Think Thinking

All about Thinking

Different thinking leads to different results. The proper thinking leads to predictable results.

1.      Get your life back. Free people leverage a system to get their time back. Can you surrender your ego to a system?

2.      The multiplier. Leverage is getting more out than the efforts going in. Do you have the right lever?

3.      Have vision.  Remember that the sky is always blue above the clouds. Can you see through the clouds?

4.      Lead others. Create an environment around yourself where others want to be part of. Can you cast a vision for others to see?

5.      Think change. Only by changing our thinking we can get out of our current reality. Are you willing to lead others through change?

6.      Invest wisely. From neck down we are all worth minimum wage. How much are you investing in your most valuable asset?

7.      Right inputs. Get the information from the right sources. We can only start changing our results by changing the information going into our brains. Where are you getting the information to change your thinking?

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Think of this

Think You Got It Tough? Stop thinking of you and think about them.

1.      Think of Jesus Christ who lived a perfect life and died on a cross for our sins.

2.      Think of George Washington who spent only 13 days at home out of 8 years to set the stage to give birth to our nation.

3.      Think of Abraham Lincoln who endured a brutal civil war to keep our nation together.

4.      Think of Mother Teresa who left the comfort of a home to go live in the midst of those dying without a home.

5.      Think of Rosa Parks who had to courage to sit in the front seat of the bus and start the civil rights movement.

6.      Think of Patrick Henry who had the courage to say “gives us liberty or give us death.”

7.      Think of Andrew Jackson who had the conviction and courage to stand up against a powerful banker and break up the monopoly of the national bank.

When life gets difficult, think of them, and realize that what you are going through may not be as big or as difficult as you think.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Unconsciously Competent

Unconsciously Competent

I know I cannot teach anything new to you. I can only remind you of what you know and are not doing. Knowing and not doing is not knowing. The glory goes to those in the trenches applying what they know to become unconsciously competent in their fields of endeavors.

1.      Be competent. Make your competence greater than your ego. Go from unconsciously incompetent to consciously incompetent to consciously competent to unconsciously competent.

2.      Be a catalyst. Catalysts make things happen. Catalysts create reactions using their words. Boy do we need catalysts today! Most catalysts have expired. We all have a shelf life; don’t lose your potency.

3.      Feel it. If you want to add passion to your life then sharpen your feelings. Become alive by pumping fun into all that you do. We all need to learn to have more fun.

4.      Do the difficult. Get good at doing things others can’t do and you will have the things others won’t have. Learn how to turn rejection into positive energy.

5.      Discover ability. Man’s greatest ability is the ability to discover ability in others. Help others turn up the flame inside them. Inspiration will do it! It is a lot easier to fix ignorant than stupid.

6.      Be purposeful. It is far nobler to die living your purpose than sitting on a pension. Question what kind of life you will have by relying on a small fixed pension in a high inflation environment. Mind the wolf and befriend the sheep dog.

7.      Look like a fool. When we do the uncommon things others will look at us and think we are fools by not complying with the sheep’s society we live in today. What a great fool Sam Walton was? Sam was a sheep dog and not wolf. Imagine what we would be paying for stuff if Sam had not looked like a fool at first.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Show Me The Fruit

Poverty to Wealth

True wealth is having time, money, health, and relationships.

1.      Educate yourself. Literacy is the secret weapon in the war on mediocrity. The person that knows how to read and doesn't read is no different than the person that does know how to read. All wealthy people are readers.

2.      Bear fruits. Live a life that bears fruit long after you are gone into eternity. Eternity is a long time to be wrong. Err on the safe side!

3.      You are valuable. A life has infinity value; the proof is in the lives of Anne Frank, Helen Keller, Viktor Frankel, and Abraham Lincoln. Live a life that creates a ripple effect.

4.      Get out of poverty. Spiritual poverty is the worst of its kind. The next worse poverty is emotional poverty. Build your spiritual portfolio.

5.      Leverage your strengths. Our strengths are hidden in our weaknesses. Our greatness is often a by-product of our suffering. No pain, no growth and no gain!

6.      Find a true community where you can serve. True community is the fellowship of and for the weak. We were all created to live in community. Serve those in need.

7.      Define what you want out of your life. Have your dreams, goals and plans drive your activities. Distractions are the enemy of achievement. Are you being a victim of social busyness? Electronic gadgets are supposed to be your slaves not your master!

