Posts Tagged ‘Monday Morning Mojo’

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Monday Mojo: My Big Audacious New Year’s Resolution…Easy Does It!!!!

By Tom Tognoli | January 4th, 2010 0 Comments

Today marks the first full week of a New Year and a New Decade. It is an opportunity for a fresh start on whatever it is that we have wanted to accomplish with our health, faith, family, business, and finances. We just need to remember it is the beginning and not the end, so we need to pace ourselves. Don’t let what happened to your last year’s resolutions happen to this year’s resolutions. Be realistic and don’t burn out.

We all have these big audacious things we want to accomplish in life, but remember, if it is really worth doing, it is probably not going to get done in a day, in a week, or in a month.  If it could be done quickly, we probably would have already done it. For the most part, most New Year’s resolutions are life changes we need to make – not day changes, week changes, month changes, or year changes. We need to look at our life or our resolution like running a marathon. We cannot wake up one day after not running our entire life (or for years) and expect that we are going to knock out running 26 ½ miles.  But, if we start small, perhaps with something as easy as a 1 mile walk and build on it, anyone can do it. It is about committing ourselves to something we know we can maintain and building upward – not choosing something that is going to bury us.  It is also important that we have “mini goals” so we are experiencing success/winning along the way to that big audacious goal.

Using the metaphor of running a marathon – start with lightly jogging or walking one mile everyday and over a month or so, build that to lightly jogging 3 miles a day. Then over the next month build it to lightly jogging 3 to 5 miles, then 7 miles, then 10 miles, then…before you know it, if you are consistent, you will be ready to run that 26 ½ mile marathon. You will be accomplishing whatever your Big Audacious Goal is. The coolest thing is once you have that under your belt, can you can begin to imagine what next year’s resolution is going to look like – talk about big and audacious.

Easy does it…

Let’s make 2010 our best year yet!

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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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Monday Morning Mojo: Be One of the Few to Have the Best Things in Life

By Tom Tognoli | December 7th, 2009 0 Comments

I want this…

I want that…

I want to look like…

I want my relationship with _____ to be…

I want my bank account to be…

I want my job to…

I want my health to be…

I want my weight to be…

I want my life to be…

I don’t care where we are in life, in business, in health, in faith, in relationships, in our bank account. I think we are always looking for ways to make it better – right?  As we head into the holiday’s and start thinking about how next year is going to be different, and how we are going to get more of what we want, here is what we all need to remember.  The best things in life are hard to get and require a lot of discipline and accountability to get them otherwise everyone would have them.

Earlier this week I was talking with a buddy of mine who had just gotten back from the doctor and was a bit rattled with how high his blood pressure and cholesterol was.  He is about to turn 55 and his father had passed away at the young age of 56 from a heart attack. Here is what I shared with him - this applies to anything in life, not just your health.

“Big Man – 12 months from now, let’s see you at 175 lbs., with a 170 cholesterol, and your blood pressure at 110/75 – on no medication and no booze. You will be inspiring your children, inspiring your family, inspiring your friends, and inspiring the world! Remember the best things in life are hard to get otherwise everyone would have them – be one of the few that does. Work hard on this and you will find a peace and success you never thought was possible.

Trust me – I know firsthand. Remember when I weighed 210 with my cholesterol level at 310, 180/110 blood pressure – I was stressed-out, frustrated, and unhappy.  I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THAT! Unfortunately most people live their whole life like that and never experience the freedom and relief.  Don’t be one of them, be one of the few. JUST DO IT!”

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Monday Morning Mojo: The Power of a Smile

By Tom Tognoli | November 30th, 2009 0 Comments

I saw this study which was detailed in the journal of Motivation and Emotion.  I thought it was worth sharing for a mojo, it’s pretty interesting.  It is titled “If you want to know whether your marriage will survive, look at your spouse’s yearbook photos”.  I am sure photographs not only can help predict whether your marriage will be successful, but can help predict whether we will be successful in many other areas of our lives. Just remember it is never too late to start smiling.

Psychologists have found that how much people smile in old photographs can predict their later success in marriage.

In one test, the researchers looked at people’s college yearbook photos, and rated their smile intensity from 1 to 10. None of the people who fell within the top 10 percent of smile strength had divorced, while within the bottom 10 percent of smilers, almost one in four had had a marriage that ended, the researchers say. (Scoring was based on the stretch in two muscles: one that pulls up on the mouth, and one that creates wrinkles around the eyes.)

