Archive for April, 2009

Monday Morning Mojo: Breakdown to breakthrough

By Tom Tognoli | April 27th, 2009 0 Comments

“I just can’t bare it anymore”.  ”It just won’t work”.  “I just keep running into the wall”.  “I am working so hard and things aren’t getting better…they are getting worse”  “I’m calling it quits.”

Perfect!!!!

This is exactly where you need to be.  You are at the point of having that radical breakthrough you’ve been waiting for.  It is at this specific moment when the magic happens for those few who can suck it up and grind through the pain, the failure, and the doubt.  When you are at the point of throwing in the towel and calling it quits is exactly when you need to turn up the heat and really go for it, because you are at the Tipping Point.

I know it sounds kind of nuts, but you have to experience the breakdown to have the breakthrough. It is just part of the process of getting better. This is how it is with almost everything in life. Personally, professionally, with your health, you name it.

When we are born, we naturally have this fight in us. It is how we learn to walk, talk and read.  But then over time most of us lose our ability to not give up.  Our job, now more than ever, is to get it back.

The tough part is when you are one of the few who embrace failure as part of the process of getting better, you are going against the tide.  Because most people look to go the path of least resistance. Not fighting when the going gets tough. Just giving up is the norm. Most people are looking for the short cut, the quick fix diet or pill, the home run investment, the easy way to the top.

That is why obesity is one of the biggest epidemics in society and why so many people file bankruptcy and why so many marriages end in divorce.  Rather than doing what it takes to get what they want, people give up when the going gets tough and try the quick fix solution instead. We try and find the easy way to avoid the pain.  There is no easy way, you have to attack it head on.  You just have to eat less/healthier and workout regularly, invest consistently, wisely and be patient, talk it out when you and your spouse are fighting.

You have to embrace the path of resistance – the path only the lucky 5 to 10 percent of society have the discipline and commitment to travel.

So, attack failure and breakdowns because it is the last step just before the breakthrough to getting what you want.

Don’t fear the breakdown. You actually need to embrace it as part of the process of getting better.  It is those people that when things become almost unbearable…when everyone else starts throwing in the towel and giving up. It is those that can keep on track just a little longer when most others quit who will experience the radical breakthrough to get what you want and taking it to that next level.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

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Categories: Breakthrough, Fear, Monday Morning Mojo

Monday Morning Mojo: Make your “Dash” count

By Tom Tognoli | April 20th, 2009 0 Comments

“It’s terminal” — 2 of the scariest words we could hear about ourselves or someone we care about.

Yet “it’s terminal” is exactly the 2 words which describe the fate of each and every one of us.  No, it hopefully will not be today – next week – next month – next year. Hopefully not for several decades, but lets face it, all of us have a “terminal illness” and it is called mortality. Our days on this planet are indeed numbered.

So, the question is, knowing this, are you spending as much time as humanly possible with those who are truly most important? Are you making a difference in the world? Are you going to have regrets for the way you have lived your life?  It’s funny how it does not hit us until we hear those 2 frightening  words. But let’s face it, as scary is it is, it could be anyone of us tomorrow.

Sit back and think about this for a minute. If you have years or decades to live, if a doctor could tell you the exact day and time you where going to pass, would you start living your life differently today?  I think so.  It’s because we don’t have that definite date and time that we continue to say “I will do it tomorrow”. “I will go see them next week”. “I will do it when I retire. “We think it goes on forever, but it doesn’t.

We all get caught up trying to get ahead in life. Measuring our success by how much money we make. By our belongings. By our power.  But lets face it, what really matters most is our relationships with those most important to us – our family and our friends. It is the difference we are making in peoples lives.

So my challenge to myself and everyone who receives this is to find the power to take time and reflect on our/your life. What it is you are doing and re-prioritize to really make sure those people and things most important in life are on the top of the list. Those people and things which when we finally realize it’s terminal we have no regrets for the way we lived our lives.

Check The Dash and make sure your “dash” really counts. make sure you won’t have any regrets.  We only get one sho at this life. There are no second chances. Don’t waste it on things that don’t really matter!!

Make your “dash” count and make it a GREAT week!!!!!

