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Marshall Goldsmith & Mark Reiter

Mojo

Mojo arises when you engage in meaningful, impactful, and positive actions that resonate with others. It's the internal satisfaction and external recognition of exceptional performance. To harness great mojo, you must align your self-perception, celebrate recent successes, nurture your reputation, and embrace acceptance. Understanding these elements helps maintain and amplify your mojo, enhancing personal and professional fulfillment. Successful individuals often engage in activities that boost their mojo, leading to increased happiness and a sense of purpose. Only you can define what meaning and happiness entail, and that's the essence of mojo.

Mojo
Mojo

book.chapter Charting mojo foundations

Mojo is a term that encapsulates the essence of positive spirit and enthusiasm in what we do, radiating from within and influencing those around us. It's a concept that has been discussed and analyzed in various contexts, from public speaking and sports to a more spiritual perspective. At its core, mojo is about loving what you do and showing it. To truly harness and maintain great mojo, four critical ingredients are necessary: identity, achievement, reputation, and acceptance. Identity is about knowing who you are, your values, and what you stand for. It answers the question, "Who do you think you are?" and is foundational to developing your mojo. Achievement refers to the accomplishments you're proud of, providing substance to the question, "What have you done recently?" Reputation is the external perception of your track record, answering, "What do others think of you?" Lastly, acceptance is understanding what you can change and what is beyond your control, allowing you to let go and move forward. Contrasting mojo with its antithesis, "nojo," helps to clarify its meaning. While mojo involves taking responsibility, moving forward, loving what you're doing, and being inspirational, nojo is characterized by playing the victim, staying in place, feeling obligated, and being resentful. This dichotomy highlights the importance of a positive spirit in achieving and maintaining mojo. The concept of "The Mojo Paradox" suggests that our default response in life is to experience inertia, not happiness or meaning. This inertia can be a significant barrier to experiencing mojo. To overcome this, it's essential to regularly ask yourself two questions: how much long-term benefit or meaning you're experiencing from your current activity, and how much short-term satisfaction or happiness it's generating for you. By reflecting on these questions and tracking your answers, you can learn to maximize your mojo. Mojo comes in two basic forms: professional and personal. Professional mojo is about the qualities you bring to an activity, including motivation, knowledge, ability, confidence, and authenticity. These elements determine your capacity to excel in a given task. Personal mojo, on the other hand, is about the benefits you derive from participating in an activity. It encompasses happiness, reward, meaning, learning, and gratitude. Together, these aspects of mojo contribute to a fulfilling and productive life. To measure your mojo, consider evaluating yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 on various aspects of professional and personal mojo. For professional mojo, assess your motivation, knowledge, ability, confidence, and authenticity in relation to a specific activity. For personal mojo, evaluate the happiness, reward, meaning, learning, and gratitude you derive from an activity. A perfect mojo score would be 100, indicating a high level of positive spirit and satisfaction in both your professional and personal life.

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