Posts Tagged ‘Focus’

Wednesday Wellness: Reach Beyond the Known

By Tammy Parkinson | June 16th, 2010 0 Comments

Last Sunday I had the incredible opportunity to ride around Lake Tahoe with a group of some of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever ridden with.  
 

We began this journey together last January and rode together every Saturday to get ourselves in shape as a team in order to ride in Tahoe. Our aim was to ride at altitude without struggling, but most importantly our end goal was to enjoy ourselves above anything else. 
 

Why did we choose Tahoe? Actually, our group instigator, as we’ll call him, had his own private goal to kick a debilitating fear which appeared a couple of years ago. He had a massive heart attack, nearly died and upon his survival realized a few things in his life needed to change. He knew if he could recondition his heart to ride at 7,000 feet without incident, he will have conquered his inner fear as well as reaching an overall new fitness level. During the journey, however, what also occurred was a change in nearly all the other rider’s health, mind set, focus, determination, nutrition and strength.  
 

You see, what I realized in observing this group is every one of us has a fear we want to overcome. Each one of us has many! Each one of us mentally stop ourselves from conquering our fears, but when that special person comes along to give us a word of encouragement or, better yet, show us what we can do beyond our own beliefs, we begin to expand our own boundaries. We reach a little further, we stop stopping ourselves and we start inspiring others to reach beyond their limits.
 

Over the last 6 months we have witnessed a change in all of us, knowing we can do more than what we thought was conceivable. The vibration of this mindset starts to spread like wild fire.
 

During the ride last Sunday, there were riders of all ages, sizes and fitness levels. There were even a few on unicycles (now that’s a feat)! Everyone has a different story and purpose, everyone was inspired by something different, but with the miracles I witnessed in the months before the ride, during the ride and especially after the ride, I am left with a feeling that not only has inspired me to continue on my healthy path, but has stirred the motivation in a new group to reach beyond their health and fitness levels.
 

Thank you to those who were and are courageous by reaching beyond the known.

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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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Thursday’s Thoughts on Leadership: Planning is The First Act in the Script of Success

By Gino Blefari | February 25th, 2010 0 Comments

Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference. Those simple, seemingly insignificant details often have the greatest impact.

They lie in the hours, minutes and seconds of our lives.

In his book The Ultimate Sales Machine, Chet Holmes lays out a system for managing our days more effectively. One of his rules is to list the six most important things you need to do each day and, by hook or crook, get these things completed. Every day. No excuses.

To do that, Holmes argues, requires figuring out exactly how much time each thing will take.

Forty Niner coach Bill Walsh was also a master of scripting his way to success. When Walsh coached at Stanford he scripted out the first 15-25 plays of every game. The result? Stanford scored on the first possession 8 times in 11 games – an unheard of rate of success.

I began to understand that this success was not an accident; it was written in a script.

It was with this inspiration that I began create my script – my “Perfect Day.”

Much like a personal playbook, on the surface, this Perfect Day script is little more than a to-do list. Scratch beneath it just a bit, though, and it becomes so much more. Each evening, before going to sleep, I plan out every facet of my upcoming day – from my morning walk to my evening reading.

Each day, I have constants, like going to the gym, eating dinner, and even taking a little free time for myself. Each day has time that’s flexible, but is built in to the same time each day, so that I can tackle important business that mightn’t have been foreseen.

With my script, I know exactly what I need to accomplish each day. I know where I’m going to be and how long I have to meet my goals. This simple plan gives me direction. It gives me focus. It puts me in the mindset to take 100% control of each and every day. In short, it gives me the power to succeed.

You’d be amazed at the power such a simple idea can hold. Take a cue from Coach Walsh and start scripting the plays of your perfect day. Give yourself the power to succeed!

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Monday Mojo: Masterminding Your Way to Success

By Tom Tognoli | January 25th, 2010 0 Comments

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 a top-producing loan officer with LoanSource/Intero Mortgage, but you may not know that he is also a Certified LifeSuccess Consultant, licensed to teach the coaching material produced by Bob Proctor. (You may recall Bob Proctor from the highly-acclaimed movie, The Secret).