In a second trial, the research team asked people over age 65 to provide photos from their childhood (the average age in the pictures was 10 years old). The researchers scored each person’s smile, and found that only 11 percent of the biggest smilers had been divorced, while 31 percent of the frowners had experienced a broken marriage.

Overall, the results indicate that people who frown in photos are five times more likely to get a divorce than people who smile.

While the connection is striking, the researchers stress that they can’t conclude anything about the cause of the correlation.

“Maybe smiling represents a positive disposition towards life,” said study leader Matthew Hertenstein, a psychologist at DePauw University in Indiana. “Or maybe smiling people attract other happier people, and the combination may lead to a greater likelihood of a long-lasting marriage. We don’t really know for sure what’s causing it.”

Hertenstein said he has considered other explanations, such as the possibility that people who smile more often tend to attract more friends, and a larger support network makes it easier to keep a marriage healthy.

The results of the study fit into a larger pattern of research that has found many personality characteristics can be determined from very thin slices of behavior. Basically, we often reveal ourselves in the most subtle, simple ways.

And smiling in photographs has been shown to be correlated with a number of traits, including a generally happier disposition.

“I think [our results] go along with a lot of the literature that’s been coming out over the last five to 10 years, which shows that positive emotionality is incredibly important in our lives,” Hertenstein told LiveScience. “There are many, many beneficial outcomes to a positive disposition.”

The findings are also notable because they found a connection between photos taken when people were young and marriage outcomes that sometimes occurred much later.

“It feeds into this idea that what’s occurring earlier in our lives in terms of our present situation and our mental state can predict things that occur decades later,” Hertenstein said. “Showing the continuity in who we are is really important.”

The good news is it is never too late.  Start smiling today.

Make it a powerful week!

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Monday Morning Mojo: Challenge+Crisis+Pain =OPPORTUNITY

By Tom Tognoli | November 23rd, 2009 0 Comments

Why does life throw challenges and crisis at us, like the crisis we have all been dealing with for the last year?

Because that is the only way we will change. It is the only way we will rid ourselves of evil, bad habits, greed, ego and the wrong priorities.  It’s human nature wanting to stay the course, not to rock the boat, and usually the only way we will change is if we are forced into it by some outside influence, i.e. financial crisis, death, illness, catastrophe.  We have to look at the challenges of this last year as an opportunity and as a way to re-prioritize what is important.

What has happened with most people this last year is they are focused, no they are consumed, by what has been taken away and not focused on being thankful for what they have and the opportunities of tomorrow.  Step back for a moment – the reason things get taken away, the reason life throws us challenges and crisis is because it is the only way we will wake up and quit overlooking those things which are really most important in life – our family, our friends, our health, our spirituality, balance, etc.  Challenge and crisis gets thrown at us because it is the only thing that will slap us in the face hard enough to get our attention. Think back in your life to a time of crisis – yes you may have lost something or someone. There may have been a scare in your life of some kind, and with that crisis a door opened. A new person appeared when you looked in the mirror, usually a better person, a more thankful person, a more humble person, a more caring person, and a person with better priorities.

In every crisis and in every challenge there is an opportunity. We just have to find it.  But, until we let go of the pain and anger of what we have lost, and focus on all that we have which is really most important, the agony will not stop.  And, once we do focus on what we have, life will be even better than it was before. This week and beyond, make a commitment EVERYDAY to give thanks and be grateful for everything and everyone you have in your life. Quit being consumed by what you have lost, or the pain will not stop and you will not be able to move forward towards accomplishing greatness.  If you can do this, not only will the pain stop, but life will be better and you will be more at peace than ever before.

Remember, life is about who we become and how we grow when faced with challenge, with crisis, and with pain.  It is what life is all about. It is why we are here.  So step back and look in the mirror, who are you becoming?

This week is Thanksgiving – be thankful and be grateful for all we have in our lives.  The rest is just “stuff”.

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Being late – a life killer

By Tom Tognoli | November 15th, 2009 2 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…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 their still late!!!!!  And they wonder why their life always seems to be totally out of control…why they are always stressed out.  And the excuses are always the same…I just have to 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 those, 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, 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…lets face it, it’s a personal issue…its just pain and 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 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 set 10 minute early…from the clock next to my bed, to my watch, to the clock in my car…everything I can change to 10 minutes early I do.  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!

