility for our life. Accepting full responsibility for our lives allows us to live life as an adventure and a life of no regret. Pump love and passion in all that you do. Here are 7 important realities for us to understand, accept, and move on in life.

1.      The world will not devote itself to make us happy. Life is hard and full of suffering. Accept it with grace and meet the hardships early on and head on.

2.      Life is not always fair. Suffering is a divine favor. Blessed are those who choose to carry their cross without whining and complaining.

3.      Life can be fun and funny. Laugh often! Time + (setbacks, failures, mistakes) = humor.

4.      Our choices, not chance, determine our direction and destination in life. Choose wisely. Decisions have compound effect.

5.      Attitude is the most important choice. Careful what you tell yourself. Tell self every morning – this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.

6.      Our habits determine where we end up in life. Choose good habits and yield to them. Be a voracious reader and doer. Associate with people you can learn from. Choose mentors that have traveled the roads you are going to travel.

7.      Counting our blessings is the biggest blessing. Don’t expect the world to do it for you. Have an attitude of gratitude and life will give you blessings beyond your wildest imagination.

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)

Commonsense

The commonsense of successful people

The habits of the mind of successful people are different than unsuccessful people. Their actions are different because their thinking is different. Wealthy people have common sense, what is quite uncommon lately. Here are 7 things successful people tell themselves even before they become successful.

1.      I do what I love so it does not feel like work.

2.      I compete, I love the game of life, and I love to win.

3.      I copy great practices of great people and I care more about duplication than innovation.

4.      I master doing the boring, the mundane by making it fun.

5.      I fail all the way to success.

6.      I care more about “the who” than “the how.” I have a strong network of people who know who and who know how.

7.      I create wealth by creating and spreading fun work for others to do.

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)