A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors and writers by managing their online promotion. As part of my job, as an online promotion manager, I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!).
This week my offer for a weekly post is an interview with Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got you Here Won’t Get you There, and more recently, MOJO and #MOJOtweet.

Please share with the readers a bit about yourself.
I teach executive education at Dartmouth’s Tuck School and frequently speak at leading business schools. I am a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (America’s top HR honor). In 2006 Alliant International University honored me by naming their schools of business and organizational studies – the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. I earned my Ph.D. from UCLA. I currently live in CA with my wife Lydia.

What is your most recent book? Please share with our readers about your latest book.
Currently I have two books that came out on the same day. One is ‘MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It’ published by Hyperion. The other is its companion called ‘#MOJOtweet’ is part of the THINKaha series by Happy About, whose 100-page books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas) celebrating how to define and keep your MOJO.

For you, what is the definition of Mojo?
Mojo is that moment when we do something powerful, purposeful, and positive and the rest of the world recognizes it. To me, Mojo is about achieving two simple goals–loving what you do and showing it, and it plays a vital role in our pursuit of happiness and meaning. These goals are what govern my operational definition, which is: Mojo is that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside. Our Mojo is evident when the good feelings we have toward what we are doing come from inside us and our apparent for everyone else to see. There is no gap between the positive way we perceive ourselves—what we are doing—and how we are perceived by others.

What is one important aspect of this book you would like to share with our readers?
One of the key insights in the book says, “The only person who can define meaning and happiness for you is YOU!” This book will make you think, this book will make you act, this book can help you develop better Mojo and become a better YOU. Goldmsith says that “our general tendency is to continue to do what we are already doing,” but the paradox is that “this might not be sufficient for getting and keeping Mojo.” So, do something different–something powerful, something purposeful, something positive–and get and keep ‘#MOJOtweet’ today.

Will you share a few #MOJOtweets with the readers?
Certainly!
~Mojo is that positive spirit toward what you are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside.
~Mojo is infectious. When people pass their positive spirit to us, we feel like passing it back.
~Professional Mojo is a measure o the skills and attitude you bring to any activity. Personal Mojo by the benefits that a particular activity gives back to you.
~To change your mojo, you either create a new identity for yourself or rediscover an identity that you have lost.

How important does having a positive attitude play in finding your MOJO?
You won’t get to the top without it; to build it, you have to believe in yourself. You can’t worry about being perfect—you just have to put up a brave front and do the best you can. The building blocks of Mojo, which I discuss thoroughly in my book, are not self-esteem they are identity, achievement, reputation, and acceptance. Learning about finding your Mojo is what the book is about and those who want to find it, keep it, or get it back if they’ve lost it will get much from MOJO: for those who don’t want to change, this book can’t help!

What inspired you to write this book, #MOJOtweet?
In my work, the most frequent question I hear is: What is the one quality that differentiates truly successful people from everyone else. My answer is always the same: Successful people spend a large part of their lives engaging in activities that simultaneously provide meaning and happiness. In other words, and in terms of my book, truly successful people have Mojo. Because the only person who can define meaning and happiness for you is you, that’s what this book is about. It is to help people to define and achieve Mojo.

What did you learn from writing this book?
It may be the most vital piece of advice within these pages: You should not feel obligated do any of this alone! If you want to improve your performance at almost anything, your odds of success improve considerably the moment you enlist someone else to help you.

Where can readers learn more about you and your book?
First, I want to say thank you for allowing me to share with you and your readers about my books.
You can pick up a copy of #MOJOtweet at ThinkAha website.
Or on my website Marshall Goldsmith Library.

Special Note: April 1, 2010 Marshall Goldsmith will be conducting a FREE webinar to discuss the vital elements of MOJO as described in his book #MOJOtweet at 2pmET/11amPT. You can join in by phone: 218-339-4300 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              218-339-4300      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Participant code: 715975#.