Monday Morning Mojo

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Monday Mojo: First Impressions

By Tom Tognoli | May 17th, 2010 0 Comments

It’s the key of success or the handcuffs of defeat.  The question is, do you have the key or are you in the cuffs?

“My life is 30 minutes late. It’s not my watch, but my life!”  You know who I am talking about.  You end up telling them everything starts 30 minutes earlier than it actually does in hopes they may be on time, but they’re still late!!!!!  They wonder why their life always seems to be totally out of control and why they are always stressed out.  And the excuses are always the same: I just have too much on my plate, I just can’t get it all done, I just couldn’t get out of the meeting, I just couldn’t get them off the phone…I just…I just…I just!  They are always blaming someone or something for them not taking control – for their poor time management.   The other brutal thing about not having good time management is you never have time to do those things you want to do – those things important to you. You are always saying I will do it tomorrow, because all of your time is spinning out of control just trying to keep up.  Unfortunately for them, the tomorrow they are waiting for never comes.

The single most valuable thing in a person’s life is time.  And when we keep people waiting and/or don’t show up when we say we are going to show up, we are telling those we care about, those we are trying to do business with and those we want to gain respect from, that we don’t care about their most valuable asset, because ours is more important.  It’s a success killer. It’s a happiness killer. It’s a relationship killer. It’s a life killer!

Here is the reality of it:  If we could stop time for 24 hours, except for them so they could catch up, and then started the clock ticking again, they would still be late.  It’s not a time issue it’s a planning issue. Let’s face it, it’s a personal issues and it’s just simply a bad habit.  Heck, they are going to be late to their own funeral when the time comes.

If you are one of those folks we are talking about here, all hope is not lost. Here is a great thing to try and institute in your life and business today.  Make a commitment to show up 5 to 10 minutes early to everything you do.   I have every clock in my life (from the clock next to my bed, to my watch, to the clock in my car) set 10 minute early.  I am not going to say I am never late, because that would be a lie.  But I can tell you, those who know me will say I am very punctual and respectful of everyone’s time – including my own.  Certainly being late is the exception for me, not the rule.

You can never change a first impression, and our first impression is when we show up early, on time or late. What is your first impression?

Make it a great week!

Remembering Bill “Papa” Moles – Details on his Celebration of Life

The Intero Family suffered a big loss recently.

Bill Moles, father to both our Chairman, Bob Moles & Kevin Moles, passed away at the age of 78.

Speaking on behalf of the entire Intero family, we all send our deepest thoughts and prayers to the Moles family in their time of sadness.

The Moles family would like to invite you to the Celebration of Life. Details are as follows:

Date:              Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Time:              1:00pm
Where:           St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church
219 Bean Avenue
Los Gatos, CA 95030
Reception:    St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church
Following Celebration of Life

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be sent to the Intero Foundation or to the Hospice of Santa Cruz County.

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Monday Mojo: It’s All In The Build Up

By Tom Tognoli | May 3rd, 2010 0 Comments

We look forward to it for weeks or months – lying on the beach, drinking a Mai Tai, and listening to the waves crash.  Oh, just the sound of it as I am writing feels amazing, refreshing, and relaxing. Then it’s over and the let down begins.

Do you ever notice when you go on vacation one of the best parts is the build up?  It’s like that for almost everything we do in life – it’s the building that is actually the best part.  Unfortunately, most people don’t realize it until they finally reach the destination, the let down begins and it’s too late. We look back and the best part has passed us by. We look back and realize it was the process of getting there – the build up or building of the outcome which was the best part. Hell – that’s what life is all about! Ask anyone who is on his or her deathbed.

All too often we think reaching the goal will make us feel better. We think things will get better when we finally reach our destination of success. However, if you listen to the true champions, the real success stories – they are present during the process and enjoy the process of growing. The process of getting better. The process of reaching the goal itself. It’s the rush of the building that fires them up. It’s the competition. It’s the small battles along the way, which they live for. The outcome is simply the result of what they love doing.

To accomplish all of your goals, love what you do and love the process of doing it. Even if you don’t reach your ultimate goal, you will be a winner and a success.

Remember the journey, not the destination is the prize – don’t take it for granted.

