Discipline (Character) Archives

Self-Mastery: An FBI Agent’s Most Important Trait

May 1, 2021 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

Joe Navarro is an FBI agent that is widely recognized as a world expert in body language. Indeed, that is how I discovered him, when he gave a TEDx talk on the power of nonverbal communication.

His book on the subject is perhaps the best there is.

However, through another publication of his, he noted self-mastery as his most important trait for success. You would think it would be the ability to observe people, but it was not. That ability, like all others, stems from one’s ability to master themselves first. [Read more…]

The 49er Way

February 1, 2021 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

This post was originally published on LinkedIn.

Introduction

In 1978, the San Francisco 49ers finished dead last in the NFC West Division with a paltry 2-14 record. The general manager of the time made a series of shaky decisions that did little to improve the outlook of the failing franchise. He shipped off key talent, including a QB that would go on to win two championships. He made a poor bet against the franchise’s future with a gamble on an over-the-hill O.J Simpson. In shambles, no one would have guessed that this same team would eventually become known as the “Team of the 80s.”

In 1979, the 49ers rise to football stardom would begin. Bill Walsh was hired on as Heach Coach and General Manager. [Read more…]

What is Character?

December 25, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

The word character has lost its true meaning. Today, it is thought of as a novel trait we know we should have but can’t define in a meaningful way. We say things like “men of good character” but we mistakenly define it as a man of good qualities or of good values. The term we use today is more closely linked to a person’s personality.

Character is something different. Warren Susman researched the rise and fall of the concept of character during the 1800s and wrote that it was a keyword in the vocabulary, but it was described as something men would have to strive to attain.

Good character was something that came from within and a person of good character was a person of noble virtue.

Their actions yielded their character: what they did was who they were.

[Read more…]

A Glimpse Into Mastery

February 1, 2018 by Tony Francisco Leave a Comment

Robert Greene’s work on Mastery is a masterpiece in itself — a complete look into what it takes to achieve the pinnacle of human potential.

Greene is a master researcher, the singular skill that makes his books tower above others (literally). He has mentioned (podcast) that he spends a year reading before he even begins to write a book. This year is devoted to intense study, going through every conceivable piece of literature, developing ideas and piecing together bits of information. Using his notecard system, he then compiles thousands of note cards into stacks of knowledge; these stacks usually become chapters.

Months of endless refining would reveal a masterwork. Ryan Holiday would call them perennial sellers, books that endure the test of time.

Forged from the hands of a master is the premiere book on mastery itself. Better than Outliers and more thorough than Talent, it is a full discourse into supreme intelligence: the power that emanates from those who are masters.

Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it’s the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: We are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[Read more…]

Consistent Effort: The Key to Progressive Growth

August 20, 2017 by J.R. Cambo Leave a Comment

When starting a training program (or continuing one), nothing is more valuable to the novice (or expert) lifter than the consistency of action.

Too often we are misled to think that intensity is the hidden force that produces long-term and sustainable change. It seems that if we apply a max effort then we will yield max results.

The same subpar results usually follow, as that belief, leads us to yet another failed attempt at achieving our physical goals; even those beyond the novice level have fell victim to this consumer mindset. [Read more…]