Mastermind group–How to stay on track

Entrepreneurs, business owners and freelancers all know what lack of motivation is. All of us have to face various roadblocks and obstacles on our way. However, nobody said we have to go through it all alone. There are various different tools that can keep you motivated and on] the track and one of them is a mastermind group. Having a mastermind group to support you can get you through tough times without the loss of enthusiasm or it can even become a source of inspiration for new business idea. Learn more about this tool right now!

What is a mastermind group

Let’s start with this by explaining what is a mastermind group. Even though you might consider the mastermind group topic as relatively new, its history goes somewhere about seventy five years back. It was Napoleon Hill who created this concept in his book Think and Grow Rich. His definition of mastermind group was:”The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

In other words, a mastermind group is a group of two or more people designed to help you get through the challenges and roadblocks using the collective intelligence and experiences of other members of the group. You know the saying, more heads know more. Some people may think mastermind group has to be focused either on money or business. This is not true at all. There are countless types of mastermind groups in the world.

You can find groups focused on helping its members lose weight, get ripped, get better at gardening, get your book published, overcoming fear of public speaking, raising a child or a puppy as well as, like in your case, starting your own business or getting starting as a freelancer. As you can see, the only limit is your imagination.

How mastermind group works

So, how does a mastermind work? The members of group will agree on meeting schedule on a weekly or a monthly basis. Some groups are practicing meetings multiple times a week or even every day. On those meetings, members of mastermind group will discuss the challenges and problems they deal with and try to find a solution together. You have to understand that each member must be open to communication and sharing his ideas and thoughts. There is no place for someone sitting in the corner and just watching.

Members of a mastermind group support each other, give advice and insights, share their connections and can do business together if they want. Mastermind group can look and work very much like a peer-to-peer mentoring. In some sense, it can even be considered as group for mentoring. The main goal behind every mastermind group is, or should be, to help you achieve your goals, whatever they might be and to help you through tough times.

Why you should be in mastermind group

Now you know what mastermind group is and how it works. Why should you make the effort and become a member of one?

Strong support

First reason to be a part of mastermind group is that you will connect with like-minded people who are committed to help each other. Some of those people will have previous experiences with what you are dealing with while some of them not. You will find a lot of people in the same situation like you are–looking for help and advice. These people will cover your back and give you support when everyone else will to turn their backs on you.

Accelerated learning

Don’t think about less experienced people as something bad. Even though most of the members will have zero experiences, mastermind group as a whole system still have many benefits. Since the group share similar goals, it will support and motivate you to stay on track (meetings, regular communication, etc.). Next, you have only 24 hours in a day and can’t do or try everything. The more people in the group, the more trials can you learn from. What is better than accelerating your learning process without making additional effort?

Expanding your skill set

Another interesting benefit of being a member of a mastermind group is to expand your skill set. Sure, you can go to a bookstore or library and pick a book or watch some video course, but none of it will be effective like learning from examples from real life. Connecting with people with skills you want to learn or are interested in is a sure way to get started. Also, by learning new skill through a mastermind group, you are held accountable. You probably don’t want to feel shame on every meeting because you forgot your homework.

Working together

Whether you will enter a mastermind group with a specific project in mind or not, you can soon find some members well-suit for partnership and start work together. You might as well be clueless about what do you want and find someone with idea you will fall in love with and join that person. Many successful companies were born just because their founders bumped into each other somewhere and worked on developing their relationship.

Source of inspiration

OK. Maybe you are not interested in searching for business partners, but what about inspiration? Meeting with people from different areas of expertise can be a catalyst for coming with new groundbreaking ideas. Don’t think that you know everything. Use mastermind group to your advantage by keeping your mind open and listening to what other people say. Remember that the most successful businesses are built on solving problems. The more you will listen, the more problems to solve you can find.

Finding a mastermind group

You know the What, How and Why. Now it is time to tackle the Where … Where to search for mastermind group. First, let me address one thing. Even though, in the age of Internet, you might be tempted to settle for online “version” of mastermind, don’t do that. One of the reasons why mastermind group can have a big effect on you is due to face-to-face meetings. Keep this in mind. You will get the most benefits if you choose a group in your city or at least close enough so you can attend the meetings. No chat, call or hangout will be as effective.

Some of you may not be able to find a local mastermind group to join and I understand that. If you are living in a smaller city or in the countryside, your chances are limited. Still, give it at least a try and look for local groups first. You can try search on platforms like Meetup or websites dedicated to your industry. For example, users of codepen and dribbble often organize meetups on you can easily find their location online. You can also try sites like reddit and even Stackexchange.

Only when you don’t find any local, go and try your luck online. You will probably find a mastermind group that will fit into your goals.

Same or above

When looking for a mastermind group to join, there is one rule or advice you should remember. Never settle for less. Meaning, if you want to build a billion dollar company don’t join a group of people focused on small business, freelancing or solopreneurship. The Ambitions of the members should be at least on the same level as yours. If possible above. Remember, mastermind group should serve you as a motivation and inspiration. You should feel that right from the beginning. If you think big, find people who think big or even bigger.

Creating your own mastermind group

However, even with Internet there is a chance you will not find group around the topic you are interested in. Reasons can be that the topic is something very niche and unique, new or pretty weird. Anyway, there is still a hope. You can take the initiative into your hands and create your own mastermind group. Trust me, it is much easier than it can look like. All you will need to put into place, are four things–subject, members, basic rules and location.

Subject is, since you know what you are looking for, pretty clear and don’t need explaining. One thing … Make sure the subject is easy to understand. If you want people to join you mastermind group, they need to know what it is about and that it fits their needs. It’s like buying a new cloth. Next are members. You should not invite everyone, filter them carefully. Look for people willing to provide feedback and advice, and also to receive it.

Remember that every chain is only as strong as its weakest link. People in your group must be driven and committed, if possible on similar level. Member who acts only as passive observer will soon lower the motivation, enthusiasm and mood of the whole group. Avoid these people at all costs. Every member should also be a problem solver. The goal of mastermind group is to share advice, feedback and solution, not just brag and complain.

The last thing to look for is a diversity in skill set. When it comes to skills, keep your group as cosmopolitan as you can. As said in the beginning, more heads know more and also the more skills the more resources to work with. Whether you should go for quality (deep understanding) or quantity (shallow understanding), that depends on you. Who knows, you might get lucky and find couple of renaissance people–equivalent of Swiss army knife.

Final words

Mastermind group can be an incredible tool that will help you reach your goals and ambitions and even more. Just having a support of like-minded people will keep you accountable and on the track, no matter how hard the roadblocks will be. As Jim Rohn says:”You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”. So, you had better keep the quality high!

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