Monday Morning Mojo

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Morning Mojo: Success has to be an obsession

By Tom Tognoli | October 10th, 2011 0 Comments

How bad do you want it?

Success…how bad do you really want it?

So many of us say we want to be successful, but we really don’t want it bad enough and that is why we don’t have it. We only kind of want success. We don’t want it as bad as we want to be cool. We don’t want it as bad as we want sleep. We don’t want it as bad as we want to hang with our friends. We don’t want it as bad as we want to play grab ass. Heck, we don’t want it as bad as we want to watch TV.

And that is why we struggle. You have to want it so bad that you are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Because until you get to the point where all you want to do is be successful and nothing else matters, success will elude you. It has to be an obsession.

Check out this video. Turn it up and listen to the words. Make sure you show this to your friends, your family, your kids and your grandkids. Help them to understand what it takes and the sacrifices required to be successful. Once you have helped them to understand, then you will understand.

http://vimeo.com/27933991

We have to want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe!!!

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Morning Mojo: Choke

By Tom Tognoli | October 3rd, 2011 0 Comments

This past week the Boston Red Sox probably had the biggest “CHOKE” in sports history.

At the beginning of September they were so far ahead in the standings that they were basically guaranteed a spot in the MLB post season. It was almost mathematically impossible they would not make it. They were so far ahead at the beginning of September that researchers gave them a 99.6% chance at making the playoffs…99.6% chance!

So, what happened? When Red Sox player David Ortiz was asked what happened he said, “I don’t even know how to explain it.”

Researchers know what happened. There is a highly scientific term for it – it is called CHOKING.

So, what is choking? It is when you exhibit a worst performance than you have exhibited in the past precisely because there is a lot on the line. Not much different than choking on that final exam or choking on that big interview or presentation.

So why do people and teams like the Boston Red Sox CHOKE. There are two main reasons:

  1. Paralysis by Analysis – We start paying a lot of attention to habits or behaviors that should just run off on auto pilot. That unhittable pitch you have thrown a million times, it’s now a meatball right over the center of the plate. You are just trying too hard and not just letting it rip.
  2. Memory Failure – This is not forgetting things. It is more about remembering the wrong things; it is remembering the negative things. In the case of the Boston Red Sox it is confirming this idea that you are not ready to play or going to be able to compete in the playoffs. You are not going to succeed. In baseball or anything in life, losing begets losing. For the Boston Red Sox there was a month of failure brewing in their heads. Loss after loss and with each loss more doubt crept into their minds. And they were reminded of it constantly by their fans booing and holding up signs saying things like “Help Me!!!! I’m CHOKING!” Talk about a negative affirmation. There have been studies that have shown when you tell kids they are not good at math they do worse on tests. Same thing applies in baseball or really anything in life.

So, what is the solution to not choking in baseball and life?

  • Don’t just practice, but practice under fire. That is why our military does live fire training, not with blanks.
  • Remember the good moments and forget the bad ones.
  • Breath.
  • Have fun.
  • Focus on what you want to happen, not what you don’t want to happen.
  • Don’t be resentful.
  • Don’t look at the glass half empty, look at the glass half full.
  • Spend time with positive people and steer clear of negative ones.
  • Spend more time with people who have what you want in your F5.

No choking allowed…CRUSH IT!!!!

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Morning Mojo: Be 110% Committed

By Tom Tognoli | September 26th, 2011 0 Comments

If you have ever played a contact sport in your life like football or rugby, you know that a sure fired way to get hurt is by not playing full out. Not going 110%. Not being 110% engaged. In contact sports you are either doing the hitting or you’re getting hit. It is pretty much that simple.

It is really the same thing with most everything in life with the exception being that you can usually at least walk off the field in most other things in life, unlike in contact football or rugby where they cart you off on a stretcher. That is the good thing and the bad thing. The good thing is we can go through the motions giving it a half hearted effort and not really get hurt. Unfortunately we don’t really get anywhere because the pain of not being 110% committed and focused is most of the time not immediately felt. It builds up over time and we get mortally injured slowly and don’t even realize it is happening until it is too late.

