Archive for the ‘Aspiration’ Category

Are you a talker or are you a doer?

By Tom Tognoli | June 13th, 2011 0 Comments

My assistant Kelli and I were having a conversation earlier this week about the difference between the two.

Talkers…you know who I am talking about. The people who are always talking about all the great things they are accomplishing, holding court and wielding authority. They are the people telling everyone else how to do it. They talk about spending hours at the gym, but how much of that time was actually spent breaking a sweat, and how much was spent messing around gabbing with everyone? They talk about spending more time with their family, but how many times have they failed to prioritize and allowed “emergencies” to overtake quality time with the people they love? They talk about the cold calls they are going to make, but how often do they let fear of rejection in and talk themselves out of it? They talk about all the great things they are going to accomplish, but time and time again, they throw up a bagel on the follow through. We all are guilty of this at one time or another. No one is perfect, but there are those people who constantly make excuses. Do you ever notice that the talkers usually end up being the know-it-alls? I think they act and talk like they know it all because of their insecurity, and when they talk, they don’t have to DO. Maybe they should stop ranting about how to do it and just take the steps necessary themselves to make it happen.

On the other hand, you have the people who fly under the radar and just get shit done! Doers – you know who I am talking about here, right? They may not be fancy, they are not the flashy ones, and they don’t act like the authority on everything. They do not brag, they do not boast, they do not complain. These people tend to be humble and don’t waste time pontificating on what needs to be done. They already have a clear plan. It is simple with these people. As Nike says, they JUST DO IT! And because they “Just DO IT”, they JUST GET IT!!!!!

So, which one are you? Are you a doer or are you a talker? The challenge for us this week is to look and be honest with ourselves and ask: Which one are we? If you are a doer, great job and keep up the doing! On the other hand if you are a talker, stop and let your actions speak for themselves.

Here is what we all need to do:

  1. Get those dreams and hopes out of our noggin and turn them into written goals on a piece of paper (yes WRITTEN GOALS)
  2. Create a WRITTEN list of activities that you need to do every day/week/month/year to accomplish those goals
  3. Take those activities and put them in your actual schedule (yes you need to have a schedule)
  4. Wake every day, don’t say a word and simply do what your schedule says

Do this and not only will you be a doer, but those dreams and hopes you turned into written goals will soon become accomplishments.

JUST DO IT!

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Tags: , , , ,      Categories: Accountibility, Aspiration, Monday Morning Mojo

Monday Morning Mojo: 5 Tricks to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions

By Tom Tognoli | December 28th, 2009 0 Comments

As we start a New Year this week lets all make a commitment to turn up the heat at least one more degree in 2010 and see what happens.  So many times in life the gap between what we have and what we want seems so far apart, yet most of the time it is not nearly as far apart as we think.  Click here to watch the video and then turn up YOUR heat at least one degree to make 2010 your best year yet!

Here are 5 Simple Tricks to Achieving Your New Year’s Resolutions. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

1. Get specific

A vague goal is as useful as no goal at all. General ideas about what you want give you nothing to work with and nowhere to go. It’s only when you get specific about what you want that the path to success is revealed. Take time to narrow down your resolutions into specific ideas and turn your vague goals into crystal-clear goals.

2. Spread the word

Don’t keep your goals all to yourself. The more you share your goals with others, the more life you give to those goals. It gives them the chance to grow and gain momentum.  So, tell at least two other people about your goals, and be sure not to make the mistake of giving without receiving; spend just as much time listening to ideas as you did in sharing your own.

3. Buddy up

When it comes to living a better life, few things are as powerful or persuasive as a living, breathing human being.  Books, tapes, etc. can help you along, but nothing can compare to one-on-one interaction.  The buddy system is one of the most effective goal-achievement tools you can use. By partnering with a goal-seeker, you’ll have all the support you need to achieve anything you set your mind to.

4. Burn the bridge

While preparing his next book, a famous writer listed his weight at fifty pounds lighter than reality. Not only that, but he did so knowing full well that only months after publication he would be paraded in front of thousands of his biggest fans. Why?  To burn the bridge of easy escape. He knew he needed to lose the weight, but he also knew he would give up on the goal without any pressure to follow through. By promising his public a fifty-pound weight loss, he had no choice but to achieve the goal.  What steps can you take today to burn the bridge of an easy escape and commit yourself to living a better life?