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Thinking about thinking

Thinking about thinking

The only time to do something great with your life is NOW! There will never be the right time to do what matter most. Most people settle for the good and thus never go after the great. Why settle for the good when great is available?

Entrepreneurs are not normal, they think a lot about their thinking and act upon their uncommon thinking. They attack their old thinking with superior new thinking. 

Entrepreneurs chase freedom instead of security. Entrepreneurs are responsible for the future. 

Here are a few things that entrepreneurs are responsible for: generate fun work, create jobs and professions, create the future leaving legacies, create wealth, break barriers for others to follow, remove excuses and cure excusitis, go to uncharted territories, give hope when needed the most, take the I M out of impossible, protect our freedoms, change preconceived ideas, and make the world a better place for all of us! Never is our history we were in such short supply of entrepreneurs as we are now.

Why not be one who changes the course of history?

What are the key traits of entrepreneurs?

Rate yourself from 1 to 10 in the following traits of entrepreneurs (1 rarely thinks about it, 10 totally immersed into it):

1.      I have vision and a cause. I am totally focused where I am going. I am living my purpose. I am a big dreamer. I have clear plans to achieve my goals and dreams.

2.      I know now how to handle failure. I am mentally tough to endure the journey. I know that failure is part of success. I learn from my failures.

3.      I have great courage. I listen to my faith and not my fears. I take action and deal with whatever comes my way. I never let fear stop me from taking the right actions to achieve my dreams and goals. My hunger gives me the courage to go forward in the direction of my goals and dreams.

4.      I am a fast learner. I have high curiosity and love self-discovery. I am totally in love with learning. I am a voracious reader and love to learn. I have great mentors and a follow their advice.

5.      I am a servant. I love people and love to see them develop their individual and team potential. I love to help people get what they want. I am committed to helping others achieve their dreams and goals.

6.      I am persistent. I have the will to stay the course and finish. I quickly re-frame and re-calibrate my thinking to endure the journey. I am willing to do the work required to achieve my dreams and goals.

7.      I am disciplined. I exercise self-discipline to be productive, creative, and innovative. In this new economic age, the entrepreneurial community age, I cannot afford not to think and act as an entrepreneur.

If your score is 60 or higher you already have the traits of an entrepreneur.  Detect your purpose in life and go live it! If you score lower than 60, start thinking more about your thinking. You can acquire all that is needed to become an entrepreneur. Choose to die on a purpose instead of on a pension.

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Get a Perspective

Got Perspective?

If you don’t have perspective get a coach or mentor who has.

1.      Learn to learn. The most powerful thing in a human being is the ability to learn. Do you know how to learn and how to discern?

2.      Be a leader. Leadership is oxygen to the soul; followership is oxygen to the spirit. Are you ready to lead when you are called to?

3.      Read to lead. Join the battle for literacy in America by setting the example. Are you reading at lead two great books a month with the intent to find nuggets to help you to be a better you?

4.      Be a servant. The most important role in our lives is the role of servant. Are you available to help others when they need? Are you there for them?

5.      Face the scorecard. Leaders keep score. What does your character scorecard say?

6.      Be a problem solver. Success comes to those who can solve problems. Significance comes to those who help others think for themselves and solve their own problems. How fast are you to go from problem identified to problem solved?

7.      Get a perspective. Sometimes all we need is a little perspective. Can you re-frame what hits you on a daily basis and move forward towards your goals and dreams?

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)

Mobility to Nobility

Mobility to Nobility

Learn the rules and play the game according to the rules. Stop cheating in the game of life!

1.      Live a noble life. There is nothing nobler than making a life helping others to get better. Are the people are you living better lives because of you?

2.      Know the rules. Life is a precious game that only few know the rules. Do you know the rules of the game?

3.      Play the game. Most people are spectators in the game of life. Why not play instead of living to see others play?

4.      Be a professional. The pros in the game of life are in the field, where the action is, where all the glory is found. The best rewards always go to the best professionals in any field. Why not choose an endeavor you can be a pro?

5.      Live it up. Live everyday if it is the only one you have because it is. Why not play instead of being a bystander, a spectator?

6.      Value time more than money. Time is the most precious resource we have. Money is not an asset, time is. Why not invest your time to accumulate valuable skills?

7.      Fail to learn. If you want to succeed you have got to learn to live with failure. Do you know what to change in your life if you want to change your life?

Will you join my cause to fight mediocrity in America? Pass these nuggets on to others.

We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give. Be a giver in a world of takers.

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)