Monday Morning MOJO - 6/2/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

I have finally found it…the magic formula for adding years and perhaps decades to our lives...the magic formula which will increase our quality of life forever. Are you interested in knowing what it is?

• With just these few small changes and spending 1 hour a day doing it, you will significantly increase your quality or life. Will you do it?
• With just these few small changes and spending 1 hour a day doing it, you will extend your life by years…perhaps decades. Will you do it?
• With just these few small changes and spending just 60 minutes a day doing it, you will get to spend years or perhaps decades more with those you love…your spouse, your kids, your grandkids. Will you do it?
• With just these few small changes and spending just 60 minutes a day doing it, you will be the example to your kids, grandchildren and all of those you love. By your example, you will positively impact the way they live their lives and help them to live better and years longer. Will you do it?

I don’t need to tell you because we all know what the magic formula is, but as simple as it is, most won’t do it. Most people won’t make some small changes and spend just 60 minutes a day to save their life and the lives of those they love. So, if we won’t make some small changes to save our life and the lives of those we love, imagine how hard it is to make some small changes to get the other things we want in life.

Like our health, in most cases it is not that what we need to do to get what we want and increase our quality of life is this radical change, but it is usually just slightly different than what we are doing today. Unfortunately, change is like the plague and most people will avoid it at all cost…no matter how small Also, changing to make things better does tend to take a bit of effort, while staying the same or slipping back doesn’t….at least that is what we think. The reality of it is staying the same or slipping back does take effort…a lot more effort. It just does not take immediate effort. It will get forced on you in the future. I guess God just wound us that way…the good things in life are a choice and bad things are a circumstance of not making a choice. I guess the fear of losing what we have or being disappointed if we fail is a stronger motivator than the joy of winning and getting what we want in life. So, most people live life by the status quo. What most people don’t get until it is too late is that you can’t stand still in life. Either you are moving ahead…changing and getting better every day, or you are slipping back, but we are never staying the same.

Imagine if we would just practice what we preach to your kids, how amazing our lives would be. Could you imagine telling your kids…

• ”Just stay the same…don’t go for it and try to improve”
• “Don’t take any chances or you might get disappointed…play it safe and just go with the flow”
• “Remember those that play it safe and never change always get ahead in life”
• “Eat whatever you want an don’t exercise…no big deal”
• “I know you don’t want to do your homework…don’t worry about it”
• “Watch as much TV and play all of the computer games you want…reading, playing outside and spending time with your friends a family is over rated”

It is just hard and in most cases almost impossible to make those small changes, but you can do it. Just don’t put it off until tomorrow, start today.

Oh yeah…if you don’t know what the few small changes and 1 hour a day are, it is exercising 1 hour a day, eating healthy and start taking our own advise…the advise we give our kids. Check this out…if you exercised just 1 hour a day while listening to an audio book on your iPod about personal or professional growth and development, you would burn 182,500+/- calories and listen to 50+/- books on personal and/or professional growth and development every year. Think you would look different…think your life would be better in a year if you did this?

Make it a great week and go for it!!!!! We only have one life…there are no second chances to try it again.

"I outwork them and outthink them...so I intimidate them and beat them" Tiger Woods

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Morning MOJO - Memorial Day

Good Morning MOJO,

"Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11 <http://www.usmemorialday.org/order11.html> , and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. And so here we are gathered today, some 138 years later to pay our respects, to honor, and to remember those who died defending us.

Commander Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret.) perhaps said it best in his poem "No, Freedom Isn't Free":

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud,

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still.

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen,"

When a flag had draped a coffin

Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard

At the bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

No, freedom isn't free."

Would those who’ve died so we could live say it was all worthwhile if they where to be with you today…to see how you are living your life…to see how you are making a difference? They died so we could live…they left their families behind…they where only kids. Don’t let them down…make them proud of what you do and the difference you are making…make the most of it…they gave their lives so we could!!!!

So, when things aren’t going your way and the going gets tough, close your eyes and think of them…ask yourself, what advice would they give me? Would they tell you to give up…hit the buzzer and stay in bed a little longer…make excuses? I don’t think so….what do you think? I’m sure they would gladly trade places with you!!!!

Make it a GREAT life…they gave theirs so we could!!!

"I outwork them and outthink them...so I intimidate them and beat them" Tiger Woods

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Morning MOJO 5/19/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam... After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

Make it a great week!!!!!!

"I outwork them and outthink them...so I intimidate them and beat them" Tiger Woods

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Morning MOJO - 5/12/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

You ever notice that people who are negative, down and have low energy tend see the negative in everything no matter what…they see the glass half empty? While those who are positive, upbeat and fired up about life see the positive in almost everything…they see the glass half full? If you had to take a guess, which group do you think is right…the positive ones or the negative ones? The answer is both.

