How a Willingness To Act Increase Your Mojo

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Willingness To Act = Better Mojo


Willingness to act is a significant part of having mojo, as I say in an earlier post.  It comes about in the heat of battle.  Somebody has to act in order to improve an outcome. It is often the end of a game or the critical time in a performance.  The person who is willing to act is often said to be a "clutch performer."  Other actors count on the clutch performer to perform well at this critical time.  Taking the initiative, the actor doesn't need to be asked to perform.  He wants to.  This is a controversial concept, but I believe it is real.  It is hard to find examples of people lacking a willingness to act because so many celebrities eventually do succeed or they are so gifted that their mojo is sufficient for them to perform wonderfully despite a lack of willingness to act.  There are a lot of easily cited examples from the sports world because there, the rules are well established, leading to easily recognized and acknowledged achievements. Willingness to act may contribute to a person's mojo. As I have said, in addition to a willingness to act, are: motivation, expertise, experience, faith, support, and luck.

Compare motivation to willingness to act.  Motivation works on a person's preparation for a performance as well as the performance itself.   A person may be very motivated to prepare and even perform in an event, but balk at the critical time.  A person who is willing to act will want to be given a critical role, will relish performing at the most important time or in the most important role.  LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players of all time but doesn't have the clutch performances.  He doesn't seem to want the ball at crunch time, preferring for someone else to take the last shot.  The best players, and in my opinion the ones with the most mojo, always want the ball in their own hands at crunch time. On the other hand, consider Larry Bird.  This video shows some of his most arrogant exploits, but there is no question that he had mojo to spare. He wanted the ball always. the more critical the situation, the more he wanted it.

Next, consider expertise.   At first, one might think that the person who has the most expertise is the one to choose for a critical role.  That is wrong.  The best choice is the one with the most mojo.  A willingness to act can be very important in addition to expertise.  Consider Aaron Rodgers.  In 2014 on his radio show, he told Green Bay Packer fans who were panicking over the team's 1-2 record and his slow performance to RELAX.  They went on to win 11 of their next 13 games and go to the conference championships.  He had his mojo workin',  He had a lot of expertise as well, but he was the best choice for his role because of his total mojo.

What about experience?  Consider Michael Jordan, basketball star, who was known for his clutch performances as well as overall greatness and many championships.  Jordan had mojo to spare in addition to being one of the most skilled players in basketball history. He worked and practiced incessantly, but also was willing to take the last shot when called upon.
 
Faith might also be confused with willingness to act.  Here is the difference.  Faith is a trait that applies no matter how important the circumstances or when they occur.  Willingness to act coincides with a critical moment. A person may have plenty of faith that they have been well prepared, have the necessary skills and experience, but balk at the critical moment.  They lack a willingness to act.  For this reason, their mojo may be less than it could be. 

Support versus willingness to act.  Like faith, support may occur at any time, in preparation or during a performance.  Good support is critical to a person's mojo.  Brett Favre, who clearly had good support all his life,  played one of his best, if not most memorable game on Dec. 22, 2003 in Oakland. Every aspect of his mojo was on display one day after the passing of his father.  Even though his biggest supporter was gone, he was able to perform miraculously.

Luck versus willingness to act.  Luck is probabilistic. It can be good or bad and can change at any time.   Willingness to act is steadier.  It is a personality trait rooted in a physical reaction to stress. I would not want to bet on a person's luck continuing, but I would be fine with betting on their willingness to act.  Mojo can be increased by either one, but luck is fickle. 
 
In closing consider the leading salesman at Proctor and Gamble.  I don't know who this is, but it takes a lot of mojo to reach this pinnacle.  There may be many factors involved, but a willingness to act is probably a critical one.

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