4/16/07

Good Morning MOJO,

We both woke up around 2am because we where so fired up we could not sleep. We had trained hard for months…got ourselves in peak physical condition…where ready to drop the hammer. This was how my partner and I felt before we started the Sea Otter Adventure Race last week in Monterey (kayak, mountain bike, run). There were 80 two person teams…we came out of the kayak section in 5^th and half way through the mountain bike section we where in the top 10 when it happened. We where so focused on our speed, trying harder and being in the lead pack, that we made a major mistake…we were so focused on our speed that we didn’t slow down long enough to take the time to read the maps properly (we turned a 17 mile mountain bike ride into a 30 miler). Because in Adventure Racing, it is as much about patience as it is about being in peak physical condition, power and speed. After the race was over and we finished in the bottom half (1½ hours behind the winners), I was thinking about what went wrong. Well, it didn’t take long before I figured out I didn’t take my own advice from many of my past Monday Morning MOJO’s…”TO SPEED UP, SLOW DOWN”…it is finding that fine balance between “PASSION AND PATIENCE”…“TO PERFORM BETTER, TRY LESS”. Congrats to my buddies J.T. and Andy Tse, who came out of the kayak in the middle of the pack but finished the race in 8^th place. Not that they aren’t in great physical condition right now, because they are…but because they where patient and weren’t so focused on the pack…they where focused on what was most important…know where you are and where you are going at all times!!!!!

So, here is what I think we all can take away from our Adventure Race experience last week. No matter what you are doing in life, trying too hard to peak perform can actually slow you down because you make more errors. Don’t get me wrong…speed is critical, but you can’t be reckless. Learn how to perform with a feeling of ease…in essence trying less. People who know how to find the right balance between trying and letting it happen end up winning. They trust what they have done in practice to prepare for competition. You must find the perfect balance between maximum speed and effort…it’s called effortless speed.

If you want to perform at your peak in sports…at your job…or in life, but with precision effortlessness and void of tension that comes with trying too hard, your goal should be to discover how to push yourself to the edge, but at the same time find effortless performance. However, before you can perform effortlessly, you must first uncover mental barriers that get in the way of effortless performance. Fear of failure, anxiety, and tension will lead to over control and prevent you from performing effortlessly. Perfectionist, highly motivated, and very goal-oriented people are the ones who struggle the most with fear of failure and trying too hard.

The harder you try, the better you perform, right? Wrong!!! If you have a hint of perfectionism, fear of failure, or lack of trust in your performance, you block your ability to find the zone of effortless performance.

J.T. and Andy, we will redeem ourselves at Half Moon Bay in JulyJ!!!!!!!!

Make it a GREAT week!!!!!!

"When you feel like giving up, dig deep and see what you're made of...you'll be surprised what you are capable of if you really want it!!!"

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder
Regional President
Direct: 408.342.3001
Fax: 408.904.7762
Email: TTognoli@InteroRealEstate.com
Website: www.InteroRealEstate.com