They are both right, because you get what you focus on and you attract people into your life who are like you. So the good news is, if you are positive, upbeat and fired up…you attract positive, upbeat and fired up people into your life….and the more people you attract into your life like that the better your life gets…it gets better exponentially. The downside is, if you are negative, down and have low energy, you attract negative, down and low energy people into your life…and the more people like that you attract into your life, the worse your life gets… it gets worse exponentially.

For a minute, just think about some of the people you know. Not necessarily those who are your best friends, but just acquaintances. What are the common characteristics of the positive ones and what are the common characteristics of the negative ones? What energy do they give off…do they smile or frown…do they laugh or do they yell…do they fire you up when you see them or suck the energy from you…do they complement or do they criticize… You ever notice that we don’t see the positive ones and the negative ones spending much time together, except when absolutely necessary? Why is that? Because the positive ones naturally spend time with optimistic people and find ways to improve in all the areas of their life, while the negative ones seem to always spend time with the basket cases and seem to always be looking for ways to sabatoge all the areas of their life…not intentionally, but subconsciously. The positive ones tend to do things which are good for their physical, mental and spiritual body, while the negative tend to do negative things which are bad for their physical, mental, and spiritual body.

So, how do we get out of the funk and into the fired up? One of the most important things we need to do is stop spending time with other people in a funk and start spending time with people who are fired up…or if you are fired up, find other fired up people to spend time with…or better yet, find people more fired up than you to spend time with. Both groups are like magnets and either we are going to get sucked down into a hole with the “my life sucks” group, or we are going get pulled up into the clouds with the “my life is on fire and awesome” group. You can’t beat it, because it is like any fight. No matter how tough you are, if you are out numbered you are going to lose. If you are trying to be positive but hang out with negative people, you are going to get your ass kicked. The good new is if your negative, but hang out with positive people, you are also going to get your ass kicked.

Remember, everything in life is contagious…hang with people who have the fired up plague and catch it!!!!!

Make it a GREAT week!!!!

"I outwork them and outthink them...so I intimidate them and beat them" Tiger Woods

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Morning MOJO - 5/5/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

An epidemic is occurring all around us and there is a good chance it has already found its way into some of our lives. It begins slowly at first, but it grows and in time it can take over our entire life…and if we don’t act now, it may happen to you. It’s easy to fall in the trap. Well intentioned people of all ages don’t mean for it to happen, but that doesn’t matter. It takes much more than good intentions to steer clear of this problem. If all it took was good intentions, the world would be packed with people living their dreams and accomplishing their goals. But that’s not how it works and this trap is one of the most common reasons why it has happened to often in the past and will continue to happen in the future. What exactly are we dealing with here? What is so deadly to the goals and hopes we have stored away in our head? Routine!!! More specifically, a BAD routine

What am I talking about you ask?

The routines I'm referring to are much deeper than a morning process of a shower and shave. I'm talking about turning off our brains and letting autopilot kick in. Doing the same things we did the day before with no plans to change the pattern any time soon. You know the drill - wake up, shower, work, home and sleep. This is no way to live, and you know that. But it's still hard to break free once the bad routine has gotten hold of us. All hope is not lost. If we want to turn off the autopilot and start taking control of our lives it takes only one moment to make the decision. And then everything changes. You've heard it a thousands times, and it's a good thing, because it's true. If you keep doing what you have always done in the past you will keep getting the exact same thing in the future.

People experience a partial insanity when it comes to routine. Perfectly logical creatures believe that doing the same thing again and again will get different results. That's crazy! If we want to lose weight but continue with the same eating habits, we won't lose weight. If we want to make more money but keep doing the same things day in day out, it’s not going to happen.

We have goals, but if we are stuck in a bad routine we won't accomplish them. Be honest with yourself about this one. It's the only way we'll realize the need for a change before we can enjoy improvement. Create a new and improved routine which is in alignment with what you want in life.

What does it take? It takes a decision. A choice of what we really want to do with our life and the actions to make it happen. If we know where we are going, how to get there and have a good new and improved routine to make it happen, we will not be disappointed in the end.

Check out the results of this amazing experiment:

A very unusual experiment was conducted by John Fabre, the French naturalist, consisting of processionary caterpillars, a type of caterpillar that blindly follows the one in front of it. This explains the name processionary caterpillar. The experiment consisted of several of these caterpillars, a flowerpot filled to the rim with dirt, and pine needles. The caterpillars formed a complete circle around the rim of the flowerpot, with the first one touching the back of the last one. The pine needles, the food of the processionary caterpillar, were placed in the center of the circle. The caterpillars began their procession around the flowerpot, one following the other in a circle. This went on hour after hour, day after day, for an entire week. In the end, every one of the caterpillars dropped dead of starvation. The one thing that could have saved them was only inches away, but without purposeful thought or action, the caterpillars continued with a habitual routine that eventually proved too much to endure.

