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Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | December 28th, 2008 0 Comments

My New Years Resolutions…will this year really be any different?

Happy New Year MOJO,

As we start a New Year this week lets all make a commitment to turn up the heat at least one more degree in 2009 and see what happens. So many times in life the gap between what we have and what we want seems so far apart…but most of the time it is not nearly as far apart as we think. Click this link, watch the video and then turn up YOUR heat at least one degree to make 2009 your best year yet!!!!

http://www.walkthetalk.com/the212movie.php?refsource=vm212prairie

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!!!!!!

Happy New Year,


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 | December 7th, 2008 0 Comments

What are the Big Rocks in my life…put those in the jar first

Good Morning MOJO,

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of successful business people.  To drive home a point, he used an illustration they will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the audience yelled, "Yes."

The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time this successful group of business people where on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the audience shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One person raised her hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you do not put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life, time with your loved ones, your health, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you will never get them in at all. So, today when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the big rocks in my life? Then, put those in your jar first."

Make it a powerful week!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | November 23rd, 2008 0 Comments

In every crisis and in every challenge there is an opportunity…we just have to find it.

Good Morning MOJO,

Why does life throw challenges and crisis at us, like the financial crisis the world is dealing with today?   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.  Its 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 today as an opportunity…as a way to reprioritize what is important. 

What is happening with most people today is they are focused…no, they are consumed by what has been taken away and not focused on being thankful for what we 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, but with that 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…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 we will not be able to move forward towards accomplishing greatness.  If we can do this, not only will the pain stop, but life will be better and we will be more at peace than ever before.

Like a muscle when lifting a weight, it does not grow and get stronger until that last rep when you strain, push and power through the pain…it is the short term breakdown which actually makes the muscle bigger and stronger.  In the pain is where the growth is.  Remember, life is about who we become and how we grow when faced with challenge, with crisis, with pain.  It is what life is all about…it is when we grow…it is why we are here.  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”.

Happy Thanksgiving and kick some ass this week!!!!!!!!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

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

You and I have greatness inside of us. We have the seed of success waiting to be ignited, shared, and profited from.

Good Morning MOJO,

Laugh at perfection.  "Tom, what did you say?"  I’ll say it again…laugh at perfection.  Unfortunately, for most of us the “school mind” still kicks our butt in adulthood…in a big way. 

“Mom, Dad, I got an A on my test."  We grew up in an environment where shooting for perfection, an A, was always the goal (personally, I didn’t get many of them).  For most people it was the goal of our teachers and parents.  Many people have their self approval wrapped up in the illusionary concept called “perfection”.   However, when we do that, here’s what happens…we get in the real world. We make the shift from being a student…to being an employee…to becoming an entrepreneur and we bring the “school mind” with us…Perfection…Perfection…Perfection.  What crap!!!!!  It locks our feet in quicksand and takes us down.  We lose time, we lose energy, we lose support…we lose self esteem.  "I’ll start this idea/project when everything is just right" (This is the self talk of most new entrepreneurs).  Unfortunately, somehow the right time never happens.
 
I have several friends who are incredibly successful. They have big houses, vacation homes, drive nice cars, have fat bank accounts and I have never seen ANY of them be perfect in ANYTHING…Never.  Let me sell you on a philosophy that changed my life…not only myself, but thousands of others who have bought into it.  You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.  Let me say it again…you don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.  Imagine NOW picking up this idea called perfection and throwing it out the window.  Stop stealing your greatness from the world because you’re waiting for everything to be just right…it’s not necessary.  Stop seeking approval and acceptance from everyone around you…give it to yourself.  Now, allow yourself to take action…allow yourself to make mistakes.  Who cares if people laugh at you? Even those close to you…Big deal. You’ll be laughing at them someday living the life of your dreams.

 
You and I have greatness inside of us. We have the seed of success waiting to be ignited, shared, and profited from. I know sometimes it’s tough. You’re kind of alone with your goals and plans. People around you might think you’re wasting your time. Well…we can do it.  We don’t have to get it right, we just have to get it going.

What have you been putting off…what have you been waiting for everything to be just right for, that you thing you can take ONE action on today?   Start…NOW!!!!!!Make it a Powerful week and Go For It Full Out!!!!!!!


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | November 9th, 2008 0 Comments

At one point in their life wrote a blank check Made payable to The United States of America for an amount of “up to and including my life??

Good Morning MOJO,

Tomorrow is Veterans Day and for this week’s MOJO I would simply like to thank all of our Veterans for their service and sacrifice.  With all of the stress and uncertainty many currently feel, it is not even close…

This is a great story…

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat.  It was going to be a long flight.  “I’m glad I have a good book to read.  Perhaps I will get a short nap”, I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me.  I decided to start a conversation.  “Where are you headed?” I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.  “Chicago…to Great Lakes Base.  We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we’re being deployed to Iraq”

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars.  It would be several hours before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.  As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch.  “No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch.  Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks.  I’ll wait till we get to Chicago”.  His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers.  None were buying lunch.  I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill.  “Take a lunch to all those soldiers.”  She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly.  Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me.  “My son was a soldier in Iraq…it’s almost like you are doing it for him”.  Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated.  She stopped at my seat and asked, “Which do you like best – beef or chicken?”  “Chicken,” I replied, wondering why she asked.  She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.  “This is your thanks.”

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.  A man stopped me.  “I saw what you did.  I want to be part of it.  Here, take this.”  He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was  not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of  the plane.  When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, “I want to shake your hand.”   Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain’s hand.  With a booming voice he said, “I was a soldier and I was a military pilot.  Once, someone bought me a lunch.  It was an act of kindness I never forgot.”  I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs.  A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine.  He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane.  Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word.  Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.  I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars.  “It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich.  God Bless You.”

