We Got Mojo

Thirty-five of my BFF and I decided last year to write snippets of our lives, reflecting on how we used our mojo to survive and thrive. Many of us escaped adversity in our home countries, including the genocide of the Killing Fields in Cambodia, the Cuban Revolution, and the brutal life in the rural mountain villages of Per. Others in my list of BFF escaped the equally harsh demons of drug addiction, while others survived poverty, racism, war, and all forms of discrimination. However, nothing could stop any of us in our aim to lead a successful life with no sulking. None of us considered success the result of becoming rich and famous; instead, to us, success meant bettering ourselves, bettering the world, innovating where we could, and creating businesses, such as Charles Schwab, EnergySolutions, Yahoo, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, parts of the Virgin Group, and many others. We have accomplished our goals through passion, leadership, and perseverance without sacrificing our values, and we continue to do so today. The book contains our stories in our own words, and just like Napoleon Hill did in his famous book Think and Grow Rich in 1937, we have analyzed our life trips and derived the twenty rules that we have consciously or unconsciously followed to achieve our individual success. The stories represent three dozen lifetimes of successes and failures, or perhaps we should call them learning steps. Through it all, we have used our mojo to the max and still do so today. We truly got mojo, and these are our stories of inspiration and perspiration.

Mojo is the moment when we do something that's purposeful, powerful, and positive and the rest of the world recognizes it. This book is about that moment--and how we can create it in our lives, maintain it, and recapture it when we need it. In his follow-up to the New York Times bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There, #1 executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shares the ways in which to get--and keep--our Mojo. Our professional and personal Mojo is impacted by four key factors: identity (who do you think you are), achievement (what have you done lately?), reputation (who do other people think you are--and what have you've done lately?), and acceptance (what can you change--and when do you need to just "let it go"?). Goldsmith outlines the positive actions leaders must take, with their teams or themselves, to initiate winning streaks and keep them coming. Mojo is: that positive spirit--towards what we are doing--now--that starts from the inside--and radiates to the outside. Mojo is at its peak when we are experiencing both happiness and meaning in what we are doing and communicating this experience to the world around us. The Mojo Toolkit provides fourteen practical tools to help you achieve both happiness and meaning--not only in business, but in life.

"Mojo is that spark which if you have it is the difference between having just a good day and a great day. If you lose your mojo you are not firing on all cylinders. You can tell when you've lost your mojo. You can always tell when you've got it when you think 'this has been a great day'."--Provided by publisher.

All Dylan wants is mojo. What is mojo? It's power. The ability to command respect. It's everything Dylan doesn't have. He gets no respect at school, and when he finds the dead body of a classmate, even the police push him around. All the thanks he gets for trying to help the investigation with his crime drama skills is a new nickname at school: Body Bag. So when Dylan hears about a missing rich girl from the other side of town, he jumps at the chance to dive into this mystery. Surely if he cracks a case involving a girl this beautiful and this rich, he'll get not only a hefty cash reward, but the mojo he's looking for. His investigation takes him into the world of an elite private high school and an underground club called Gangland. As Dylan—along with his loyal friends Audrey and Randy—falls down the rabbit hole, lured by the power of privilege, he begins to lose himself. And the stakes of the game keep getting higher.

Mucho Mojo is the basis for the second season of the new Sundance TV series Hap and Leonard. Hap and Leonard return in this incredible, mad-dash thriller, loaded with crack addicts, a serial killer, and a body count. Leonard is still nursing the injuries he sustained in the duo's last wild undertaking when he learns that his Uncle Chester has passed. Hap is of course going to be there for his best friend, and when the two are cleaning up Uncle Chester's dilapidated house, they uncover a dark little secret beneath the house's rotting floor boards—a small skeleton buried in a trunk. Hap wants to call the police. Leonard, being a black man in east Texas, persuades him this is not a good idea, and together they set out to clear Chester's name on their own. The only things standing in their way is a houseful of felons, a vicious killer, and possibly themselves.

After fifteen years of rising to the pinnacle of the hospitality industry, Chip Conley's company was suddenly undercapitalized and overexposed in the post-dot.com, post-9/11 economy. For relief and inspiration, Conley, the CEO and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality, turned to psychologist Abraham Maslow's iconic Hierarchy of Needs. This book explores how Conley's company "the second largest boutique hotelier in the world" overcame the storm that hit the travel industry by applying Maslow's theory to what Conley identifies as the key Relationship Truths in business with Employees, Customers and Investors. Part memoir, part theory, and part application, the book tells of Joie de Vivre's remarkable transformation while providing real world examples from other companies and showing how readers can bring about similar changes in their work and personal lives. Conley explains how to understand the motivations of employees, customers, bosses, and investors, and use that understanding to foster better relationships and build an enduring and profitable corporate culture.

There is no universal purpose in life. Everyone has their own reason for being here and their own purpose in life. What is my purpose? Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? Although these questions come up again and again throughout life, when midlife hits we finally admit to ourselves that without concrete answers and real changes our lives will never be complete. Is YOUR Mojo Working? The word "mojo" is derived from the African (Congo region) word "moyo", which means soul or life-force. Mojo is your life-force. One of the greatest truths is that life is difficult. When you finally recognize this truth, you begin to question your existence. To transcend this life-altering moment you need to discover your purpose in your life. Once you've found your Mojo, life is no longer difficult because you have found your purpose, and the difficulties no longer matter. Get YOUR Mojo working! Midlife Mojo will spark action and change. It will help you find answers to your questions, no matter what they are, and promises to aid you in achieving peace of mind and success. Midlife Mojo is not your typical self-help or how-to book, but is a "to-do" book. Author Frankie Picasso speaks not only through her extensive education, but through life-altering experience as well. Midlife Mojo is a collaboration between Frankie Picasso and you. With Midlife Mojo you will rise from mid-life angst to find true meaning in your life.

Alanna Christine always emerges smelling like a rose—or, at least, she sculpts the pile of crap she’s in to look like a rose. She likens herself to a phoenix, constantly burning up and rising from the ashes in this memoir that combines aspects of “Cinderella” with “The Little Engine that Could.” From being adopted and feeling out of place to contemplating suicide and going through a divorce, she’s conquered obstacles with grace and humor. With hard-fought wisdom, she’s forged ahead regardless of the stumbling blocks thrown in her path. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been living with multiple sclerosis, which has taught her that asking for help doesn’t indicate weakness—it indicates strength. She’s also learned that we truly don’t miss anything until it’s gone. In candid fashion, she looks back on her personal trials and tribulations, victories and defeats, and miracles she’s witnessed on the way. While she’s scared of what the future might hold, she’s already discovered strength she never knew she had. Get ready to be inspired by the important life lessons in How I Got a Horse Out of a Toilet.