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Monday Mojo: It’s Important, Not Urgent

By Tom Tognoli | April 26th, 2010 0 Comments

One of the things we really focus on doing at Intero is making a conscious decision every day to spend our time doing the important and not the urgent.  Most of people spend the majority of their lives running around like a chicken with their head cut off jumping from one thing to another dealing with all of the urgent crap in life.  But you know what?  The urgent stuff is typically nothing more than the important stuff we procrastinated on doing and now if it doesn’t get done something is going to blow up! Guess what – it’s urgent.

It’s important that we exercise and eat right every day.  If we don’t, when we get 50 to 100 pounds overweight, and our blood pressure and cholesterol are through the roof, it will be urgent that we take care of ourselves so we don’t keel over and have a heart attack, or worse.

It is important that we spend quality time with our family, every day.  If we don’t, it will become urgent one day when we come home and they are gone.

It is important to constantly be embracing change and innovation.  If not, one day we will wake up and the world will have past us by and we will be frantically trying to catch up.  Change and innovation will become urgent.

I know the urgent will always pull at us, but the key is to have the discipline to stick to doing the important and we will be successful at whatever we do.  It’s Important, not Urgent.
Make it a GREAT week!

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Monday Mojo: Grip It and Rip It!

By Tom Tognoli | April 19th, 2010 0 Comments

I was watching The Masters last weekend and what a Masters it was.  As the pressure intensified and the players made the turn at the 9th hole, some folded and some finished strong, but only one persevered to win it – Phil Mickelson.

It is truly amazing to me what those guys can do – especially with thousands of people watching them live and millions more watching them on TV.  If you are a golfer you know just how amazing it really is.  One of the commercials during the tournament summed it all up great in just a few words from the late great golfer Bobby Jones who said “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.”  I had heard it before but it had been a long time so I scrambled for a piece of paper and wrote it down knowing that had the makings of a great MOJO.

Think about it – the average golf course on the PGA tour plays about 7,000 yards…4 miles.  As big and daunting as it can seem with water, bunkers, trees, wind, lightening fast greens and competition…at the end of the day winning is not really about conquering the course, but more about conquering your thoughts.  It is our ability to remain focused, disciplined and remain under control in the face of stress, obstacles and competition that makes winners.  Everyone has to play on the same course whether it is golf, business, or life.  Like golf, to win at anything in life the challenge is mastering the five-and-a-half-inch course.  There are just some who know how to play five-and-a-half-inch course better than others.

So next time you are trying to figure out how to cut some strokes from your game at golf, business, or life perhaps we should look at hitting a few less proverbial golf balls at the range and look at doing things to help us conquer the five-and-a-half-inch course between our ears.

Grip it and Rip it!

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Monday Mojo: Life is Not Baseball

By Tom Tognoli | April 12th, 2010 0 Comments

Being a pitcher in baseball may be the only thing in life where there is a bullpen to finish off the game for you.  With everything else, in order to be successful, you need to not only be good at the start and solid in the middle, but you need to be able to finish strong.

In my job, I am always looking for ways to motivate and inspire people to improve and do better.  But the most amazing thing to me is how many people can get fired up about starting something that will make them better.  They are raring to jump in and participate, but once the novelty wears off, they end up petering out and vanish into thin air.  Not only do they not finish the game, but they can’t even get out of the first inning.

I have discovered it is really only those who have the discipline and commitment to stick it out once the novelty has worn off – those that keep up the hard work and discipline when no one is looking, that will be truly successful.  It is exactly why we see so many people hitting the gym and eating right on January 1st, when it is “the thing to do”.  But then by Feb 1st 99% of people are right back to their same old bad habits.  They are great starters – but horrible finishers.

I don’t care whether it is sports, family, faith, business, health, or whatever – if you really want to be successful at something you need to be accountable and disciplined in doing the activities it takes in the beginning, in the middle and in the end.

Remember there is no bullpen in life.  If you want to win at anything you need to “be in the game” from start to finish.

Play ball!

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Monday Mojo: Finding Your Meaning and Purpose in Life

By Tom Tognoli | April 5th, 2010 0 Comments

Last Wednesday I had the privilege of attending the 17th Annual Silicon Valley Prayer Breakfast in Palo Alto.  The theme was “Finding Meaning and Purpose in Life”.  There were two incredibly powerful speakers.  I walked out humbled and inspired. I walked out determined to find my meaning and purpose in life.