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.  As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return.  These soldiers were giving their all for our country.  I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little…A veteran is someone who, at one point in their life wrote a blank check Made payable to The United States of America for an amount of “up to and including my life”. That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Make it a Powerful week and remember to thank and show respect to our Veterans who have made the life we live possible.


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | November 2nd, 2008 0 Comments

Have I lost my mind? What have I done? What was I thinking? My God, I could lose everything…how am I ever gonna make this happen?”

Good Morning MOJO,

He’d done it…finally gone for his dreams and it was working!  Slowly, surely, the puzzle pieces of his new life were falling into place as he called the shots, did what he knew had to be done, and made his new life happen one step at a time…and that’s, of course, when it happened.  There, in the midst of his growing success…that’s when the old thinking that had held him back all his life came roaring back, determined to take control and slam him back into that life he’d escaped from not all that long ago.  I knew that’s what was happening because he kept asking himself the same questions we all ask ourselves after we’ve made a big change in our lives for the better…where we’ve got to choose, once again, whether we’ll stay committed to our dreams, or give up and crawl back in our hole…our comfort zone.

Been asking yourself…"Have I lost my mind? What have I done? What was I thinking? My God, I could lose everything…how am I ever gonna make this happen?"  Good…that’s a pretty sure sign you’re making progress!  Yes, you’ll be scared and confused, and yes, it’ll get hard because you are stepping out on the edge.  Out to a place you have never been before….and you’re taking very real risks and overcoming very real fears that keep most everyone else hiding in their old life forever…as you choose, instead, to do what it takes to make your life worth living!

Remember that the next time the old you struggles to make a comeback and turn your life into Sucksville. Tell it to take a flying leap!!!!  You’ve got better things to do…you’ve got a new life to live!

Make it a GREAT week!!!!!

"Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful" Warren Buffett

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

Intero Story Video: Intero Story

Intero Foundation Video: Intero Foundation

Intero Resorts Video: Intero Resorts 

Intero Boot Camp Video: Boot Camp

Intero Locations: Our Offices

Monday Morning MOJO Blog: MOJO


Monday Morning MOJO

By Intero Real Estate | September 28th, 2008 0 Comments

Those who “give?? get and those who “take?? get taken away.

Good Morning MOJO,

There are two types of people in the world.  There are the “Givers”…those people who are always going out of their way to help others…lend a hand…give a positive comment…make you feel good…encourage you.  Then there are the “Takers”…those people always trying to work the angles to benefit themselves…are in it for Numero Uno…have their hand out looking for someone to give them something…giving a sarcastic comment…tearing you down…sucking the energy from you.  Which one are you?

Here is the interesting thing.  Those who “give” get and those who “take” get taken away.  It is a universal law of life that we all need to understand if we ever want to accomplish our goals personally or professionally.  On the surface it is so hard to get our heads around and comprehend.  It is like saying if you want to go faster, take your foot off the gas.  However, everything in life works that way.  If we want to accomplish our goals, we have to help others accomplish theirs, but don’t do it for selfish reasons…don’t do it because it is going to help us accomplish our goals.  We have to be genuinely connected with them and their goal and helping them accomplish it.  If you want to get fit and healthy, help others get fit and healthy…if you want to become closer to God, help others get closer to God…if you want to make more money, help other make more money…you want to improve your business, help others improve their business. 

So, why is that?  I think it subconsciously helps us have integrity and accountability with what we need to do to accomplish our goals.  We can’t genuinely advise and help someone to do one thing, then do something completely different.  The best way to help someone is to show them how, not tell them…that’s called Leadership…it is called Servant Leadership.  Someone once told me that if you want to know what your kids are going to be like when they grow up, it is not going to be what you say…look in the mirror and stare into the eyes of the person you see.  That is what your kids are going to be like.  You can’t ask someone whether it is your kids, your friends, your colleagues, etc. to get up early…workout…eat right…spend quality time with your family…invest…be focused, accountable and discipline at work.  Then go about your day getting up late…never working out…eat like crap, never spending quality time with your family…spend every penny you make and be a lazy ass at work. 

It is like writing Monday Morning MOJO.  People are always telling me how much they love getting it every Monday morning.  I have thousands of people signed up from coast to coast who receive it every Monday morning…and by the time it gets forwarded on to other peoples distribution lists, who knows it may be reaching ten of thousands.  The interesting thing is that the person who gets the most out of MOJO is me…because I have to take the time and write it…it burns it into me.  Then I have to have integrity with what I write.  I can’t say go for it and have a great life, then sit on my ass and watch life pass me by. 

Make it a week of MOJO!!!!!


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 | July 27th, 2008 0 Comments

The Last Lecture

Good Morning MOJO,

I am sure most of you have seen this…I actually sent it out about 8 months ago in a MOJO.  Last week Randy Pausch passed away after a courageous fight against cancer and so I watched his last lecture again over the weekend.  I also checked out a speech he just recently gave at the Carnegie Mellon University graduation ceremony…I attached that as well.   Even if you have seen it before it is worth seeing again and again and again.   When I heard the news he had past away I thought, oh yeah…I remember him and that speech he gave.  But when I watched it again, it sent chills up my spine as if I had never seen it before.  So, even if you have seen it before, watch it again.  We all need to take his advice because we never know when it may be our last lecture!!!!!

 

Dr. Randy Pausch – Last Lecture

Carnegie Mellon Graduation Speech

"Life is an occasion…rise to it!!!"  

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

Intero Story Video: Intero Story

Intero Foundation Video: Intero Foundation

Intero Resorts Video: Intero Resorts 

Intero Boot Camp Video: Boot Camp

Intero Locations: Intero Offices

Monday Morning MOJO Blog: MOJO


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