Most people just want to dip their toes in the water with things in life when what we really need to do is dive in! You see it every day – people showing up but not going full out. It will be the difference between winning and losing. The good thing is most people go through life only playing half speed. So if you go 110% you will not only score, but you will CRUSH IT and win!!

Week three of the NFL season is in the books, so do like they do in the pro’s with everything you do in life…drop the hammer and go 110%.

Score!!!!

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Morning Mojo: Never Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

By Tom Tognoli | September 19th, 2011 0 Comments

Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today…

I never really understood the value in that advice until the day I met John.

It was an early Saturday morning in October, and I was driving to a charity golf event up in Northern California. I was really looking forward to playing in this event, and I was even more excited because in order to get there, I’d be driving along one of my favorite stretches of asphalt in El Dorado County, called Latrobe Road. It’s a ten-mile drive that connects Highway 16 with Highway 50, and if you can imagine someone scribbling on a map with a crayon, that’s what Latrobe Road kinda looks like.

As I turned onto Latrobe, I floored it like a NASCAR driver getting the green flag! If you’ve ever had the experience of driving a sports car down a two-lane country road, then you know what I’m talking about. I had the wind in my hair, the gas pedal down, the music cranked up, and all I was thinking was “THIS IS MY DAY!”

But in a moment, everything changed.

As I rounded a blind corner, I came upon a man frantically waving his arms in an attempt to slow me down. (Talk about raining on your parade!) But what I hadn’t realized is that this guy was the driver of an SUV that had just been in a head-on accident with a motorcycle, and I was one of the first people on the scene.

For a moment, my mind was saying, “GO… JUST GO!” “Let someone else deal with it!”

But something inside me said, “STOP!”

So I pulled over, dialed 9-1-1, and simultaneously jumped out of my car to see how I could help.

The scene wasn’t pretty.

The motorcyclist was face down in the middle of the road, and there was twisted metal and debris everywhere. The impact from the collision had caused the rider’s helmet to come off, and his injuries were severe.

As I knelt down to try to revive him, I witnessed what I believed to be his last breath.

The 9-1-1 operator instructed me to turn him over and administer CPR. By this time, a couple more people had arrived and offered to help. As we gently turned him over onto his back, the hopelessness of the situation became very apparent.

Sadly, our efforts to revive him were futile, and as the paramedics showed up and took over, all that was left to do was to cover his lifeless body with one of those familiar yellow tarps.

I found out later, his name was John. He was a husband, a father, and by all accounts, he was a really good guy.

And he was my age.

That got me thinking about my own mortality. And I’m pretty sure that John did not leave his house that day thinking, “today is my last day.”

But what if today was your last day?

What have you been putting off until tomorrow?

I decided, in that very moment, that I would no longer put off until tomorrow what I can do today. I decided to begin taking the advice of my coach and mentor, Les Brown, who encourages us to, “Live full, die empty.”

This life is not a dress rehearsal, my friends. We only get one shot.

Please repeat these words out loud: “No more excuses! Today is MY day!”

Thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts with you, and make today great.

J. Shoop – Contributing writer
www.coachshoop.com

For more information on how to connect with J., send an email to jshoop@jshoop.com.

**********
This week, I’m pleased to bring to you some “guest MOJO,” from our very own J. Shoop.

Many of you know of J. Shoop as one of our top producing Area Sales Managers for Western Bancorp, but you may not know that he is also an author, coach, and aspiring professional speaker. He recently released his first co-authoring project and we’re happy to have him as part of our team!

We welcome J’s insights for this week’s installment of Monday Morning MOJO!

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Morning Mojo: Capitulation

By Tom Tognoli | September 12th, 2011 0 Comments

It was March 6, 2009 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 54% to 6,469 from its peak of 14,164 on October 9, 2007 – a span of 17 months. Everyone’s stomach was in their throat as they watched their 401K’s and personal wealth vanish before their eyes. I can’t tell you how many people I know who cashed out at or near the bottom of the market because they could not take the pain and fear anymore. Unfortunately for them, it was at that exact moment, when the pain and fear was at its height, that instead of pulling their money out, they should have put more in.

