Archive for May, 2009

Monday Morning Mojo: A Memorial Day moment

By Tom Tognoli | May 27th, 2009 0 Comments

A three day weekend. Love it.

But don’t forget why we have this three day weekend.  Today is Memorial Day.  Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868. Today we all need to pay respect, honor, and remember those who died defending us.  Think about it – they died so we could have the life and opportunities we have today.

So, today as we remember those who gave up their lives so we could have ours, here is the question we need to ask ourselves. Would those who’ve died so we could live say it was all worthwhile if they where to be with you today. To see how you are living your life. To see how you are making a difference? They died so we could live. They left their families behind. They where only kids.  Don’t let them down. Make them proud of what you do and the difference you are making in this life. Make the most of it. They gave their lives so we could!

So, when things aren’t going our way, when we are tired, and when the going gets tough, close your eyes and think of them ask yourself what advice would they give me?  Would they think it is so tough? Would they tell you to give up or hit the snooze bar and stay in bed a little longer. Make excuses?

Is that what whey would have done? I don’t think so. What do you think? I’m sure they would gladly trade places with you!

We owe them giving it our absolute best.

Commander Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret.) perhaps said it best in his poem “No, Freedom Isn’t Free”:

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He’d stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers’ tears?
How many pilots’ planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers’ graves?
No, freedom isn’t free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still,
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant “Amen,”
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn’t free.”

Make it a GREAT life…they gave theirs so we could.

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Categories: Monday Morning Mojo

Monday Morning Mojo: The power of decision

By Tom Tognoli | May 18th, 2009 0 Comments

Hmmm…should I do it or shouldn’t I?

I’m going to wait and think about it for a while before I make my decision…I need to get more information.

I will get back to you on it.

I will do it tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.

Yeah right…sure you will. Does this sound familiar?  Does it sound like you?

Well, this is how most people make decisions. They don’t make them at all because they are risk averse. Afraid of making the wrong decision, afraid of change. They just wait and wait and wait and never actually decide to do anything. That is why they continue to get what they have always gotten in life and don’t get what it is they really want.

Not being decisive and making quick decisions is one of the biggest success killers in life and business because one of the most important components to getting what you want is making a lot of decisions quickly with very little information. It’s about going with your instinct.  Successful people understand that to get what you want you must operate with a strong sense of urgency. Because to get what you wan especially in this day and age, you must accelerate in all aspects of your life, even if it means living with a few more ragged edges.

You have to be 100% focused on action.

Successful people don’t get bogged down in endless preparation and evaluation trying to get things perfect before making a decision. Of course making smart decisions and high quality is crucial, but it must come quickly.  You can’t sacrifice speed. Learn to fail fast, fix it, and race on. This is how you create radical breakthroughs.

Not only does being decisive get you in action toward accomplishing your goals, but it gets it out of your head.  Think how many unmade decisions you have floating around in your head right now that are taking up space and your time.   Instead of making a decision and then actually doing something productive to accomplish your goals, you are debating all of those unmade decisions in your head all of the time whether you know it or not. Unmade decisions are the parking brake of life, let it go!

Imagine how much more productive and happy you would be if you would just make the commitment to be decisive and not waffle ever again.

Freedom

Here is a great piece of advice someone gave me several years ago.  Don’t go with your head and don’t go with your heart because more times than not they are in conflict with one another and you will never be able to make the decision.

Go with your gut. Don’t over think it because your first instinct is almost always right. If it feels right just do it. and do it with focus and intensity. What does your gut tell you to do about each of those unmade decisions floating around in your head right now?  Quit procrastinating. Just do it.

And yes if you think I am writing this to you, I am.

Make is a powerful week!!!!!

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Categories: Monday Morning Mojo

Monday Morning Mojo: Become a “quick change artist”

By Tom Tognoli | May 16th, 2009 0 Comments

Sounds like a great idea. I will get started tomorrow.  Yeah right, like that is really going to happen. Just like that last thousand times he said “I will start tomorrow.

Wow, I can see how that will have a hugely positive impact on my life, but I just don’t have time to deal with making the necessary changes right now. I will try and implement that next month when things settle down.

Why is it that no matter what I seem to do not matter how much I work or how hard I try, I can never get ahead, physically, financially, spiritually, personally, or in my business?  I am trying hard everyday, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Here is the first thing we all need to get real clear on, no matter how hard you try, if you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you have always gotten.  So, to get more of what we want in our lives, the key is not doing more of what we are currently doing harder, but doing different, changing the way we look at things, the way we do things.  Sounds easy right?