5. Do something – NOW

As they say, there’s no better time than the present, and when it comes to living a better life, they couldn’t be more right.  The true power of taking one small step comes not in the small step of progress you’ll make, but in the act of doing something about the things you want.  As you know, getting started is often the most difficult part of the process. Millions of people dream, but few actually ever take action…and that is why it is critical that you do something today. Think of one small step you can take right now that will bring you closer to accomplishing your goal and once you have it in mind, DO IT! Don’t think about it, don’t consider it – JUST DO IT NOW!

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Tags: , , , , , , ,      Categories: Accountibility, Aspiration, Goals, Monday Morning Mojo, Success

Monday Morning Mojo: It Sucks To Be Normal

By Tom Tognoli | August 24th, 2009 0 Comments

Are you an average Joe or average Jane?  I sure hope not, because average or “normal” in America today sucks!

Here are just a few things that are considered normal in America today -

  • The average American household carries nearly $11,000 in credit card debt. That sucks.
  • 63% of Americans are over weight and over 31% of Americans (nearly 90,000,000 people) are obese (that has tripled in the last 20 years.)  Nearly half a million people die each year from obesity related illnesses. That sucks!!! Want to find out where you are at? Use this BMI Calculator (Body Mass Index). If your number is not what you like, don’t start making excuses such as “it can’t be right”, “I have big bones”, “it’s my genes”, “it does not apply to my body type” or any other crap you will brainwash yourself with to make you think it is okay.  Even though it is normal, it is not okay.
  • Over 43% of marriages end in divorce (they say that percentage is climbing and may be as high as 50% today). I think a big part of the reason the divorce rate is so high is because we are “normal” at everything else in our life and normal sucks?   So, because our life is normal, it leads to our marriage being normal and we know what normal is – right?  It sucks.
  • There are 49 counties in the world where the people have a longer average life expectancy than Americans. We live in America the greatest country in the world and we are number 50?!? Some say our children’s average life expectancy may be the first in history that will be less than their parents.  That sucks. Why?  Because our children are watching us and doing what we are doing.
  • Over 55% of people in America suffer from high blood pressure and over 300,000 people each year die from it.  That sucks.

Unfortunately because the majority of people in America are ‘normal’ (or average) it has become our measuring-stick to measure our lives by. What we measure ourselves against “sucks” so compared to the masses we look fine. However, for people whose life is “normal” or average, guess what?  Their life is not all that great, but they just don’t know it.  If someone is normal they are probably one or more of these – overweight, broke, addicted, divorced, depressed, unhappy, stressed out and God only knows what else.  It is all they know, so they don’t know what it could be like.  Now don’t get all bummed out if you are thinking I am normal.  The great part is we can do something about it.

It all starts with the first step – start spending more time with people who aren’t normal or average. Think about it, if all of the people you are spending your time with are like you, do you think you are going to change?  NOT. On the other hand, do you think if you hang out with people who are achieving more than the average, you might learn by their examples and achieve more than the average? You bet.

So, why isn’t this a natural behavior? Because when we spend time with people achieving more than us, it makes us uncomfortable and it exposes us. This forces us to acknowledge our weaknesses and forces us to improve and improving requires us to get uncomfortable and change.   You see, we want to spend time with people that make us feel comfortable, feel good about our life that is what is natural and easy.  When we spend time with people like us it makes it all okay that we are the way we are that we are a “Normal Joe” or a “Normal Jane”.

Something to remember – we will very rarely achieve 10% above or 10% below the average of our five best friends. The five people we spend the majority of our time with in all areas of our life.  So be careful who you are spending YOUR time with.  Don’t get too comfortable, because comfortable is typically “normal,” and “normal” sucks!

Don’t be “normal,” be exceptional and have a kick ass life!

