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Getting My Mojo Back at ASAE’s Annual Conference
 Posted by Michelle Butler Aug 29 2010, 10:15 pm in goals, inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, motivation, progress This past week I attended ASAE’s annual conference in Los Angeles, California. ASAE is a professional development, networking and advocacy group for association and nonprofit management professionals, and I had the same goal for this conference as I did for the RWA Conference in July: to get motivated and inspired. The economy is challenging and making the work world tough and uncertain for many right now. That is certainly the case in my little niche in the association world, and it can get me down or freak me out at times. Luckily for me, the ASAE conference was fun, inspirational, educational and motivational. It also gave me the kick in the butt I needed. In fact, a lot of my conference experience was about getting my Mojo back. One of the hot books right now in the nonfiction/business world is Marshall Goldsmith’s Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, and he spoke at the concluding general session. Every attendee was given a free copy of his book, and I love his exploration of the connection between happiness and meaning and the importance of acceptance. He argues that truly successful people have Mojo because they “spend a large part of their lives engaging in activities that simultaneously provide meaning and happiness”. What constitutes happiness and meaning for each individual is something that everyone must define for himself, but “Mojo is that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts on the inside and radiates to the outside.” If you have Mojo, how you feel about what you are doing on the inside matches what you show on the outside. They are in harmony. The four building blocks of Mojo are identity, achievement, reputation and acceptance. I’ll admit that I’ve read several motivational or self-books like this in the past few years, and there’s nothing too earth-shattering about what he has to say regarding the first three building blocks. His exploration of acceptance is pretty unique – at least in business books. He argues that “when we cannot accept a situation for what it is and we refuse to forgive people for causing that situation, who do we ultimately hurt? The answer is always the same: ourselves. By carrying around anger and negative baggage, we weigh ourselves down. We limit our opportunities to find meaning and happiness.” This ultimately kills our Mojo. This is not an excuse to avoid trying to create change or make the world a better place. Acceptance is more about the art of learning to recognize what you can change and learning to let go of what you can’t change. Again, it’s all about the serenity prayer. Goldsmith’s work on Mojo also reinforced several other messages the world has been trying to teach me since I started this journey to become and stay a healthy writer. He concluded his talk by exploring what researchers had learned from interviewing and studying old people. Their advice to younger folks could be summed up in three ways. The first is to be happy now. This is the best argument “against the great western disease of believing you will be happy when” you get that dream house, great job, first million, hottest sports car, etc. I think of this as the be Zen/live in the moment/be mindful or aware message. Their second lesson is to nurture your relationships to friends and family. As he joked, your employees won’t be hanging around your deathbed. The final piece was to go for your dreams. This conclusion inspired me to read Goldsmith’s book and to review my annual goals. Am I going for my dreams and finding happiness and and meaning in the activities do? I’m doing an ok job chipping away at my goals – pretty much the best I can do given all that has been going on this year. That’s pretty good. I also am able to spend a decent amount of time on activities that provide happiness and meaning. While I may forget it at times, I do really feel like I’m going in the right direction for my life. I’ve still got my Mojo. Do you have Mojo? Do you find this concept helpful? What can you do to increase the amount of time you spend in activities that provide you happiness and meaning?
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Hi Michelle,
Welcome back from your conference! It sounds like it was both fun and productive–and that’s great.
I love the interviews with older folks that asked them for advice. The point about being happy *now* really resonated with me. It’s something I keep trying to remember, along with the second point, which is to keep cultivating your connections to friends/family. In fact, as I was heading out for a family vacation this weekend–and thinking of all the work I was leaving behind and thinking how much I’d prefer just to stay home and try to clear my desk–I reminded myself that when I’m 80, it won’t be the prep work for the new semester that I remember, but the family vacation time.
My maternal grandmother always told me not to wish my life away. I think that’s along the same lines of be happy now.
I also remind myself that I’ll remember the good times with friends and family much more than I will any work or tasks I accomplish. It’s helpful. Hope your vacation was great!
Love the MOJO book! I And I’d love to meet Goldsmith. He’s so inspirational.
I stumbled upon his book during a really difficult time and it really made a difference in my life.
Hope you enjoyed your vacation.
Keri, I’m so glad you like the mojo book. I’ve read a number of those kinds of books the past few years, and they can be so helpful! Do you have any other favorites? I really do like the first couple sections of the success principles and almost everything written by Martha Beck.
The trip was definitely for work and not a vacation, but it still had many great moments to savor. I’m getting better at living in the moment/be happy now/savor my blessings when they happen/foster gratitude/etc.
Well, you made me want to buy the book!
I liked all these ideas.
That’s great, Diane! I probably shouldn’t say this given how many folks I know who make their living through book sales, but I have a copy of it that I could lend you.
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