Archive for the ‘discipline’ 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 | December 14th, 2008 0 Comments

The 2 minute drill

Good Morning MOJO,

I was watching a little football yesterday and it’s interesting how 2 teams can play for 58 minutes, but in the end, most the time the game is decided by which team is best in the final 2 minutes. It is the team that can suck it up when they are beaten up and tired that end up being the winners. 

Just like football, it’s the final 2 minutes that determine the winners and the losers at almost everything in life.  Everything we do up until that last 2 minutes just keeps us in the game and gives us a chance to win.  Well…we are in the final 2 minutes of 2008, and the winners of 2008 will be determined by what we do between now and the end of the year.  I know everyone is tired and everyone needs a break…me too, but it’s those few who can dig deep, remain discipline and push through the pain that will finish up 2008 the winners.  Now don’t’ get me wrong, I am all for spending time over the holidays with friends and family…I am all for having some fun, but I just see so many people take their foot off the gas at Thanksgiving and coast into the end of the year.  And then once January 1st hits, they are at a dead stop.  Then it’s really not until the middle or end of January before they are back into “game shape”. 

As I said, I am for taking a couple of days off over Thanksgiving…taking a couple of days off over Christmas and taking a couple of days off over New Years, but I am not for taking off the entire 4th quarter of the game…I am up for finishing the game of 2008 strong.  This applies to everything in life…from our jobs, to our health, to our spirituality, to our relationships…everything!!!!!  The beautiful part is if you are one of the few who chose to finish the game of 2008 strong there will be a lot less competition…everyone else will be sleeping…everyone else will be taking the final 2 minutes off.   And because there are a lot less people in the game in the final 2 minutes of the year, it makes it a lot easier to score.

Have a powerful week and finish 2008 STRONG!!!!!!!


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!!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | June 16th, 2008 0 Comments

Nothing shapes our life more than the commitments we choose to make. Our commitments develop us or they destroy us, but either way, they define us. Tell me what you are committed to, and I will tell you what you will be in twenty years. We become whate

Good Morning MOJO,

They are stuck in infancy, remaining in diapers and booties.  The reason is that they never INTENDED to grow up.  You have to WANT to grow, DECIDE to grow, MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO GROW, and be PERSISTENT in growing.

Nothing shapes our life more than the commitments we choose to make.  Our commitments develop us or they destroy us, but either way, they define us.  Tell me what you are committed to, and I will tell you what you will be in twenty years.  We become whatever we are committed to.  Unfortunately, many are afraid to commit to anything and just drift through life.  Others make half-hearted commitments, which leads to frustration and mediocrity.  There is a difference between commitment to something and just doing it.

To change our life, we must change the way we think.  Behind everything we do is a thought.  Every behavior is motivated by a belief, and every action is prompted by an attitude.  So, be careful how you think…our life is shaped by our thoughts.  Here is an example of that:

  • Imagine riding in a speedboat on a lake with an automatic pilot set to go a specific direction.  If you decide to change direction and go the other way, you have two possible ways to change the boat’s direction.  One way is to grab the steering wheel and physically force it to head in the opposite direction from where the autopilot is programmed to go.  By sheer willpower you could overcome the autopilot, but you would feel constant resistance.  Your arms would eventually tire of stress, you’d let go of the steering wheel and the boat would instantly head back the way it was programmed to go.

This is what happens when we try to change our life with willpower…we say “I’ll force myself to eat less…exercise more…quit being disorganized and late.”  Yes, willpower can produce short-term change, but it creates constant internal stress because we haven’t dealt with the root cause.  The change doesn’t feel natural, so eventually we give up…go off your diet, quit exercising, stop showing up on time and stop keeping organized.  There is a better and easier way than forcing the change…change the way we think.  Change always starts first in our mind.  The way we think determines the way we feel and the way we feel influences the way we act. 

So, how do we change the way we think?  There are two parts to doing this.  The first half of this mental shift is to stop thinking immature thoughts, which are self-centered and self-seeking.  Babies by nature are completely selfish.  They think only of themselves and their own needs.  They are in capable of giving…they can only receive.  That is immature thinking.  Unfortunately, many of us never grow beyond that kind of thinking.  The second part is to start thinking maturely…which focuses on others, not ourselves.  Thinking of others is a sign of maturity.

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

"Things will come to those who wait, but only those things left over by those who hustle"  Abraham Lincoln

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

Intero Real Estate Services
Direct: 408.863.3000
Email: TTognoli@InteroRealEstate.com
Website: www.InteroRealEstate.com

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