Archive for the ‘accountability’ Category

Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | April 12th, 2009 0 Comments

Quit wasting time looking for the instant gratification solution and get to work on chipping away at it.

Good Morning MOJO,

I am here and I want to get there, but the gap is so wide it is overwhelming. Have you ever felt like that? I know I sure have and quite frankly it feels like it is almost be too much to even deal with at times. We can feel this way about our job, our health, our faith, our finances, our relationships…you name it. I will bet all of us have at least one area of our life where we are dealing with this right now. So, what are we to do? Throw in the towel and say screw it, it’s just too hard, or what? NO WAY!!!!!!!

We are an instant gratification society and there in lies part of our problem. We want it now…texting, email, internet, downloading music…you name it, we can have most things we want in seconds today. Unfortunately, for the most important things in life there is no quick fix…quick solution…there is no text, email, or website. It takes time…it takes discipline…it takes accountability.

So, here is our challenge. Quit wasting time looking for the instant gratification solution and get to work on chipping away at it. It’s like this…if you want to get fit and healthy but have been eating like crap for years and not exercised in decades it is not going to happen overnight. Heck it is not going to happen in days or weeks. Accept the fact that it is going to take months…or perhaps years to accomplish it. And in the end, to maintain it, we will need to stick with it for a lifetime. The key is to start small…just ride 20 minutes on the bike, 3 times a week. Then build on that bit by bit over time…after a few months you will get up to 60 minutes+, 5 times a week+. Then with discipline, accountability, consistency and time, you will experience the breakthrough you are looking for. It works this way for anything worthwhile in life. No matter what it is we are trying to accomplish in life remember the metaphor of starting with just 20 minutes, 3 times a week on the bike. Not an hour…not 7 days a week. Just start small and build on it over time. Because if we really want it and if we stick with it, we will be amazed at we can accomplish…we will bridge that huge gap and get there.

Be passionate, but be patient and make it a Powerful week.

Go BIG!!!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | September 21st, 2008 0 Comments

It is so interesting to me that for most people, the pain of work, discipline and accountability…the pain of doing what needs to be done is worse than the pain of regret and the pain of living a so so life…a just getting by life.

Good Morning MOJO,

Last week I was talking with, Scott Chase, a VP of our mortgage company, about what it takes to be successful.  In our jobs it is our responsibility to push people…to inspire people…to get people to do more than they are comfortable with so they can achieve supreme success.  It is our jobs to be the example of how to work…of how to live.  And many times it can be a very frustrating thing when you see a talented person who has all the gifts…the smarts…the God given talents, but does not have the X factor.  And so the story goes….do you know this guy below?  Hopefully not too well.

He’s a 9 to 5er but for some crazy reason actually expects to make the same kind of money as the guy in the cube next to him that works 7am to 7pm.  He has all the excuses in the world for the reason he is not as successful as he wants to be…it’s the market, it’s my company, it’s my spouse, it’s my kids, its my….  Plug in whatever you want for the excuse, but the bottom line is its MY WORK ETHIC plain and simple.  Most people are not willing to put in the hours and they are not willing to do those things the 7 to 7ers are doing.  They show up, play grab ass, surf the web, hang at the water cooler, ping their friends jokes, talk about how great they are and do whatever they can to get through the day without actually sucking it up and doing what they need to do to be successful.  Then they look for someone to blame.  LOOK IN THE MIRROR…yell at that guy…he is the one stopping you.  Nothing else, period!!!!!  We all can keep busy during the day doing stuff, but those who are successful do the tough stuff…the stuff others are not willing to do.   The bottom line is those who are tremendously successful put in the extra hours, work their ass off, are incredibly discipline and are willing to do whatever needs to be done to be successful period…not just what they want to do…not just the bare minimum.  Typically the harder it is to do something the greater the reward…the more money you will make doing it…the more healthy you will be…the better your relationships will be…the more successful you will be at whatever it is you are doing.

It is so interesting to me that for most people, the pain of work, discipline and accountability…the pain of doing what needs to be done is worse than the pain of regret and the pain of living a so so life…a just getting by life.  Don’t take the path of least resistance…there is nothing there that you want.  Roll up your sleeves and attack your job…attack your health…attack your life and you will be successful.  We have to out work them and do those things most are not willing to do to be successful.  When we do that we will kick some ass and be a Rockstar at whatever it is we do…student, teacher, parent, ditch digger, athlete, sales person, executive…  It does not matter what it is….work harder, work longer and do what others are not willing to do in life and reap the rewards.  Success is hiding in those couple of hours no one else is willing to work…success is hiding in that last phone call when you don’t want to make it and everyone has turned off the lights and gone home….it is in the last rep when you cannot do one more.  That is where all of the success is…everything up until that point is simply maintenance.  It is that difficult and it is that simple.

Go BIG and make it a POWERFUL week!!!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | September 8th, 2008 0 Comments

When you need someone you can depend on to get the job done ask the busiest person…the one who on the surface appears to have no more time.

Good Morning MOJO,

You ever notice when you really need someone you can depend on…someone who you know will come through no matter what, it is the busiest person.  The person who on the surface seems like there is no way in the world they can handle one more thing.  You know why?  Because the idle ones have too many excuses…to many substitutes…too many shortcuts.  Almost everything in life is that way. Unfortunately most of us will never know our true capacity for achievement because we never challenge ourselves to perform at our best every day. 

This is most obvious when we are presented with an opportunity that really interests us.  No matter how busy we are, when there is something we want to do…something we like to do, somehow we will find the time to pursue it…right?  On the other hand, those things that we don’t like or those things we don’t want to do are easily postponed and eventually forgotten.  Successful people are not procrastinators…the most successful and effective people have a sense of urgency.  They just grab a hold of it and get it done!!!!  They set deadlines and force themselves to establish priorities by what is most important and not by what they like to do the most.  Deadlines….that is the magic word.  Unfortunately, way too many people never set a deadline to accomplish those things which are most important.  They put it on the proverbial “list”.  You know “the list” I am talking about.  The one you write shit down on that you never have any intention on doing.  Because those things we don’t put on “the list”, we usually just dive in and get done…usually before the deadline…right?

Remember, we are not naturally wound to do all the things we need to do to be successful in life…personally, professionally…health…etc.  Because usually those things required to be successful at any area in life, involve doing something we don’t naturally like to do…at least not in the beginning.  Otherwise everyone one would be getting everything they want in life…right?  Here are a few examples…

  • Exercise versus Watching TV

  • Saving Money versus Spending Money

  • Salad versus Cheeseburger and fries

  • Showing up first and leaving last versus Showing up last and leaving first

  • Getting up early versus waiting until the absolute last minute like the rest of the world

  • Making that tough phone call versus blowing it off until…

Here is the interesting thing though…if you make a commitment to do what is required to be successful, you will eventually become addicted to the success and then the pain of doing what is required will actually become something you thrive on.  I think it takes 90 days to make this happen.  At 90 days, it has been my experience that is the point when you go from feeling good that you accomplished it to the point that you feel like crap if you don’t.  That is the key and that is when you know you have changed that area of your life.  It’s at that point when if you don’t do it, it would be like not brushing your teeth or taking a shower…that just would not happen.  At least I hope!!!!

When you see other people that have what you want…it is not that they are more gifted…it is that they are more disciplined and accountable to doing those things required to be successful.  So, here is what we all need to do…if there is something we need to get done, even if it does not require a deadline, SET ONE!!!!!!  You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short amount of time if that is all the time you have.  Remember, work/life expands to meet the time allotted.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day. 

JUST DO IT!!!!!!!

Have a Powerful week!!!!