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

Contributing writer – J.Shoop

Recently, I was having a conversation with one of Intero’s founders, Tom Tognoli, and we were discussing the benefits of participating in a Mastermind group. We agreed that many are missing out on the benefits of masterminding because they either lack a clear understanding of what a Mastermind group is, or they simply don’t know how to find one to join.

The common definition of masterminding is “The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

But what does that really mean?

Super Bowl Sunday is coming soon. If you think about it, a football team is really a sort of Mastermind group. When all of a team’s knowledge and effort is combined in a spirit of harmony, working toward a definite purpose, their odds of winning increase significantly. A sense of magic or destiny is often created, and the team appears to be “in the zone”.

Contrast that approach with a less-successful team, say the Raiders (hey, I’m a fan so don’t hate on me!) – But let’s look at their results… For many years they have shown that having elite, talented individuals is not enough. They may all share the same goal (to win a Super bowl), but internally they suffer from their own self-created chaos.

When you are lacking in harmony, you won’t win, no matter how badly you may want to. Or if by chance you do win, the wins will be inconsistent and unsustainable.

So how can we apply this awareness in our lives and businesses?

The idea of masterminding is certainly not new, but it’s probably the most misunderstood and most under-utilized concept in business today. The primary benefit of participation is connecting with a select group of like-minded people interested in helping you succeed.

You’ve likely heard the expression before that “two heads are better than one”. This is because there is a unique energy created when two or more like-minded individuals are connected, and this synergy can be quite powerful.

Mastermind groups bring resources and connections into your world that you would have never had access to on your own. Additionally, you benefit from differing perspectives, input, and feedback, combined with accountability and inspiration, enabling you to maintain focus on the achievement of your goals.

In our lives careers, we are usually solely responsible for our results. Subsequently, we often feel that we need to do everything by ourselves. Yet intrinsically we know that no significant achievements are ever accomplished without the help of others.

And let’s face it. Business can be hard. We sometimes get so wrapped up in the details and the day-to-day “stuff” that we often miss opportunities for valuable feedback that could make an enormous positive impact in our lives and in our careers.

As a benefit to your subscription to Monday Morning Mojo, I’ve put together a Mastermind Coaching series that is available to you at NO CHARGE. (MOJO has picked up the tab.)

We’ll help you to focus on your goals while educating you on the information and principles contained in the book “You Were Born Rich” by Bob Proctor, and introduce you to other authors, lecturers, and speakers who’ve written about these subjects.

For more information on how you can participate in an upcoming Mastermind group:

Send an email today at jshoop@jshoop.com, with Mastermind Coaching in the subject line. We have several time slots available, and we’ll email you some dates for you to choose from. You can participate from anywhere, as we have both live and teleconferencing options available.

I’m looking forward to helping you to further develop your MOJO in 2010!

J. Shoop
www.coachshoop.com

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Respecting the Nature of Nature

By Tammy Parkinson | August 26th, 2009 0 Comments

About a week and a half ago,  I was happily riding my bike up in Tahoe and while going down one of the easiest trails I’ve been on I went from chatting with my girlfriend to flipping through the air, landing on my knees and face and having my bike flip over me.  I don’t know why I fell and I really don’t remember how I hurt myself so badly, but I am bruised all over.

Of course I have run through the mindset of how lucky I am that nothing was broken and how much worse so many others have it.  I am thankful that in time, I will be up and “running”, and of course I am grateful that I still am excited to ride!

What I have spent a lot of time thinking about is WHY I fell.  I lost my focus.  I was thinking about what I was going to do later in the day and talking with my friend.  I lost respect for the nature of nature and the intensity of the sport I was practicing.

When we (I) go for a ride, workout, hike, water ski, river rafting, or anything we do during the summer, it’s important to think about the conditions of the trail, water, and terrain.  We need to focus on the way our body is moving, where there might be boulders and rocks, if there are other people around who might get in our path, etc.

Take great respect for nature and for the bodies we have worked hard to keep healthy.  Take a pause to focus on what you are doing and how you are doing it and keep your eye on the event!

As another “nugget” from this experience, I realize that although I don’t remember how I fell, I realize (based on where my bruises are) that I basically hit almost every body part!  What’s cool is although I have bruising, I realize I must’ve been pretty darn flexible to survive without anything broken!  Now I am ever so grateful for all those yoga classes and core workouts!  I’m sure they saved me weeks of recovery!!

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