What is a Mastermind Anyway?

We hear a lot of talk about Masterminds. That we should join (or form) them. That they will help us grow our businesses. That we can meet great people there. But what is a Mastermind anyway?

Napoleon Hill said that plans, no matter how well conceived, are “inert and useless without sufficient power to translate them into action.” He then goes on to claim that “no individual may have great power without availing himself of the Master Mind”.

He defined a Master Mind a “the coordination of knowledge and effort in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose”. He then described that the mastermind has two characteristics, economic and psychic.

These are the same two qualities we see in well formed, well run masterminds today and it is what gives them so much power to transform it’s members businesses and lives.

I’m sure you have seen the economic advantages of the people who surround themselves with a group of individuals who are willing to wholeheartedly assist and lend support to one another. This group analyzes, provides counsel, and supports the other members of the group with the expectation that each member will apply the recommendation in pursuit of their goals. A quick glance at the most successful people you can think of will show that this level of support and accountability has been a key factor in their success.

The second quality, psychic, is not as easily seen unless you are a part of the group. When people who are similar in spirit and energy, their energy forms an affinity…which is the psychic phase of the mastermind. Just like a group of batteries linked together provides more energy than a single battery, a group of two or more brains connected in a spirit of harmony provides more thought energy than a single brain. So when you have a group of connected spirits or energy, the group provides a massive increase in the thought energy available to every member of the group.

So what should your mastermind look like? The best masterminds have around 5 members, but you can have more or fewer, all bringing different skills, backgrounds, and experience. The goal here is for a free exchange of ideas and for other people’s skills and experience to compliment yours in a way that you can learn from their knowledge. However, the group should be similar in one key way – you should share the same core values.

You want to surround yourself with people who have a unique perspective, believe in you, are committed to your success, AND have a great positive attitude. You want your members to be empathetic and encouraging, but also strong enough to tell you the truth.

One of the key benefits to the mastermind is accountability, so you want to make sure you are meeting regularly (in whatever format makes sense to you right now). The key is that the meetings provide a free and open exchange of ideas.

So the question is, who are you surrounding yourself with? Who are those trusted advisors for you; the people that want to see you succeed AND have the knowledge or experience to help you through your challenging moments?

This mastermind principle is one of the key benefit members of our Empowered Success program receive. They immediately become surrounded by other entrepreneurs who are dedicated to building their business and their network and see the value in doing it together. If you don’t know how (or don’t want to) build your own mastermind, then I invite you to join ours. You can get more information on the program and schedule a call to see if you are a fit right on our website: EmpoweredLeadershipCoach.com/freedom.