Day 2 of our Broad Advantage program in Sydney, Australia was a blow out success. This blog post will focus on today’s first speaker: Gary Bertwistle, the Founder of the Vault and author of ‘Who Stole My Mojo.’ He challenged the audience to change their mindset and to pro-actively work on a daily basis towards developing your Mojo and becoming a successful leader.

Gary admitted that most of the speeches he gives are to corporate guys and that it was really cool to speak to a different type of audience. He began by asking the participants “Who has Mojo?” The girls named the following people as having Mojo:

Richard Brenson, Donald Trump, Obama, Madonna, Gail Kelly, Justin, Raphael Nadal, Angelina Jolie, Kylie, Elvis, Robin Williams, Nelson Mandela, David Beckman, James Dean,

He then proceeded to define Mojo: magic, voodoo, hoodoo, wizardry, charm, lucky charm OR spunk, energy, vitality, zest, drive, zeal, zip zing, enthusiasm. He then asked the audience, “Why do these people have this?” Amongst the answers the girls cited: they have drive and a vision; they’re doing something they’re passionate about; they’re self confident; they re-invent themselves; they evolve; they possess a can-do attitude; they have faith in themselves or something else that gives them confidence; they’re committed and determined; they’re innovative and able to see the bigger picture; they’re open to new things and utilize positive thinking; they’re not afraid to make a splash; they’re bold; they take risks; they have sex appeal and power.

Gary then pointed out that successful leaders with Mojo fail more often, but they don’t take failure personally. The idea is that if you’re not sometimes failing, then you’re not pushing the envelope. If you continue to do the same thing, you won’t stand out. He showed in his PowerPoint the collection of letters, “SBIXALNETATNERAS,” and asked us to remove six letters leaving “ONE” word from the English language. (The answer to this puzzle is at the bottom of this blog if you want to give it a go.) Take-away: these people are no different, they just think differently. He then proceeded to discuss how we could get OUR Mojo working.

How do you get your Mojo working?

Mojo Mind Games

Feeling Groovy

Stop the Clock

Fat Bastards

Mojo Mind Games
What do you say when someone asks you: do you think you can be the best in the world? If you say yes you’re kidding yourself because it’s “never going to happen.” If you say no, it’ll never happen because it’ll be a self-fulfilling prophesy.

He strongly advocated for us to stop trying and start doing. If you held yourself to the standard of being the world’s best, the outcome would take care of itself. IE If you held yourself to being the best runner in the world, you’d start exercising and eating as if you were the best runner and soon you would be a fantastic runner. People generally put ceilings on what they’re able to do. Take-away: Change your attitude and you’ll change the total outcome. As soon as you start disbelieving in yourself, you have created a ceiling for yourself and one woman’s ceiling is another woman’s floor. You can change your potential by changing how you see yourself. Thinking today creates the you of tomorrow. Think about how you can make the next day better than the other.

• Hold yourself to a higher standard than victory.*
  Companies are looking for stars. Hiring someone with exceptional character is more important than their skill level, university degree, or talent. Someone who goes up and beyond and does an outstanding job gets the best rewards. Don’t be like the rest. Hold yourself to a higher standard and separate yourself from the pack.
  Enthusiasm gets you started but it’s the habit that keeps you going.

Eating energy generating food can help you deliver your absolute best.
Gary asserted that your mood, attitude, and energy levels are directly controlled by your stomach. You can lose confidence if you don’t eat properly. Gary had us list everything we ate yesterday (In my case: a muffin, pineapple slices, glass of orange juice, summer spring rolls, etc.) He emphasized that 70% of what you eat should be fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, proper whole grains, seeds, and legumes because if you properly fuel your body it will be incredibly resilient and healthy. You need to eat the right fuels to get you through the day to get it ALL done. Some of his concrete suggestions: Say no to white and let food be your medicine.

Stop the Clock
Make the time to eat well. People who have Mojo use their time differently and they seem to have more time in general. For example, don’t tell yourself you slept too little because most likely you’re just creating a ceiling over how little sleep you had. People can thrive on less sleep and less food than they’re usually accustomed to.

To get your Mojo back: Learn to say no nicely. You have to learn to say, I’m not going to do that right now. Work on your Circle of Influence (stuff you can personally impact or influence)/Circle of Concern (areas you have little to no direct impact. Focus on areas you CAN influence. Concentrating on areas of concern simply steals your Mojo and time. Also you should focus on things that you can influence because it takes you closer to your goals.
If you’re in a rut, it will steal your Mojo. Don’t do same old, same old. Break up your routine and get uncomfortable by changing your habits. Gary asked, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?” and “Where could you find the extra 20 minutes in the whole day so that you could do something new?”

Fat bastards.

People will try to steal your Mojo—including your negative inner voice! Your opponent is yourself and you hope that your best side wins. While the pro and con voices in your head will always be there, try to listen to the right voice. Also, keep the right people around you. You need to surround yourself with people who want to help you succeed and who are willing to counsel you when everyone else is walking out. Your companions/friends/mentors should have a similar drive, attitude, standards, and level appreciation as yourself and/or who you aspire to be.

Don’t let others steal your Mojo. If someone tries to belittle your dreams, don’t let them create that ceiling for you. As Mark Twain said, “Nobody can make you feel comfortable without your own permission.” By extension, no one can put a ceiling over you without your permission.

Next Steps:
-See the dream. What is the dream you’re setting for yourself?
-Change your language. Change from I’m going to try to I’m going to. Stand back it’s happening.
-Break it down into smaller pieces.
-Create your own counsel. Who is your counsel. Who are people who are glad to see you succeed?
-Start, Unless you make a smart nothing is going to happen. There is power in starting.
-Bust your arse. If you want to be a success, you have to work hard.

More on the rest of today’s speakers and on the fantastic on-site visit to Accenture soon!

Gary Bertwistle’s Biography
Founder, The Vault

Gary Bertwistle is Australia’s new pioneer in thinking differently. He speaks to audiences throughout the world about unlocking their thinking, imagination and ideas in the areas of performance, problem solving, innovation, marketing, creativity and learning. In 2001, Gary opened Australia’s first ever creative thinking venue in Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter, called The Vault.

Gary has lead the way in idea generation by innovating the creative process and designing his own creative tools to assist organisations and individuals in unlocking their great ideas. In 2007, Gary was voted Speaker of the Year by the Executive Connection, and he also published his first book ‘The Keys to Creativity’. His second book, ‘Who Stole My Mojo’ was released in June 2008.