First was Tim Borland – in 2007 he ran 63 Marathons in 63 days.  Why you ask?  Tim’s life mission is to advocate for children in need by using his gift in endurance running.  Click on the link below and watch this video – this is Tim’s meaning. This is his purpose:

Tim’s four keys to finding meaning and purpose in life:

  1. Focus on the needs of others before ourselves.
  2. Develop an accurate view and understanding of fear.  He said fear of failure is a dream crusher.
  3. Be willing to risk it all.
  4. Pray for a God inspired vision.

Second was Joe Ehrmann. He played football for the Colts for 13 year and was named Colts’ Man of the Year.  In the same year Ehrmann played in the Pro Bowl he watched his brother Billy loose his fight with cancer.  This experience caused Ehrmann to rethink and reorder his priorities in life. Ehrmann spearheaded the construction of a Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore in memory of Billy. In the off-season, Ehrmann attended classes at Dallas Theological Seminary and, following his football career, he graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, specializing in urban ministry. He was ordained in 1985. Parade Magazine name Joe the “Most Important Coach in America” due to his tireless efforts to change the culture of sports.  Joe and his wife Paula co-founded Building Men and Women for Others to help every man, woman and child reach his or her potential.  He was also the recipient of the National Fatherhood Initiative’s Man of the Year Award.

This is his meaning. This is his purpose:

As a Pastor for more than 25 years of his life he has been with many people as their life on earth ends.  He said – all people care about at the end of their life is who did I love and who loved me, and did I make a difference.  Nothing else matters – not money, not fame, not power – nothing else.

Two ordinary men doing extraordinary things.  So, what is your meaning and purpose in life? If you don’t know – find it!

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Monday Mojo: The Four Addictions

By Tom Tognoli | March 22nd, 2010 0 Comments

Did you know there are four addictions which stop us from living an extraordinary life?

  1. Our addiction to the opinions of other people
  2. Our addiction to the past
  3. Our addiction to food
  4. Our addiction to drugs and alcohol

The real interesting thing is our addiction to the past, our addiction to food, and our addiction to drugs & alcohol are all caused because of our addiction to the opinions of others. So, the key to having an extraordinary life is simply eliminating our addiction to the opinions of others. It’s what holds us back from really going for it. Because when we are addicted to the opinion of others we are afraid of failure and making a fool of ourselves, which in turn stops us from taking risks and doing the things necessary in order to have the kick ass life we want. So, screw it. Who cares what they think? Go for it!

To beat this addiction I tell myself over and over every day “What you think of me is none of my business.” That way I am not holding back and worrying about it. The more we tell ourselves this, the less we will be held captive by the four addictions which stop us from having the kick ass life we deserve.

Screw what other people think – it is none of our business. Go for it and have an EXTRAORDINARY life!

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Monday Mojo: Ponds vs. River – What Type of Water are You?

By Tom Tognoli | March 15th, 2010 0 Comments

Do you know what percent of our body is water? We BEGIN life as a fetus at 99%. When we are born, it drops to about 90%. Then the average human body settles in around 70%. So, from a simple physical perspective, we are all made up for the most part of water!

Let me ask you a simple question – if you had a choice to drink from a body of water, which would you prefer – a river or a pond? Why?

Water in a river remains pure because it is moving, and it is generally agreed that the quicker it is moving, the more pure it is. When water is stagnating, trapped, or immobile, what happens? It collects a lot of crap and becomes polluted. Right?

So, what is the message we all can learn from water?

That it is critical for us to continue moving fast and forward if we are interested in improving. Otherwise we could be in danger of becoming idle, polluted, and turn into crap. It is interesting to note that as children, we are expected to grow and improve every year mentally, physically and emotionally. That is why we have different grades in school. And each year you must improve to continue on.

Then we graduate and what happens? Most people’s growth process stops or slows down drastically. And the unfortunate thing is when we stop growing, we don’t stay the same. We actually start to move backwards year after year. What are you doing to improve every year mentally, physically and emotionally? Are you reacting to life or are you attacking and taking from it?

