WHY EVALUATE OPPORTUNITIES

Evaluating an opportunity

Why do most people miss the few opportunities that knock at their door? Because most people have not been educated on how to evaluate, logically and emotionally, the few opportunities presented to them in their lifetime. 

“Your margin is my opportunity.” – Jeff Bezos

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity” ― Albert Einstein

“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity - not a threat.” - Steve Jobs

“Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America.” - Warren Buffett

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas A. Edison

“If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later!” ― Richard Branson

“Bringing together the right information with the right people will dramatically improve a company's ability to develop and act on strategic business opportunities.” - Bill Gates

1.      Frequency. Great opportunities don’t knock at our door very often. When they do, we ought to pay attention. Be open minded. Pay attention and do due diligence.

2.      Evaluation. Know the why, how, and what of evaluating an opportunity. Ask the right questions. Ask the questions to successful people. Evaluate from inside out not outside in. Go from why to what and not from what to why.

3.      Potential. What is the best and the worst that can happen? What is the upside and the downside? The best opportunities have limited downside and huge upside.

4.      Investment. Why is it a good invest? What is the investment and what is the return? The wrong question to ask is what is the cost? All opportunities require an investment.

5.      Applicability. What does it take to be successful? Is there a process or system I can follow? Is there the right support, a coach or a mentor?

6.      Can I do it? Why and how can I do it? Does it work and will it work for me? If others have succeeded so can you. If no one has succeeded, be the first one to do so.

7.      Timing. Why now? Is it the right time for me to say YES? The time is always right to do the right thing.

Above all, listen to the experts on what can’t be done, then go do 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”

What comes first? Career or Lifestyle?

The case for choosing a lifestyle before a career

Our whole education system, and parenting for that matter, guides and directs young individuals to choose a career without much, if any, consideration for lifestyle. Little is talked about and the system is not set up for choosing a lifestyle before choosing a career. 

Years ago, when one of my daughters, Andrea Fontana, today the owner of andreafontanabeauty.com, a sophomore at the time, asked me to meet her at her college town. She had something important to discuss. We went out for dinner at PF Chang’s and she quickly popped out a few statements followed by a powerful question. Dad, everyone seems to know exactly what career they want to pursue; accounting, engineering, etc. I still don’t know what I want to do with my life. I no longer want to pursue a medical career as a doctor. I baby sat the kids of several doctors and I don’t like their lifestyle. How do I go about deciding what career I want to pursue? 

I took a deep breath and said. I am so glad you don’t know what to pursue yet and I love your question. She seemed puzzled by my response. Here she thought I was going to get upset at her. Then I said, I think I can help you. First, keep pursuing your human biology degree. I went on to draw three circles and ask her three key questions. 1) what is it that you absolutely love to do? 2) what can you be the best at the world at? 3) what can you earn an income at? Sounds simple, and simple it is, but the simple is not always easy. Where the three circles intersect you detect your purpose in life. Right then and there she answered the questions. Women’s beauty. We ended up laying out a plan for her lifestyle and career. An inter-sectional innovation business, the overlapping (two more circles 😊) of two huge trends (external and external beauty). 

The conversations during that dinner made all the difference in her life. She went on to work diligently to get her degree, some training, and some great work experience. Today, 9 years later, she is an expert in women’s beauty (internal and external). She loves what she does, she is remarkably great at it, and of course, she is not only making a living, she loves her lifestyle.

Before I get into the case for choosing your lifestyle ahead of your career, let me state a few challenges you will meet. You have to go against the grain so expect resistance. Expect opposition of your approach to life. Our whole society asks the wrong question, what do you want to do when you grow up? The question to ask is who do you want to become? You have to think different than the conventional thinking or wisdom. Career only oriented people eventually get comfortable and end up with a feeling of emptiness. 

Again, our 100+ year old industrial age system is set up for having 17 or 18 years old decide on their careers when they should be learning about different lifestyles. You are way bigger than your career. Most are ill prepared to decide. Here is a monster tip. Once you have chosen a career, before pursuing it, go talk and shadow 5 people who are in that career and pay close attention to their lifestyles. Make sure that is the lifestyle you want. Don’t let your career define who you are. Along with who you are going to marry, this is one of the most important decisions, and the young are extremely ill equipped to decide.

Which of these two pictures look better? 

Here are 7 reasons why choosing a lifestyle first makes all the sense in the world:

1.      Choosing a lifestyle first helps you to make a life instead of just making a living and struggling to live paycheck by paycheck. Your career should support your lifestyle instead of your lifestyle being determined by your career.