This is happening to people we know, maybe even you, although not to this degree. Get stuck doing the same old thing every single day and your goals, sitting only inches away, are as good as gone…Plain and simple. You might think it's a little too simple, but falling into a bad routine can destroy your life. Good friends and family start off with bright hopes for the future, but their bad routine begins to take their place. “No time, no time,” is a common excuse. After seventy+/- years of having no time to do the things you have always wanted to do, you'll end up with nothing but a good excuse in the end.

This is your life we are talking about here. It's worth taking the time to break the pattern of habit and creating the changes you wish to make. There is little more that is as important as the life you create and the good you leave behind. Recognize if you are in a bad routine, break free and get into a good routine. Sometimes it's a matter of what we all seek in life - confidence. Permanent change requires courage and a strong belief in your ability to succeed, something that we all doubt from time to time.

Break your old routine, get a new and improved routine and then have a GREAT week and a GREAT life!!!!

All the Best,

"I outwork them and outthink them...so I intimidate them and beat them" Tiger Woods

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Mornign MOJO 4/28/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

Two Great Stories - BOTH TRUE - and worth reading! Please read all the way to the end to get the REAL message!

STORY NUMBER ONE
Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but also, Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:
”The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.

Now is the only time you own.
Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time.
For the clock may soon be still".

STORY NUMBER TWO
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship he saw something that turned his blood cold: a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now-broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly.

Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.

Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.

This took place on February 20, 1942, and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His hometown would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.

SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?

Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.

Make it a GREAT week and remember it’s never too late to make some changes for the better.

All the best,

"Time = Life. Therefore waste your time and waste your life...or master your time and master your life" Allen Lakein

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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Monday Morning MOJO 4/21/2008

Good Morning MOJO,

If you where the President and CEO of your own company, would YOU pay YOU the kind of money YOU want to make for what YOU did last week? Would YOU pay YOU what YOU want to make for what YOU are going to do this week?

Everyone wants more…everyone wants a better life…everyone wants to get it faster. So, what is the difference between those who get what they want…better…faster versus those who don’t? They are in alignment. Their actions each and every day are in alignment with what they want. And those who don’t get what they want, better, faster are typically all talk…they are not in alignment. They say one thing, but do something completely different.

• They want to make a lot of money, but work and act like someone who makes minimum wage.
• They want to be fit and healthy, but don’t exercise and eat healthy. Not only do they not exercise much, but they don’t exercise at all…and not only do they not eat healthy, but they eat like crap. Fast food…grease…fat…no fruits and vegetables…smoke…drink… Talk about a train wreck waiting to happen.
• They want to have a great relationship with their kids, but don’t ever spend quality time with them. When they are with them they are on the cell phone, computer, watching T.V., etc. Not talking and playing with them…not listening…not going for a bike ride. They tell them “we will do it tomorrow…next week…next month…next year”. Then, you wake up one day and they are gone…out of the house and…
• They want to have a great relationship with their spouse, but never spend quality time with him or her. Sure they talk about their bills, the “stuff” they need to do, watch TV in the same room, etc. But they never actually go on a date and enjoy each other like they once did before the got married…before they had kids. Then before you know it, you don’t know each other anymore and…

It all starts at a very early age. If we wanted to get A’s in school and not C’s, we had to do the types of things people who get A’s do. Study our ass off…not wait until the last minute…be discipline and accountable in our study habits….we had to attend all of your classes and be fully engaged. If we wanted to start on the football team, drill team, chess team…we needed to do and act like a starter. Well, it does not stop once we graduate high school or college…if we want X, we need to start acting and doing the kinds of things someone who gets X does.

Do you want to know the trick to getting what you want…better…faster. Build a map, then write out detailed right/left directions on how to get where you want to go and then FOLLOW YOUR DIRECTIONS….that map is your plan and the directions is your schedule. Figure out what it is you need to do (specifically) to get what you want…better…faster. This is your map. Then take that list of stuff and plug it all into your schedule. Don’t just do it for a week or a month, but plug that “stuff” in your schedule for an entire year right up front. Then when you wake up, open your schedule and DO EXACTLY what it says…follow the directions. Don’t try a shortcut…remember you spent the time to figure out the detailed directions. The last thing you want to do is get lost trying to take a short cut. If you make your plan, write out directions, and then follow them NO MATTER WHAT…it will be like magic. Before you know it you will start getting what you want…better…faster.

So, to get more of what you want…better…faster. Start acting and doing the things of people who are getting what you want…better…faster.

Make it a GREAT week!!!

"Time = Life. Therefore waste your time and waste your life...or master your time and master your life" Allen Lakein

Tom Tognoli
COO, Founder

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

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