Let’s all make a commitment to keep in action, keep moving, changing, flowing – mentally, physically, and emotionally. It is going to help purify who we are. Let’s choose to not turn into crap. Let’s choose to continue to become more pure!

Side Note:

Be sure and drink lots of water since 70% of our body is made up of it and we don’t want it just sitting in our bodies stagnant like a dirty pond – purge the old and replenish with new fresh clean water every day.

Like most of you, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier. There is a group of about 20 people I am doing a food log with. Every day we send everyone in the group an e-mail with everything we ate/drank for the day, everything!  It is amazing how much of an impact this little exercise has on your daily eating habits. One of the most important things we do in our group is keep each other accountable for drinking lots of water. I have been drinking about 100 ounces a day.

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Monday Mojo: What are you going to get rid of in your life?

By Tom Tognoli | March 8th, 2010 0 Comments

What are you going to get rid of in your life?

What are you going to stop doing in your job?

What are you going to give up?

Yes…you heard me right, what are you going to give up?

What bad habit, crap in your office, clutter at home, food in your cabinet, or unproductive thing in your schedule are you going to either get rid of or stop doing?  Because before you can start doing something good, something right, something that is going to get you what you want, you need to start by giving something up. Not only will it clear room for what you need to do to CRUSH IT, but usually the thing you need to give up is in conflict with your goal.

For example – you want to lose weight, but the cabinets are filled with cookies, Cheetos, crackers and other garbage. You need to get rid of the crap and fill the cabinet with healthy food so you can begin to achieve your desired weight.

You want to get organized and under control with your home life or at work, but when you walk in your house or office it looks like a bomb just went off. Grab a roll of garbage bags and if you don’t absolutely need it either throw it away, sell it on Craigslist, or donate it.

You want to finally start saving some money for the future, but you can’t seem to save a dime because you have NO extra money. But somehow you can find the money to hit Starbucks or Peets once or twice a day. Start with brewing your own cup of coffee instead. It will save you $25 – $50 a week or $1,250 – $2,500 a year depending on how frequently you go. Oh, and don’t forget the taxes you pay on each cup of coffee. So if you combine the cost of the coffee and taxes on each cup, that may be as much as $2,000 -$5,000 a year you could invest in your 401K or IRA instead, tax free! Invest $5,000 a year into your retirement account and if it earns a 10% return, that’s close to $300,000 in 20 years.

You want to get to the gym to get fit and healthy and feel good, but you are spending all of your time on Facebook playing Mafia Wars and Farmville games. Stop the Facebook game addiction and hit the gym instead!

Enough said. To get more of what you want, give it up. Get rid of it. Stop doing it.

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Monday Morning Mojo: The Circle of Success

By Tom Tognoli | March 1st, 2010 0 Comments

The key to achieving your dreams is making the choice to. The most common difference between those who have an AWESOME life and those who don’t are simply the choices they make every day.  It’s not their circumstances, the way they were raised, or their education.  Most people who are not accomplishing their dreams in life are those that have chosen not to. These people just aren’t willing to do what is necessary to have a life that good.

Think about your life for a moment, what do you want and what does it take to get it?  So, why haven’t you been doing what it takes to get it?

Before you start with all of the excuses, ask yourself – if you really had to do it, could you?  Let me make it clear how this is a choice – I don’t even like to think these thoughts, but it will help you understand that you can do it, if you want it bad enough.  If the person or people you care about the most lives depended upon it, could you do it? We both know the answer. Of course you could and would.  Life is a series of choices – I call them the Y’s in the road.  In most cases if you take the easy path – the one most people take – you will experience short term gain and long term pain. On the other hand if you have the courage to take the other path – the one most will not take – you will have some short term pain, but long term gain. So, make the right choice and have a life of pure magic!

Start by making the choice everyday to FEEL GOOD.  Because when you FEEL GOOD you are ATTRACTIVE. When you are ATTRACTIVE, you have AMAZING PRODUCTIVITY. When you have AMAZING PRODUCTIVITY, you have EXTRAORDINARY RESULTS. And when you have EXTRAORDINARY RESULT, you feel even better! It is the circle of success.

Make it a GREAT week and make the right choices.

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