Mastermind Your Way to Small Business Success - Part 1

The concept of the Mastermind was made famous by Napoleon Hill about 100 years ago. In his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich", he wrote about the Mastermind principle as "the coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony."

Dr. Napoleon Hill interviewed the most powerful, wealthiest people of his time so that he could unlock their secrets to success. There was one secret he revealed after 20 years of research. It was that the most successful people never reach the top all by themselves. That might not come as a surprise to you, but have you noticed just how many business owners try to do it all themselves? You might even think that many successful people started with family connections or wealth in the first place. Dr. Hill discovered that was not the case.

He found that the most successful often became that way because they collaborated with other high achievers to supplement their insights or bridge their knowledge gaps. In my own experience in high-level masterminds, I have found that my Mastermind colleagues ask questions that I wouldn’t think to ask because I’m so close to the issue at hand.

When in the right Mastermind, you create exponential leaps in mindset, insight, and success. I have found that to be true in my own experiences with Masterminds.

If you’ve never been part of a Mastermind, I want you to imagine for a moment what would happen to your results (in the most important areas of your life) if the top three things holding you back were instantly removed. Think about it for a few seconds.

What three obstacles are preventing you from achieving your goals? If removing your top three obstacles would make a huge difference and help you achieve your goals, you would benefit from a Mastermind. Throughout history, nearly every great achievement came about because of a team of minds that were engaged in achieving a defined goal.

You know you need a high-level Mastermind Group if you:

• Have very few people to bounce ideas off of. You’re “at the top” and need a trusted group of mentors and colleagues to exchange ideas.
• Would describe yourself as a high achiever but performing at a low level. You are not performing to your true potential. You feel like you're settling and that doesn’t feel good.
• Are excited but don’t know where to start. You’re savvy and have been in business a while, but you lack critical knowledge in how to do business in this new marketplace.
• Often feel overwhelmed. This happens when you’re working in your business trying to get your task list completed and haven’t taken time to work on the essential strategic elements of your business in order to take it to the next higher level.
• Feel frustrated and not passionate about your work. Your alarm goes off in the morning, you press the snooze button several times, and dread getting out of bed.

When run well, Masterminds leverage the power of a collective group. Questions are asked that you didn’t even know needed to be asked to solve problems and overcome challenges you didn’t realize you were about to face. The payoff is priceless!

In Part 2 of Mastermind Your Way to Small Business Success, I’ll reveal how to spot when your Mastermind isn’t working. I’ll also outline the essential elements of highly-successful Mastermind Groups that are designed to stop you from spinning your wheels and start turning your mindset and your business toward prosperity and passion.