Three Damn Good Reasons to Mastermind!

I just returned from Nashville where I attended my semi-annual live mastermind group. Eight passionate entrepreneurs, each on a mission.

This group is all coached by the same set of amazing coaches. We all benefit from their knowledge and wisdom in the field of growing a business primarily based around communicating.

We are a group of motivated dedicated entrepreneurs who work as writers, speakers, coaches, podcasters, consultants and a myriad of otherprofessions where we attempt to bring a message to our respective audiences. And, what a great group this is! I gain so much wisdom from our time together.

I came a way from this session with a page full of notes and a brain full of new ideas.

Are you in a mastermind group?

Here’s what Napoleon Hill said:

“Mastermind is the coordination of knowledge and effort in the spirit of harmony between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose”.

I believe that every entrepreneur, solopreneur or professional with a definite purpose would benefit from the association of a mastermind for three key reasons. They are Accountability, New Perspective and Support.

Accountability

In the coaching world it’s so easy for me to get off track and start telling clients what they need to do next. As counter intuitive as it may sound, telling someone the steps they need to take is not what coaching is all about.

Entrepreneurs and self starters typically know what to do, they just, for one reason or another, don’t do it. The mastermind plays a key roll here. Accountability is key in the mastermind process.

I am in several weekly, virtual, mastermind groups. One in particular is really great in the area of accountability. At the beginning of the year we each set goals, 7 to 10 of them each. We talk about these goals on our weekly video call. The level of accountability in this group is high. No one wants to come to the call without having done his work.

As someone who can easily take on way too many things at once, which is fairly typical for entrepreneurial types, I love the fact that my mastermind group helps keep me on track towards my target.

New Perspective

When we’re in the trenches, fighting the daily battles and making things happen, it is so easy to get tunnel vision. The thrill or agony as it may be, of grinding it out and making it happen is great but in that quest it is easy to miss things that might otherwise be obvious, or not so obvious.
Mastermind groups are a great way to poke your head up on a regular basis. Napoleon Hill called it, “the coordination of knowledge”. We’ve all heard the old saying that two heads are better than one. My mastermind is able to help me by pointing out things that I may be overlooking, or asking me questions that spark my mind and help me with creative solutions or alternative paths to the same goal.

Perspective means “point of view” and everyone has one. The mastermind process is great for bringing in fresh new points of view. You don’t have to take the advice of your mastermind but at least you get the opportunity to look at your business through a different lens.

Support

The last key benefit for mastermind is support. The journey of high performers and motivated, fast moving entrepreneurs can be a lonely one. I don’t know about you but sometimes it feels like I am the only one in the world going through these struggles.

My mastermind helps me keep things in perspective. We are equally yoked, they are on parallel journeys, some members a little ahead and some a little behind, but on the same general path. It is comforting to be reminded that I am not alone, there are kindred spirits out there breaking through brick walls, just like me.

The support thing goes two ways. Of course it is nice to receive support from my fellow mastermind members, but probably even more rewarding for me is the opportunity to lift the other members up. To offer encouragement to others is encouraging to me. My mastermind groups are a great support system.

To Mastermind or Not?

I have pointed out three reasons “to” mastermind, there are probably fifty more that I could think of given the time. But, I believe that the three I brought you have compelling enough to encourage you to seek out or start your own mastermind. There are a ton of resources on the web that will give you step-by-step instructions.

Now get out there and find a group (or put one together) that will hold you accountable, give you new perspective and provide the support you need and deserve.

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