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Change or Die?!

By Tom Tognoli | November 8th, 2009 0 Comments

What if a well-informed, trusted authority figure said you had to make difficult and enduring changes in the way you think and act?

If you didn’t make those changes, you would die soon. A lot sooner than you had to.

Could you change when change really mattered?

Yes, you say? Try again. Most likely you wouldn’t change.

Don’t believe me? Let me share with you the odds – 9 to 1. That’s 9 to 1 against you.

Do you realize a SMALL percent of the population consumes the VAST majority of the health care budget for diseases that are very well known, and by in large behavioral?  We are sick because of how we choose to live our lives, not because of any environmental or genetic factors beyond our control.  They say it could be as much as 80% of our health care budget is consumed by these behavioral issues – smoking, eating, drinking, stress and lack of exercise.

Could behaviors be driving issues in more than one area of our lives? Could we ultimately be in control of the aspects we felt were a product of conditions outside our control?

Do you want some more proof of the challenge we all face in change?

There was a study done back in 1995 of people who went through bypass surgery (open heart surgery).  Of those studied, within 2 years from surgery 90% went right back to their old unhealthy lifestyle. So, if the fear of DEATH doesn’t initiate change – is there any hope?  More importantly how do we get our stubborn brain to stop resisting change so tenaciously. Why do we fight it even when we KNOW if we don’t it will kill us?

Well, knowing that motivating people with the fear of death wasn’t the right approach because 90% went right back to where they were before, the study tried a different approach. They decided to changed the patients focus. Have any idea to what? The joy of LIVING.

The study took 300 patients and put a 100% daily effort into focusing their minds on all the daily things that make life great. They coached them on their mindset, their attitude, their daily habits, and surrounded them continually with the RIGHT influences. It was this change of focus – taking it away the fear of death and into the joy of living – that allowed 77% of the patients to sustain the lifestyle changes.

What changes do we need to make?  Where is our focus – in fear or in joy?

Its time to make some changes now!

Download and read Alan Deutschman’s complete Change or Die article, my inspiration for today’s Mojo. It’s an eye opener – definitely worth taking the time to read.

Make is a GREAT week and a GREAT life!

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Positive vs. Negative

By Tom Tognoli | November 2nd, 2009 0 Comments

Every time you see them, you try and avoid them like the plague because they are just so negative and draining. To them everything is a crisis. Everyone and everything is out to get them. Nothing works and everything that is not going right in their world is someone else’s fault – never theirs. They never smile and they always seem to find the negative in everything and everybody, never the positive. Anytime there is a small setback, it is like the world is coming to an end. They treat life like it is a WIN/LOSE game and trust me, there is no such thing. Whenever someone wins and someone loses, both lose. Does this type of person sound familiar? Do you know people like this? I sure do.

Then there are those people you love being around because for whatever reason they just have this positive energy about them which makes you feel good. They are always fired up and have a smile on their face. When there are small set backs, they seem to find the positive side or don’t even acknowledge it. They just keep moving forward as if it is an expected part of the process. They are the ones who keep their emotions under control. They don’t yell, they don’t scream, they don’t attack, they don’t fight and they don’t blame. Now don’t get me wrong, they are passionate and fired up. They just don’t fight it. They seem to always find a way to use the flow to their advantage. They aren’t pushing. They seem to be getting pulled through life. They are WIN/WIN people – always looking for ways that they can WIN, along with everyone else.

The interesting thing about these two different types of people is that the positive ones almost always seem to win in all aspects of their life – personal, professional, business, health, you name it. They actually say people who smile and laugh a lot (the positive ones) live longer and are much healthier and happier. The negative ones always seem to look unhealthy and anxious. They seem to struggle in business and in their relationships, and they look run down.

So, my question to you is which one are you? Be honest. Is your energy good energy or bad energy?  Fired up energy or draining energy? If you asked those around you to describe your energy, what would they say? Fired up and infectious or exhausting and draining. Are you positive or negative? Do you fight life or do you use those people and things around you to propel you to success.