If you watch a financial news channel like CNBC, you have heard them using the word capitulation a lot over the last few years. Capitulation is a term mostly used in finance and it simply means to surrender or give up. This term indicates the point in time when investors decide to give up as a result of falling stock prices in the market. Basically it is the time when the pain is so bad that no one can take it anymore and everyone throws in the towel and gives up.

Unfortunately for most, at capitulation in the financial market, or really capitulation at almost anything in life, is EXACTLY the moment when you should not give up. It is the point when you need to dig deep and push through the pain and fear. It is the point when most massively successful people in life and savvy investors like Warren Buffett make all of their money and grow their fortune. They have confidence and jump in to capitalize on everyone else’s fear and the fact that they have given up. It sure is easy to score when the other team walks off the field. Candidly, that is the point I think we are at today in the housing market, but that is for a different conversation.

You know what would have happened to those who panicked, gave up, and cashed out of the market on March 6, 2009 if they would have stayed the course on their long term plan and kept their money in? Instead of sitting back today looking at a 54% loss they would have experienced a 75% gain from the bottom, from the capitulation point. And that is as of today after the market has pulled back over 1,000 points in the last 4 weeks.

So, what does this capitulation have to do with a Monday Morning MOJO? We all struggle with different areas of our life at times – our F-5: Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Finance. We may even reach capitulation in one or more areas. My challenge to you, is don’t give up. Dig deep when all hope seems lost and push through the pain and fear. If you can do this, instead of experiencing a significant loss you will experience a monumental gain only very few will ever experience. Just remember, capitulation is God’s way of seeing how committed we are and how bad we really want it.

Capitalize…don’t Capitulate!!

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Monday Mojo| Amy’s Inspiration

By Tom Tognoli | August 29th, 2011 0 Comments

It’s been 5 years since 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 storybook 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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Review your goals before moving forward.

By Tom Tognoli | August 22nd, 2011 0 Comments

Here is a great question…Where will you be in ten years from now if you keep going the way you are going?  Reflect for a moment on last week and ask yourself this question…”if I do exactly what I did last week, every week for the next 10 years where will I be personally…professionally…spiritually…in my relationships with those I love and care about the most…how will my health be…what will my bank account look like in 10 years from today?

So many people fail to realize that success at anything in life is the result of little successes achieved over a very long period of time.  Truly successful people are long-term thinkers.  They know that they must build upon each achievement and constantly learn new and better ways of doing things.  A regular review of your progress is essential part of goal setting.   A goal is a little more than a wish unless it has a timetable for completion.  Make sure your plan for your life includes short, medium and long term goals.  Revise your goals as things change…check them off when they are completed and set new bigger goals for yourself as you grow.  And take time to reflect often to make sure you are on the right track.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

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Monday Mojo: Tell me to kiss off, but don’t blow me off

By Tom Tognoli | August 15th, 2011 0 Comments

Earlier this month my close friend, who is a VP for a company here in Silicon Valley, and I went with our families on vacation together to Maine. While on the trip, I was talking with my buddy about some of the keys to being successful in life. We decided that if you want to know one sure fire way to completely sabotage your growth and success in business it would be to blow people off.

One of the biggest things that drive successful people crazy is when people blow them off or give them the old “well…maybe” brush-off. What makes successful people successful is they are DESISIVE and they hate it when they leave someone an email or a voicemail (sometimes 2 or 3 of them) and it is like their messages vaporize into space. It is why most people have hundreds or in some cases even thousands of emails in their inboxes. These types of people don’t want to deal with situations that may be uncomfortable so they blow the sender off instead of just dealing with it. If you want to make a simple job seem a lot harder then just keep putting it off. Most people are people pleasers and they may not have the courage to deliver bad news directly. They will duck dive around the issue at hand instead of just saying NO. They will just reply with” maybe”, “I will get back to you later” or they will blow the matter off all together. I am here to tell you that procrastinating your decisions in life is a death wish for your business and relationships.

