For over twenty years I’ve participated in masterminds to accelerate my personal and professional growth. If you are unfamiliar with the idea of a mastermind group then let me explain.
A mastermind is a group of people who come together to share ideas, create new opportunities and leverage each other’s brain power.
To me, the right mastermind group is pure gold — tapping into the collective wisdom and momentum of powerful people means that I can activate new levels of possibility I might not imagine for myself. If I had not been in powerful masterminds, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be where I am today. The masterminds I’ve participated in opened doors that I didn’t even know existed, as well as supported me beyond my wildest dreams. I’ve been in spiritual groups, hard-core marketing masterminds (not my favorite but I did learn a ton), and smaller, more intimate masterminds focused on accountability and support. I’ve also run different types of masterminds over the years with all different kinds of entrepreneurs, thought leaders and change-makers ready to grow their businesses.
In the book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill talks about how Andrew Carnegie tapped into the minds of 50 men who at any time he could ask them for advice or access their resources. Imagine…what could happen for you if you did not have to solve every problem or challenge alone? Beyond the amazing benefits of accountability and co-creating new possibilities, masterminds have become one of the best ways to develop strategic alliances.
Think of it like this. Each business owner builds their own power base of resources – clients, marketing channels, expertise, vendors, etc. If you can utilize what each person has built and exponentially multiply your own resource base without recreating the wheel, then you’ve got business leverage! Now of course most people don’t overtly join a mastermind with a grand plan of each and every person using each other’s resource base.
However it happens very naturally because…
In a mastermind for entrepreneurs, you develop a bond and affinity for each other that makes you want to support each other. Some of the ways I’ve been able to tap this power of leverage has been:
- Being invited to speak at coveted events or on virtual summits
- Sharing vendors and contractors not available outside the inner circle
- Tapping expertise and mentoring available to others at top dollar
- Becoming their “referral of choice” for my expertise
- Having insight into their trade secrets they don’t share elsewhere
- Sparking innovation, simply from the brainstorming and sharing of ideas
What I’ve Personally Learned About Joining a Mastermind
Not all masterminds are the same. Obviously there has to be a lot of trust and confidence for a mastermind of this caliber. I’m very selective about who I join a mastermind with and when I facilitate masterminds for my clients like the Awaken Leadership Lab, I’m just as picky about who gets in. Having a selection process means that the group will be more committed and have more aligned values than those that don’t require an application.
I’m a huge fan of joining a paid mastermind with a mentor that you trust who will facilitate the experience for you. Often the self-starter mastermind groups have a lot of initial steam, but they lose momentum as the months go by without professional facilitation.
Here’s three important factors to evaluate:
- Who leads the group? Is this someone you can count on to deliver? Do they have experience facilitating strong business leaders? Have they demonstrated results? Do you respect them?
- Will there be a range of people in the group? Having access to different types of businesses, and even different levels of growth, is key. You don’t want to have group think, but rather different types of thinking that stimulates new possibilities.
- What’s important to me in my mastermind? This is probably one of the most important factors to consider as mastermind is a term that means different things. Do you want to be in a group that allows you to have time to present your situation and get support? Or do you want to just learn from a business advisor? Is it helpful for you to make new strategic alliances (aka who else is in the group) or do you only desire to focus on YOU and your business growth. Make sure the mastermind will match your needs.
Whatever you are looking for, if you want to speed up results, expand your potential and tap into the wisdom of others, find a mastermind that’s right for you.
The Awaken Leadership Lab has two levels of mastermind and is currently accepting applications. The best fit for this program is someone who is already in business and wants to grow their level of influence and stand out as an industry leader. And if you are new in business or taking things in a new direction, try the Lab without the mastermind!