2.      Loving what you do, get great at it, and be well compensated for it. Mastering your craft while enjoying life! Yes, it is possible.

3.      Be more content, happier, and at peace. Prevents you from being a number and part of the 75% of the workers that despise their jobs. Prevent going through your day to day grind.

4.      Live by your priorities instead of by your obligations. If you don’t know what you want then someone else will gladly decide for you. You will not end up in a place you don’t like. The 2% that know exactly what they want, have it written, and take massive actions towards their lifestyles, control 98% of their wealth in the world.

5.      Be in the driver seat of your life instead of having others drive you where they want you to go. It will be easier to transitions into new jobs and new careers.

6.      Prevent you from getting caught into climbing the wrong ladder. If you are in the wrong path, going faster gets you in the wrong place quicker.

7.      Leave a real legacy. Life something meaningful to be remembered by. People who leave a lasting legacy focus on their passions, their mission and vocation, besides focusing only on their careers/professions.

The sooner you think broader, deeper, and bigger, the better you will be. Be patient and don’t give up the process of choosing a lifestyle first. Remember the whole system is not set up for this type of thinking and acting. 

Take the above seriously, follow this approach despite the resistance of teachers, friends, parents, etc. and you will be glad you did it and you will be way ahead of the crowd. Besides, it may prevent you a lot of pain from being a corpse in one of the corpscerations.

Do you know what lifestyle you want? Is it clear and written? Share 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 Right Destination

Where are you going?

If we don’t know where we are going, chances are we are already there, a place we may be stuck and therefore dislike.

1.       Destination. Have you ever stop to think on how you got where you are in life? Do you know where you want to go? Is that destination whispering at you bugging you all the time? Well, if the answers are NO, then you are already there, a place you may not like. If the answer is YES, then being the best at what you are doing, will you get where you want to go in life? Can you get all your dreams doing what you are doing? If not, then you have a decision to make.

2.       Decision. Are you taking the path that is least popular? Are you financial literate? Do you think and act as an entrepreneur? Are you getting better every day in every way? If the answer is NO, then you could be headed to the wrong place. We can only course correct if we are on the right path and moving. The right path is the one that can take you where you want to go. Indecision is often a bad decision.

3.       Focus. Are you like the crowd and highly distracted? Area you living by your priorities instead of your obligations? If Yes, then you are headed in the wrong direction and may think of changing where you are headed. Plan and prioritize your life. The smart phones are making most people dumb. Use your smart phone to get smart, to get educated, to build a business. You cannot go back and change the beginning of your life, but you can choose a new ending. All ends should allow you to be wiser and more generous. Leverage technology instead of letting technology to leverage you.

4.       Action. Now you are ready to take massive action towards your destination, your dreams. Consistent action is the big secret of success in any field of endeavor. There is nothing that will resist the consistent right thinking followed by the right actions. Even a rock will erode over time being hit by water.

5.       Inertia. Get moving. Never mind all the critics. The world is full of critics. Turn criticism into positive energy to get you moving in the right direction. The only critic that can stop you is the one living inside you. Be sure to starve the bad one and only feed the right one, the one that says you are a champion.

6.       Journey. Learn to love the journey. Area you just getting by, dreading going to work? Have you forgotten to have fun? Have you forgotten to learn and to love the work you do? If your answer is YES. Then it is time to practice some creative leisure. Substitute entertainment for fun, real leisure. Substitute the daily grind for something that will allow you to learn and grow. Learn to work by working hard at first, then work smart by leveraging a learning system.

7.       Serve. No one succeeds on their own. Lasting success is only achieved by helping others to succeed. Help others get what they want and you will have all that you want. Serve is the privilege of the great. Be a servant leader that attracts great talent.

Do you know where you are going? Share 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”

GOT MOTIVATION

What Motivates you?

WHY NO ONE CAN MOTIVATE YOU.

What is motivation? Motivation is the sum of our motives. It is a reason or reasons for acting or behaving a certain way to achieve something. All of us need motivation (motives) to do anything. Motivation is like attitude, we need a healthy dose of it daily, like taking a shower 😊 

Where does motivation come from? It comes from our inner being, sources inside us.

Where do I go to get my motivation? Read bellow.

Motivation comes from within us, from our inner desire to achieve something. The world has a lot more unmotivated than lazy people. If you expect others to motivate you, be aware, others will soon realize they have the wrong you. No one can motivate you but yourself. There is a massive industry called motivation, where businesses spend or waste away billions to motivate their people. Motivation done by anyone but yourself does not work. The responsibility for motivation is 100% yours. Many swamps are being drained and it not a good time to be one of the unmotivated alligator :) :) 

Get some motivation for yourself so you too can live the life you always wanted to live.

