I Want My Mojo Back (A Toastmasters Speech) by Arthur Byrd

I Want My Mojo Back (A Toastmasters Speech)

Given By Arthur Byrd in June 2011 to Executive 408 Toastmasters in Youngstown, Ohio.

I Want Get My Mojo Back Speech Have you ever had a bad hour?

A bad day?

A bad week?

How do you get through it?

Me, I am not sure because I've had a strange six months.

I am still not sure how I am getting through it? I lost something and it just slipped away. Poop, gone.

In January, I got into a car accident going to the math lab at YSU. My fault.

Later in March, I had a mental breakdown during the exam and felt terrible. As I was walking outside to my car and looking at my notes. I walked into a sign. A speed limit sign that was posted low to the ground almost six feet. The sign was at my level at about five feet eight inches. I was walking fast due to my anxiety from my breakdown.

Though, I wasn’t stopped by a police officer. I got fined in a different way. I felt the pain of hitting the edge of sign. Ouch.

I got in my car and thought I didn't feel injured. As I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that I had a huge scar near the front part of my head with a trickle of blood. I have a shaved head, so the scar was noticeable.

Toastmasters Meeting Moments later, I would be at Toastmasters meeting. Everybody noticed my scar. I'm somewhat private. There I was, in public and scarred.

As I explained to some Toastmasters what happened that I had walked into a sign.

My idiot meter was pinging in the red.

Mojo With these things happening I felt something was slipping away. I realized that I was losing or lost my mojo.

Do many of you know what mojo is?

Mojo means finding the magic and in what we do. To lose your mojo refers “to loss of inspiration or creative genius; a loss of that special spark.” And that was how I was feeling.

Fellow Toastmasters and honored guests. I want my mojo back.

Not just for me, but for others to find theirs, if it is lost.

According to Answers.com, the word “mojo” has been around almost 100 years.

One source says the word has been in use as early as 1926. How the word was used I am not sure.

Movies-Austin Powers In movies, the term “mojo” was used in one of the Austin Powers movies starring actor Mike Myers, is referred to a combination of all the right stuff that makes a person successful.

And isn't that what we all want a successful life with all the right stuff.

A Friend I have a friend who I hadn't seen or heard from for while. I sent him an e-mail. I got a reply from him saying he was having a pity party and had lack of motivation.

I too, was feeling the same way. This friend is strong and his mojo will be back.

I had no advice to give him.

Even the strongest and confident people lose their mojo.

These moments of temporary mojo loss can be attributed to a crisis or transitions such as loss of a loved one, lost romance, a health scare and other transforming experiences.

I feel that the lost of mojo is based on fear. Maybe you have felt fear in the sense of loss of who you are. Like being in quicksand when you are stuck and sinking.

Tyler Perry Until about a week and a half ago, I still felt I didn't know where my mojo was. I was stuck and sinking. The quicksand was up to my neck.

Then, I got an e-mail from Tyler Perry, the writer/ director of popular movies with a character called Madea and various movies. I am on his mass e-mail list.

Before he became famous; Mr. Perry had his mojo tested with failed plays to the point he was living in his car.

Mr. Perry’s e-mail had a story.

Mr. Perry and a friend were climbing at the Grand Canyon and he said “at one point in climbing, I was over a steep drop it was tied to a safety rope, while my buddy’s safety rope was tied to me. It was my responsibility to help him up, since I was bigger and up way more. I told him, I'll hold onto you to help you up, but if you start to pull me over with you, I'm going to untie this rope.”

A few days later, I thought about his e-mail story. How many times we are tied to something that keeps us down? Yet, we won't not untie the rope. Mr. Perry said “sometimes it's time to untie the rope.”

Fear Fear can tie you down. It did for me. Fear told me about not doing well on the algebra exam. I believed and didn’t watch where I was going which ended up for me being scarred.

On a trigonometry final, I had a hard time on. I was sure I would get a failing grade in the class. So much, that when the grades were posted online. I didn't look for almost five weeks. I kept trying to find the right date to look.

So, I prepare myself for the impending bad news. I had figured out how I would retake the class. And all these plans are more backup plans. To find the right day to look at my grades.

On weekends, I would say I would wait to Monday. On Mondays,I would say I don't want to go to Toastmasters upset.

On Tuesday, I would be too busy cleaning or writing to check. On Wednesday, I was working on my newsletter. And I felt with bad news I'd be too upset to work.

On Thursday, I would be doing the final draft of the newsletter and didn't want to be upset. Upset was my fear word.

On Friday, the corrections from Michelle, the newsletter’s editor would keep me busy. Then, I would not check because I would be hanging out with my dad later that day and I didn't want to be upset hanging out with him.

Getting Grades Even though, I thought I prepare myself for the worst. Then one day, I was soon sitting in front of the computer. I was at the YSU website. I got my strength for a moment.

With an unsteady hand on the mouse. I clicked on the grades icon. The screen changed. The grades appeared. I couldn't believe it. I had two classes: Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry. I looked again. My heart jumped. I looked again and saw two Bs. At that moment, I felt like a tremendous weight had been lifted off of me. Finally, I had untied the rope.

I read getting your mojo back is just refueling your emotional tank. My tank was near empty. When I learned about my grades. It felt like a gas tank in my emotional tank moved to one fourth of a tank.

How you get your mojo to a full tank or at least three quarters?

Make a focused effort to change the way you think about yourself.

An example: instead of thinking Dud think Stud. That is for the guys.

Instead of stupid, think smart. Our words to ourselves can have an affect on our mojo. Let’s be kind to ourselves.

Tune out the noise, TV news and what others think you should do with your life.

Guard your mind–be around people who are encouraging not discouraging.

Don't neglect your emotions–emotions are part of human nature. The harder you try to hide a feeling the more that feeling will dominate your life.

Go to the movies in a theater. I went to go see the movie Bad Teacher with Cameron Diaz and laugh with a theater full of people I didn’t know. It was a great way to feel great.

Part of me of getting my mojo back is feeling great.

The New Normal There is something called the new normal. The sooner you realize that what you have in front of you is the new normal, the happier you will be. Wishing and praying for the old days to return will do nothing, but drag you down.

Actor John Wayne said “courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”

Whitney Houston Singer Whitney Houston felt she had loss her mojo after skyrocketing stardom. She has had vocal problems, physical and marital troubles. Last year, she released a new album. Her song “I Didn't Know My Own Strength” showed signs of getting her mojo back.

Here are few lines from “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”written by Diane Warren Lost sight of my dreams. Thought it would be the end of me.

I felt I would never make it through. I had no hope to hold on to, I thought I would break. I didn’t know my own strength.

And I crashed down, and I tumbled. But I did not crumble...

I was not built to break. I didn't know my own strength.

Sometimes, we all don't know our own strength. But, we can know our own mojo.

We are not built to break.

As for any of you who needs get back their mojo or if your mojo is good.

Remember there is one way of getting back or maintaining your mojo.

All you have to do is untie the rope.

Toastmaster.

This speech was given at Toastmasters 408 in June 2011.

Arthur Byrd is a member of Toastmasters 408 in Youngstown, Ohio.

In 2016, he earned a DTM which is a Distinguished Toastmasters, the highest award given by Toastmasters.