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 Top 10 Non-Sports Activities Where Mojo Matters

  1. Military - This is the most obvious area. There are many leaders who got men to perform selflessly and miraculously. Patton, MacArthur, LeMay, Rommel, Lee, Grant, Themistocles, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, and Washington are just a few. On the other hand, some generals didn’t have ”it”. In the Civil War, on the union side were McClellan, Bragg, Burnside, and Rosecrans just to name a few. Upon hearing about U.S. Grant’s drinking, Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said, “Well, I wish some of you would tell me the brand of whiskey that Grant drinks. I would like to send a barrel of it to my other generals.” Mojo can make a big difference in the wartime success of a leader.
  2. Sales - Most good sales people are empathetic and sensitive to their customers. Unfortunately, they also don’t spend a lot of time around colleagues. It would take a very skilled individual who can lead people, even remotely, and be in charge of them. Having the remote leadership skill is hard to find, but having mojo can help with the skill required. Most salespeople would want their leader to have motivation , experience, and expertise. These and other qualities of a high mojo individual will attract and get the most out of a sales team. A willingness to act, another component of mojo, will go a long way when a salesman needs something and asks for help from his manager.
  3. Corporations - I am thinking of a team that makes products or services. Any team will perform better if a high mojo individual sets a good example. It can be a formal leader or a key contributor. The advantage of motivation, experience, and expertise will help everyone.
  4. Medical team - The complexity is high, the decisions can sometimes be life-and-death, and the coordination is crucial. The only way this works is through teamwork. The only way a team is successful is if there is a high mojo person on the team. It helps if this is the team leader like, say, a surgeon. The high- mojo teammate’s motivation, expertise, and experience will rub off on the other team members. Note that an inexperienced person (like a newcomer) must compensate by having great motivation and expertise.
  5. Classroom - You might look at the teacher first for mojo. However, it can sometimes be a student whose motivation and expertise rubs off on his fellow students. It is a lucky teacher who has such a student.
  6. Technology - I am thinking of revolutionary advances in technology like the Wright Brothers in aviation, or Steve Jobs in telephones, or Einstein’s relativity. These kinds of individuals have great motivation and expertise (mojo components) along with a will to do something that can withstand criticism or even ridicule.
  7. Writing - This can be a team activity and is subject to all the advantages of having a high mojo teammate that any team activity has. If it isn’t done by a team, there is still the example of a high mojo writer’s best practices for producing a text or for learning how to write.
  8. Acting - The same principles apply as in writing except that the more artistic activities are less likely to be a team activities.
  9. Singing - See #8, although this is even less likely to involve a team.
  10. Dancing - See #8, although this is even less likely to involve a team.

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