1.     Dreams. When I was young my dream was to fly in a Jet airplane. Boy have I done that. Millions and millions of miles around the world. I had the dream to come to America and learn the English language. Then came the dream of being a writer and publish books. Than to be a public speaker, to grace the stages, where other great speakers have been. The dream to create many stories in life and live long enough to share them with you. I will never live another day without a dream, many dreams.

2.     Creation or Invention. The adventure to be there first, to create something new, to chart new territories. I love writing because I can crystalize my thoughts and expand them. All these things provide me with motivation. I guess I have a little of the Indiana Jones spirit in me. God has protected me over so many adventures and dangerous situations, and that is why I keep doing what I do. The last decade has been a challenging and at the same time an exhilarating journey.

3.     Resistance or Rejection. Rejection provides me with the energy to achieve more. When I meet resistance, I know I am on the right path. Nothing great can ever be achieved if first it is not met with resistance, opposition and rejection. Amazing the amount of resistance that is met when one works with financial literacy. People resist changing a situation they are trapped in, a situation they put themselves in. Voluntary slavery is difficult to eliminate.

4.     Hunger. Have the hunger to get better, to overcome, to achieve great things in life. My hunger comes from my desire, my dreams, the things that are important to me and to those around me. Hunger is difficult to create in others. Hunger must be self-induced. No one can place hunger inside you.

5.     Material Things.  Have my dream home in the country was a great motivation for me. Have the financial means to travel around the world was another. Have the financial freedom to own my time so I can read, write, listen, and associate with the right people. Have the material things to help others.

6.     Recognition and Respect. A strong motivation for me is to be recognized and respected by those I care and respect the most, my children and grandchildren, my parents, my family, my friends, my associates, my customers and my clients. Having financial freedom to use my time and resources to make a positive impact in this world.

7.     Legacy. This is the strongest level of motivation. Leaving a legacy has a powerful pull on us. What do we want to be remembered by? I want to be remembered as a person who lived fully, who chased many dreams, who travelled the world learning everywhere I went. I want to be remembered as someone who shared what he learned through writing, public speaking, and conversations everywhere I went. Above all, I want to be remembered by my children as a great dad and friend.

Where to you go to get your motivation? Share 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”

What Inspires You?

What Inspires You?

What is inspiration? Process of being mentally stimulated to feel and do something great.

Where does inspiration come from? It comes from sources external to us.

Where do you get your inspiration? Read bellow.

Inspiration comes from without, from the outside of us. Motivation comes from within us, from our inner desire to achieve something. Both are healthy emotions to change our current reality.

The world has a lot more uninspired and unmotivated than lazy people. Get some inspiration and change your life and the life of those around you.

1.     Reading. Great books provide me with inspiration, especially those with stories of overcoming big obstacles to achieve greatness. The parables of the four Gospels provide me great inspiration. I have many books in my library that give me great inspiration.

2.     Association. Spending time with the right people provides great inspiration to me. My major professor at MSU was a great example and source of inspiration. He pumped so much belief into me while we spent time together.

3.     Songs. The right song, either the music, the lyrics or both. For me it is the song Amazing Grace. Classical music can provide great inspiration.

4.     Movies. You know what I mean here. The movie you can not watch enough time. For me the movie The Miracle is a great source of inspiration. The movie provides live moments of greatness from a young team that overcame great odds to win an important game.

5.     Poems. The right words create images and emotions in our minds, energizing our whole being. Poems can come from anywhere. For me it is a simple poem written by older brother called “The Force of Destiny.”

6.     Special Moments. A special time we spend with someone we admire for their greatness, be a great soccer player or a great singer. For me it was the King of soccer Pelé. In 1990, in a Hotel in São Paulo, I met the Brazilian soccer team that won the 3^rd World Cup Soccer in Mexico in 1970.

7.     Dreams. Learning about and reflecting on dreams achieved by others can wake up our inner selves and start the emotional process to burn in our brains images of a great life.

Where to you go to get your inspiration? Share 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”

WHAT'S ONE TRILLION IN VALUE?

Why Apple is so valuable?

