Why Is Mojo So Rare?

In an earlier post, I explained the components of mojo as I see them. A really good possessor of mojo has all of the components. But it isn’t common to have every single one. Which are most important? Which are optional, if any? Why is having a combination so rare? This post will explore these ideas.

Let’s start with a review of the components of mojo. They are, in order of importance:

1. Motivation
2. Experience
3. Expertise
4. Support
5. Faith
6. Luck
7. Willingness to act

Remember that motivation can be internal or external and that external motivation sometimes is converted to internal motivation. Being motivated for something is itself fairly rare. Lazy people need not apply. Also even more rare is internal motivation. That is why I urge you to rely upon external motivation if you need to and hope that it is eventually converted to internal motivation.

Now it stands to reason that if having motivation is rare, then having it along with any of the other components is even more rare. Having all of them is the most rare.

The second and third components of mojo, which I consider to be of equal value, are expertise and experience. Experience is rare mostly because it takes time to garner it. It also requires the right things to happen, which is sometimes not under the control of the person who wants to get the experience. These two factors combine to make it rare on its own. Expertise is also rare, not because of the time it takes but because the correct issues must be studied. A person who studies them doesn't always know what they are.

Next in importance are support, faith, and luck. Support is rare because early life supporters may be iffy. Later, it may be difficult to pick the right support. It may take a few missteps before the right supporters are selected. 

Faith is also rare because it involves both having something in which to be faithful and having faith in it. It is not given that a person’s background will include something beneficial in which to be faithful. Then, even if it does, the person has to have the ability to trust it and be faithful.

Luck has its own problems. It cannot be controlled and it can only be measured after the fact. Its rarity may be simply determined by probability. The more luck you desire, the lower the probability of having it. However, it is a component of mojo and it is rare.

Lastly is willingness to act. This is a personality trait and only a few have it. It is similar to motivation, although it only applies in crunch time. In contrast, motivation, applies to training practice and performance. It can be useful any time.

So there you have the components of mojo. To have every one of them combined in a single person is rare, as any components would be. But if you really want to characterize the elite of the elite in terms of mojo, the person must excel in all of them.