It is a choice. Another one of those small choices I write about every Monday morning.  It is the cumulative affect of all those small choices that will get you are looking for in life.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

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Monday Morning Mojo: Will You Make the Change?

By Tom Tognoli | October 26th, 2009 0 Comments

So, here is the question: If people won’t make small changes to save their life, how in the world will people make small changes to make more money, have better relationships, have a better business, or have a better life?  That is the bazillion dollar question and if someone can figure out the answer you will make the founders of Google look like chumps.  Here’s a thought: Maybe in order to start making more money, having better relationships, having a better business and having a better life we need to start by making the most important thing we all have better…our health.

If I told you that I could give you some tips on things you can do to live longer, maybe even live to be 100, would you do it?  Would you make the changes? I hope the answer all of us would say is YES!!!!!!  Well, here’s your chance.  Go to www.livingto100.com and do the LivingTo100 Calculator.  At the end of the “test” it will tell you, based on your answers to the questions, how long you can expect to live.  It will also give you some tips on things you can do to live longer.

Here’s my prediction: If you take the test and if you make the necessary changes to live to 100, you will not only live longer, but because you will feel better and be more fired up that you are doing all the right things to give yourself a shot at making it to 100, you will make more money, have better relationships, have a better business, and just plain and simply have a better life.  

Let’s start by making some changes in the most important area of our life and it will help us make some changes in the other areas of our life.

Here’s to making it to 100++++

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Monday Morning Mojo: Will Smith’s Wisdom on Life

By Tom Tognoli | October 18th, 2009 0 Comments

Funny, I would not think of Will Smith as being an inspiring leader, would you?

When you watch him on the TV or the movie screen he just appears to be this talented actor who got lucky.  Wow, after I watched this, I have a totally new appreciation for him and who he is.

Grab a cup of coffee and watch this 10 minute video as Will Smith shares his wisdom on life. Then after that on a scale of 1 to 10 rate yourself on the list of things he discusses below. Are you doing them? Do you believe them? Are you willing to die for them? Then start with the ones you ranked yourself lowest on and get to work on changing it.

  1. I have a GREAT TIME with my life and I want to share it.
  2. I LOVE LIVING and it is infectious.
  3. GREATNESS exists in all of us. It is not this elusive God-like feature that only the special among us have, it is in all of us.
  4. It is simple – this is what I believe and I am willing to die for it, period. It’s that simple. Don’t make it anymore complicated than that.
  5. Don’t think that where we are is where you are going to be, or where we are going to end up. Where you are almost does not matter.
  6. There is no shortcut to success. There is talent and there is skill. Talent we have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours of beating on your craft. I love this – Will Smith says he does not consider himself particularly talented…he says where he excels is his ridiculous, sickening work ethic.  While the other guy is sleeping, I am working. While the other guy is eating, I am working. No matter how talented you are your talent is going to fail you if you are not skilled. You have to dedicate yourself to being better everyday.
  7. The only thing distinctly different with me is I am not afraid to die on a treadmill. You may have more talent than me and you might be smarter than me, but if we get on the treadmill together you are getting off first or I am going to die, it is that simple.
  8. You don’t just try to build a wall – you say ‘I am going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid’ and if you do that every single day soon you will have a wall.
  9. Focus on making a difference – if you are going to be here, there is a necessity to make a difference. I want the world to be better because I was here. I want my life to mean something. Your life will become better by making other lives better.
  10. I want to represent an idea. I want to represent possibilities that you can really make what you want. I can create whatever I want to create.
  11. You have to believe! The first step before anyone else is going to believe, it is you have to believe it. You can’t have a plan B because that distracts from plan A.
  12. There is a delusional quality that all successful people have to have – you have to believe that something different, than has happened the last 50 million years can happen.  Confucius said that ‘he who says he can, and he who says he can’t, are both usually right.’
  13. Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity. Why would you be realistic? What is the point of being realistic? The second I decide it is done, it is already done.
  14. Our thoughts are physical in the universe. Don’t let the universe push you around – bend the universe. Make a choice and don’t be at effect of the things that are happening around you. Just decide and the universe is going to get out of your way.
  15. To be as successful as I want to be, it takes a desperate obsessive focus.
  16. You cannot be scared to die for the truth. The truth is the only thing that is going to be constant.

Link to Will’s favorite book – The Alchemist – by Paulo Coelho

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