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Tags: , , , , ,      Categories: Accountibility, Aspiration, Breakthrough, Discipline, Monday Morning Mojo, Uncategorized

Monday Morning Mojo: Amy’s Inspiration

By Tom Tognoli | August 10th, 2009 0 Comments

It was 3 years yesterday that my cousin Amy passed away from breast cancer at the age of 41.  In the final year of her life she received Monday Morning MOJO every week and loved it.  We shared thoughts back and forth via e-mail many times after I would send it.  This is the MOJO I wrote after she passed away on my flight back home from her memorial service.  I have made a commitment to send this out as a Monday Morning MOJO every year at this time as a tribute to Amy and her life.  I think there are great thoughts in this MOJO that one can never hear too often.

I walked into my home on Saturday night from one of the most emotionally draining experiences of my life.

Attending and presenting a reading at the funeral of my 41 year-old cousin, Amy.

Amy was beautiful, healthy and living the American dream. She had a story book marriage and two beautiful daughters (12 and 14) when tragedy struck sixteen months ago.

In the words of her daughter, “It was a clear blue spring day – well, at least it was outside, because inside it was raining. We felt sadness and disbelief from the bad news. Not just regular bad news – but the kind where your life seems to fall apart in just two simple minutes. We listened closely to mother as she whispered, ‘Its cancer,’ and immediately feelings of shock, anger, and fear rushed through us all.”

Under her tears her daughter said faintly “Just never lose faith. Nobody knows what it’s like until it happens to them. And when it’s YOUR Mom how you view the world begins to change. You look at the mountains and now see their magnificence, just as seeing my Mom smile became everything to me. I started to appreciate life so much more. During those final months we would spend time gazing at the night sky, and I treasure everyday what she would say, ‘I love you more than all of the stars in the sky.’ Looking back at how it used to be, and how it would have been, and how it’s going to be without her by my side – truly it will never be the same.”

Her words I repeated over and over in my mind. It felt as though someone had shook me – forcing my eyes open to see the world for what it really it was. Forcing me to take a hard look at the ultimate truth, the truth that has the power to wake us up and make us live before it’s too late.

“Amy is gone,” the truth told me quietly, “and someday you will be, and so will all the people you love – it’s just a matter of time.”

So I ask you – are you doing what you want to do right now with your life, or are you putting off living your hopes and dreams because you think there will always be a tomorrow? If my cousin were here she’d tell you differently, she’d say “there will come a time when tomorrow doesn’t come, and you are wasting your time if you are not loving and laughing and enjoying your days now, while you can.”

This leaves us with a choice – we can delete this message because we find it too depressing, or we can let this message be a force that pushes us over the tipping point into the life we dream of. That is most often what it takes, something so strong it carries us past our fears and doubts and the terrors that come when we think about finally doing the things we’ve been dreaming about for so long.

Let Amy be your inspiration this morning. And realize she had a great life, doing the things she loved, with the people she loved – and she would want you to do the same.

I’ve heard it all; it’s just not possible, I’ve got obligations, responsibilities, and don’t forget the economy, and of course the – I can’t just DO what I want – I’ve got a job, bills, yada yada yada…

All those excuses mean nothing when your time comes, and who knows when that might be. All I know is the days are passing quickly and now is the time to do what YOU KNOW you need to do. Don’t put if off, or you may just be too late.

We will miss you Amy.

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Tags: ,      Categories: Aspiration, Breakthrough, Fear, Goals, Monday Morning Mojo, Positive attitude, Success, Uncategorized

Monday Morning MOJO: Give to get, give to get

By Tom Tognoli | March 30th, 2009 0 Comments

Here is the ticket to get whatever it is you want in your life.

Help others who want what you’ve got get it. When helping others get what you’ve got it holds you to a higher standard and level of accountability. You will sense a tremendous amount of responsibility to set the example and be the pace setter.  As they start to get what you’ve got, it will push you to take it to the next level so you can stay one step ahead getting you closer to what you want.

This applies to all areas of your life: Physical health and nutrition, faith, financial, business, Family, etc.

You’ve got to give to get. It is the law of life.  It is so simple that it’s hard for most people to believe.

Make it a powerful week!!!

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Categories: Accountibility, Aspiration