Apple is worth more than one trillion dollars. The other three mammoth companies worth well over half a trillion dollars are Amazon (889 billion), Google (850 billion), and Microsoft (830 billion). Now the race is on for the two trillion market value. Apple has become a company for value investor where Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are still viewed as companies for growth investors. Apple has a low PE ratio (Price/Earnings) of 19 while Amazon (220 PE), Microsoft (73 PE) and Google (52 PE) have high PE ratios.

Why has Apple created such enormous value? Profitable growth.

Why did Apple get there before everyone else? Having Warren Buffet invest heavily in Apple gave a vote of confidence and a boost. However, in the end it is about the value Apple created that got it there first.

Now the race is for two trillion dollars. First let’s shed some light into Apple, this titan of technology. Here are the 7 reason that has made apple the most valuable company in the world:

1.      Clear and Compelling Vision. Steve Jobs was a great visionary while still being deeply in touch with reality. Vision became synonymous with Jobs and Apple. The vision he casted was clear and bought by the Apple leadership, its employees and even clients and consumers.

2.      Superb Leadership and Management. Tim Cook is a great leader and manager. He has executed extremely well Apple’s strategies. He is carrying out Steve Jobs’ legacy with perfection. Companies often take a turn for the worse when its great leader and visionary is no longer running the show, not the case in Apple.

3.      Trendsetting Business. Business in the right trend. The right trendsetting created an even better business; the right and ever-expanding business model. Apple is not just a hardware company; Apple is a software company with a powerful operating system. Apple builds expectancy in its clients and consumers, then really delivers it!

4.      Continuously Innovative Culture and Ecosystem. Apple introduces new and improved products constantly. Introduces the right products at the right time. The high demanding culture creates high quality products and the brand conveys a sense of status and even perfection. Products work and are easy to use. Apple creates the demand then fulfills it!

5.      Product and Technology Acceptance by Consumers. Apple meets consumer wants and needs. Products carry prestige as they say something about the person who uses Apple products. People become loyal to the point of being addicted to the products, making the Apple business better than being into the legal drugs business. People who use Apple products seldom switch to other products.

6.      Truly Global Presence. Powerful global brands transcend country boundaries and cultures. The robust products work no matter what country or location you are at. With dominion on the smart phone business Apple has helped to bridge the knowledge gap between the developed world and many other countries.

7.      Disruptive Innovative Company. Apple is always years ahead of the competition. Company sets the tone for enormous success and has produced high profitable growth in many different industries and platforms.

Share the knowledge with others!

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”

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW MONEY?

Can it be true?

The global cost of financial illiteracy is in the tens of trillions of dollars. Why is the cost so high? Simply because very few people are financial literate. How can we know so little for something we work so hard for? Money. The money view of the great majority is wrong because it is acquired from the wrong sources with wrong information. Money is just a tool to do great things with so it makes a lot of sense to understand it and use it for our benefit and the benefit of those we care about.

1.       Money is a game. Know the game, the defense, the offense, and the rules of the game. Most don’t know how to play the game and the few that do don’t play it. How can we win a game we don’t know how to play and don’t know the rules of the game?

2.       The monetary system. The monetary system is at the center of all finances. The whole system is based on debt (government, businesses, personal). It is a system that it is tilted against the people for the benefit of the financial institutions. How can we win in a system where one third of our gross income goes to taxes, one third to service debt, and the last third to live on?

3.       Money education. Money education is absent in our school system and in our homes. Our money education comes from the financial systems institutions and the company marketing; and all of them don’t have interest in truly educating us about money. Why aren’t we educating ourselves about money?

4.       Money tracking. The great majority of people pay little attention to the flow of money in their lives. Without a financial plan, a budget/cash flow, income and expense tracking, and debt pay off plan it is nearly impossible to win the money game. Why not track something we allocate so much time to acquire?

5.       Money problems. Most people think that their financial problems are gone once they make more money. The lack of money is not the problem, lack of money education is the problem. Why not acquire the proper money thinking?

6.       Money assets. Most people accumulate financial liabilities instead of financial assets. Most people focus on expenses instead of investments. Without proper understanding of money, we easily become an asset on someone else’s balance sheet and a liability to ourselves. Why not accumulate assets by making the right investments instead of accumulating liabilities by excessive spending?

7.       Money blessings. The blessings of money are many when we understand that money is a tool and a blessing for us to live our purpose and bless the lives of others. Why knot be a creative giver by sharing your blessings with others?

The understanding of money is important if we want to be financial secure or financially free. In order to do that we must think long-term, delay gratification, and leverage the power of compounding.

Share the 7nuggets with others

Be blessed and be a blessing to others

Carlos Fontana

Financial 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”