If you want to make more money, be more successful, create not only better but also lasting relationships, be more respected, and downsize the amount of stress in life, find the courage to just say it like it is. Don’t avoid it. The person you are dealing with will not always like your answer, but trust me, even if your answer is NO, they will appreciate not being put through the ringer and they will respect you more for it. Tell them “yes” or tell them “no”, but do not tell them “maybe” or worse yet, don’t blow them off just because you don’t have the courage to say NO.

My message is simple this week. Be decisive and have the courage to communicate your decision. I promise it will have a huge positive impact on your life and business.

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Monday Mojo: Activity versus Productivity

By Tom Tognoli | August 8th, 2011 0 Comments

A while back I was having a conversation with one of my partners and Chairman of Intero, Bob Moles. He made a comment which is so basic and so true, but so many of us over look, “There is activity and there is productivity. They don’t pay the same per hour.”

It does not matter whether you are building cars, building computers, selling houses or running a company, there are always people in every organization that get paid more and climb the ladder of success faster than others. They are the 20% of the 80/20 rule. They have the same 24 hours in a day and they don’t necessarily work more; in many cases they don’t work as many hours as some of the others. But they have figured out how to be productive with their time. So, when they show up to work they work and do the most productive activities even if they don’t like it.

Let’s use sales as an example. Who likes cold calling and prospecting? Let’s be honest, no one likes it. Who likes making those calls and hearing no over and over again and having people hang up on you? No one. Yet, in sales that is what successful people do. If you aren’t in sales and don’t like sales people, remember that sales is one of the most critical components to any business, even if you are Google, Apple or Facebook. They focus on prospecting and generating leads or generating money from investors. The other sales people tend to sit at their desk and do what I call reactive activities or use the hope and pray approach. Playing on the internet, chatting with office mates, drinking their cup of Joe and staring at their phone wishing it to ring, please ring. They are the 80% of the 80/20 rule.

My challenge to everyone this week is find the most successful person in your organization no matter what you do and find out what they do with each day from the moment their feet hit the floor until the moment they go to bed. Remember it is probably not just what they do at work that makes them successful. My guess is it won’t be as glamorous and easy as you might think. Then compare it to what you do every day. Make the necessary adjustments and go for it!!!

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Monday Mojo: Today I Will Make A Difference

By Tom Tognoli | July 25th, 2011 0 Comments

This week, I’m pleased to bring to you some “guest MOJO,” from our very own J. Shoop.

Many of you know J. Shoop as one of our top producing Area Sales Managers for Western Bancorp, but you may not know that he is also an author, coach, and aspiring professional speaker. His first co-authoring project is set to be released on July 15th, and is available now on Amazon.com!

We welcome J’s insights for this week’s installment of Monday Morning MOJO!

Every day we are faced with a multitude of choices.

In my opinion, one of the greatest freedoms human beings enjoy is the freedom to choose our thoughts. We can choose to focus upon and think about what’s right in our world, or we can choose to focus on what’s not.

One of my favorite inspirational authors, Max Lucado, wrote a book over 15 years ago called “On The Anvil.” The excerpt below is from his book.

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.

I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously. No failure is fatal. It’s OK to stumble…I will get up. It’s OK to fail…I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking or hugging or thanking or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends.

Today I will make a difference.

One of the many reasons that Intero Real Estate continues to be such a successful company and brand is because of their never-ending commitment to creating an environment of optimism and enthusiasm. While much of the real estate community is still asking “What happened?,” Intero is making things happen!

I’d like to encourage you to start each day reading aloud the words above. I assure you that you will notice an immediate impact in your attitude, and it will fortify you for the day ahead.

Thank you,

J. Shoop
www.coachshoop.com

For more information on how to connect with J., send an email to jshoop@jshoop.com.

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