Becoming a “QUICK CHANGE ARTIST” is not something you become overnight. It is something you need to train yourself to become.  Most of the things we do in our life and our thoughts are a routine that have been ingrained in us over years.  So, we plow on, mindlessly doing the same old things in the same old way.  Whether these routines or thoughts are good or bad, like a drop of water which continuously hits on a rock, our habits create a hole or a rut.  And the longer the drop of our habits hit the rock, the deeper the hole.

And over time as that hole gets deeper and deeper, the harder it is to get out of the rut when we want to make a change.

So, why haven’t we forced ourselves out of the rut before now, when we know changes are going to make us happier in the long run?  Most of the time we don’t change because we are afraid. It makes us uncomfortable. It makes us feel exposed.

And the older we get the harder it is to make changes because we tend to become less and less flexible (try to touch your toes and you will see this physically).  And because we have been doing things one way for such a long time, the hole in the rock becomes the size of the Grand Canyon.  So, the key is to train ourselves to become “QUICK CHANGE ARTISTS”…someone who actually embraces change…someone who actually gets a rush from being innovative and doing it different.  Because thinking and doing things different is the road to freedom and to fulfilling our destiny.

So start challenging your routines.  Stop running into the brick walls. Stop beating your head against it. Pause. Think.  Find a new way that goes around the wall, or maybe over it.  Rest assured, the new way is there.  It does exist.  Changing your habits can itself become common place.  The first time you defy “your way” and climb out of your rut in nearly kills you. The second time, it’s real tough. The third time, it’s merely hard.  And eventually, it becomes, if not easy, then reasonably comfortable.  Your confidence grows, and the tyrant loses a large part of its hold on you.  Then, the magic of having a life that is unbelievable…pure magic starts to unfold!!!

Here is to you becoming a “QUICK CHANGE ARTIST”and make it a great week!

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Categories: Breakthrough, Monday Morning Mojo, Positive attitude

Monday Morning Mojo: Rejecting fear, building confidence

By Tom Tognoli | May 11th, 2009 0 Comments

If there has ever been a doubt that the way we think and the things we do are impacted by what we read, what we watch, the people we spend our time with and the environment we choose to live and work in every day, the last year has cleared that up.

I make a conscious decision everyday to spend time focusing on keeping mentally tough and keeping a positive attitude, but I have to admit, this last year it has been real tough with all of the doom and gloom everywhere you look…newspapers, the news, magazines, internet, people, etc.  If I don’t pay attention and keep focused, I find my mind drifting into the gutter where all of those outside influences are trying to lead me.

Think about it for a minute.  Over the last year, if you had not looked at your bank account, you had not listened to the news, had not read the headlines on the internet, had not talk about how the world is coming to an end with your friends and coworkers, is your life really that much different today than it was a year, or two, or three ago. Really?

For some I know it is, but for most it really has not changed much except for the conversation we have going on in our head.  And for many of those who are struggling, the reason why, is the conversation they have going on in their head has sabotaged them. It is what has caused their pain and suffering.

This last year has really taught me that one of the biggest keys to success or failure is determined by one of two words – Confidence or Fear.  Those two words have more to do with our circumstances, our success or failure than anything else.   Confidence or Fear determines our attitude and mindset, our attitude and mindset determines our actions, and our actions determine our circumstances.

•    What caused the stock market to spiral down?  Sure there where many financial and fundamental reasons it pulled back, but what really caused it to crash?  FEAR
•    What has caused the stock market to start and recover a bit over the last couple of months?  Yes things appear to have stopped free falling, but are things really that much different today than they where just 2 months ago?  The main thing that has changed is people are turning more CONFIDENT.

So, what is confidence and fear?  They are nothing more than thoughts and feelings.  And if they are the two things that will have the biggest impact on our success or failure, we better make sure we are giving ourselves a check up from the neck up everyday. Probably several times a day.

We better pay attention to what we read, what we watch and who we spend our time with.  Don’t ever underestimate the power and influence of the people we spend our time with and the environment we choose to live and work in.  Remember, the thing that will determine our success or failure at almost anything in life is our thoughts. Guard them.

Make it a powerful week!!!!!

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Categories: Monday Morning Mojo, Positive attitude