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Categories: Monday Morning Mojo, The Dash

Monday Morning Mojo: Conquering the gap between here and there

By Tom Tognoli | April 13th, 2009 0 Comments

I am here. I want to get there. But the gap is so wide it is overwhelming.

Have you ever felt like that? I know I sure have and quite frankly it feels like it is almost be too much to even deal with at times.  We can feel this way about our job, our health, our faith, our finances, our relationships.  I will bet all of us have at least one area of our life where we are dealing with this right now.

So, what are we to do?  Throw in the towel and say screw it, it’s just too hard, or what? No way.

We are an instant gratification society and therein lies part of our problem.  We want it now. Texting, email, internet, downloading music, you name it. We can have most things we want in seconds today. Unfortunately, for the most important things in life there is no quick fix, no quick solution, no text, email, or website.

It takes time. It takes discipline. It takes accountability.

So, here is our challenge.  Quit wasting time looking for the instant gratification solution and get to work on chipping away at it.  It’s like this: If you want to get fit and healthy but have been eating like crap for years and not exercised in decades it is not going to happen overnight. Heck it is not going to happen in days or weeks.  Accept the fact that it is going to take months, or perhaps years to accomplish it.  And in the end, to maintain it, we will need to stick with it for a lifetime.

The key is to start small. Ride 20 minutes on the bike 3 times a week.  Then build on that bit by bit over time. After a few months you will get up to 60 minutes+, 5 times a week+…  Then with discipline, accountability, consistency and time, you will experience the breakthrough you are looking for.

It works this way for anything worthwhile in life. No matter what it is we are trying to accomplish in life remember the metaphor of starting with just 20 minutes, 3 times a week on the bike.  Not an hour, not 7 days a week.  Just start small and build on it over time.  Because if we really want it and if we stick with it, we will be amazed at we can accomplish…we will bridge that huge gap and get there.

Be passionate, but be patient and make it a powerful week.

Go BIG!!!!!

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Categories: Accountibility, Discipline, Goals, Monday Morning Mojo

Monday Morning Mojo: Be your own taskmaster

By Tom Tognoli | April 6th, 2009 0 Comments

He’s a great guy. Everyone likes him. But he just never seems to get things done. He is always working and always has a bunch of projects going. But unless he gets pressed, nothing ever gets completed.

One of the keys to success is setting deadlines for ourselves.  You will be amazed at how much more and how much faster we get things done when we have a deadline.  Because, if we give ourselves an unlimited amount of time to do something, not only will we take it, but in many cases it never gets completed.

A perfect example is doing income taxes.  April 15th is a hard deadline.  Isn’t it interesting that most cannot seem to find the time to get their income taxes done until the 14th?  Do you think if taxes where due on April 1st, we would get them done on time?  Of course we would.  If taxes where due on the 30th of April they would still get done on the 14th?

No way. They wouldn’t get done until the 29th.  Why is that?  Because there is a deadline and deadlines are critical.  Most don’t like to commit to them, but for those who do, success comes.

So why is it so hard to commit to a deadline?  I think it’s twofold. 1) We are afraid to box ourselves in. We would rather be wishy washy so we can procrastinate like we always have. That way we don’t feel the pressure. 2) We don’t want to disappoint people.  Many times someone will ask for us to get something done in a time frame which may not be realistic.  So, instead of being upfront and tell them it won’t get completed until a specific date later than their hope, we simply don’t commit to a deadline/date at all and just say, “I will work on getting it done”. Or, “I should be able to do it”. Or, “I will get right to work on it”.

Unfortunately when we do that, we may not disappoint them up front, but inevitably we frustrate them and ourselves in the long run…and we come off looking flaky.  My advice is to just tell people up front what you can commit to and then do it.

They will respect you for it.

The same thing applies if you are someone who seems to work 24/7/365.  The reason why is that’s how much time you give yourself to the get the job done.  On the other hand, if you give yourself 8…10…12 hours a day, the most amazing thing happens…it all gets done.  If you don’t give yourself a fixed amount of time, not only will it take much longer to get everything done, but the reality of it is, it typically just won’t get done at all.

Commit…commit…commit and make it a POWERFUL week!!!!

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Categories: Uncategorized