Tony Francisco, Author at Outwork, Inc.

An Evening Dedicated to Your Brain

September 27, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

I recently attended an event in Hollywood with Jim Kwik of Kwik Brain, aptly called an evening dedicated to your brain.

Jim suffered from an injury growing up and was known as “the boy with the broken brain,” but has since conquered his limitations through reading and systematic thinking regarding the brain’s ability to learn and overcome.

He has been called upon by industry giants like Zappos, Nike, and Google to help increase the reading, thinking, and learning capabilities of their employees, which gives him credibility with some of the world’s highest performers.

The event was held in a dimly lit, hippie-ish Yoga studio, but was far from translucent. [Read more…]

A Professional Military Reading List (for anyone)

September 24, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

Phil Knight, the founder of Nike and author of Shoe Dog, spoke of how he was constantly reading books about combat, war strategy, and generalship to help keep him focused during the early and turbulent days of Nike.

Many of his quests to Asia were also inspired by what he read. It was books that gave him the inspiration to stand among the ruins of Hiroshima. He stayed in the villa once occupied by General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines and was granted his request to the Republic of Vietnam to meet Vo Nguyen Giáp, their most prominent warrior of the Vietnam War. He was driven by words of war.

Eventually, those quests to Asia opened the door for Nike’s production efforts in Japan and China and what would come next, Nike’s domination of the shoe game. Knight would say, Business is War. And Nike conquers all.

[Read more…]

One Day to Greatness with Jack Canfield

September 17, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

One year ago I attended a seminar called One Day to Greatness with Jack Canfield, the creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Several months after the seminar during an annual review, I realized that I could have been doing more. I realized that I haven’t been taking enough action and I wasn’t hustling enough. I was vaguely worthy of someone that outworks.

Take action. Things may come to those who wait but only the things left by those who hustle. – Abraham Lincoln

So, I returned to the primary objective of the seminar: learn how to go further and faster with less effort toward a life of greatness. In pursuit of more.

The way ahead was three-pronged: (1) gain greater clarity about your purpose, vision, and goals; (2) develop powerful habits and the mindset necessary for success; (3) take 100% responsibility for your results, and become more action-oriented. [Read more…]

Autobiography by Portia Nelson

September 10, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

Guru’s seem to love talking about the power of meditation.

But is it really the act of sitting idly, fighting to control the primal urge to do anything but?

Or is the ability to control and direct one’s thoughts?

Or is it the simple ability to do it every day, consistently, that yields power over time?

At some level, it must also be the ability to self-reflect, to learn from one’s actions, to control and direct our lives.

So perhaps, beyond the act of meditation, the real lesson is to constantly self reflect. When we look deep within ourselves, we find answers to what lies on the surface.

[Read more…]

The Best Business Book I’ve Ever Read

September 3, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

It could also be the best damn memoir I’ve ever read.

I started reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight during a three-day excursion to Puerto Rico.

My mind was full of dancing clubs, drinks on the beach, scuba in the sun, and girls on the run.

Instead, I was getting a first-rate business education with a dose of the real world from the founding father of Nike.

The billion-dollar company Nike. The company that sponsors all of the best athletes in professional sports.

Although he writes passively, like an average person. Although he speaks of himself as a shy guy. He is, without doubt, a titan. A business “tycoon,” which he tells us, comes from the Japanese word for Warlord.

Perhaps he is a business warlord. Defining and redefining the idea of an athletic shoe — rising to victory among giants of the industry.

[Read more…]