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 What we learn today is obsolete tomorrow.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”

What is wealth?

Rich or Wealthy

 JP Getty was rich. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are wealthy. The rich have money and often have lots of it! To many people, money is the most important thing. Money becomes less important when we have enough of it. Money is not the most important thing, but money can and does solve a lot of problems. Money is just a tool, a great tool to do great things with it. The wealthy have many things, including money! Wealth is a byproduct of living a great life. Wealth follows excellence. The rich leave money when they die, everybody does, and often the heirs fight over it; the wealthy leave memories, great deeds and a legacy for eternity. What do wealthy people have besides money? Let’s dive into what makes someone wealthy so you can figure out how to move in that direction, if you so choose.

Here are the 7 things that are part of WEALTHY individuals:

W=Why, E=Effort, A=Accountable, L=Legacy, T=Time, H=Health, Y=Yearning

1.      Why. The wealthy know well their many whys. Know why you are on this earth. Know the meaning of your life. Know your purpose and your mission in life. Live your passions. Develop your full potential. Drive the right economic engine. Pursue your purpose. Build things that cannot be destroyed. Build treasures for eternity. 

2.      Effort. Earn your wealth. First work hard, then work smart by using leverage over time. Take massive action, have consistent focus, and relentless pursuit of your purpose, vision, dreams, and goals. Understand and obey these 3 powerful principles: long term thinking, delay gratification, and leverage the power of compounding.

3.      Accountable. Take full ownership for everything you are involved in. Keep score on what matters most. Take full responsibility for your scorecard. Plan, do, check, and adjust continuously. Improve yourself continuously. Never give excuses. Pass credit and take blame, even it is clearly not your fault. Leaders extreme ownership of all that they are responsible for.

4.      Legacy. Live a great life and leave a legacy. Be a positive influence in the lives of others. View money as a tool to live your purpose and fuel a cause much greater than yourself. Create positive memories in the lives of others. Use money to lessen the suffering of others. Be a great steward of all your talents and treasures.

5.      Time. The full control of your personal finances so you can be financially free. Use time to focus on what matters most. Own your time. Value time above all else. Time is the greatest asset. Be generous with your time and treasures to help those in need. Invest time to have more free time in the future.

6.      Health. Physical, mental/emotional, spiritual. Have positive energy. Use energy for positive impact. Age gracefully contributing until your last day. Have faith and know why you believe in what you believe. Never forget that faith without deeds is empty.

7.      Yearning. Have a yearning for learning forever. Always be hungry to learn from everyone and everywhere. Read, listen, associate with the right people. Invest in yourself more than you think you can afford. Play the game of life fully.

Which one thing caught your attention? What will you change today to start living a wealthier life? Many are rich, very few are truly wealthy! Be in the second group, there are less competition there!

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”

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”