Do you have a group of friends you can trust, rely on, speak freely with and who will share their knowledge and resources plus challenge and inspire you? A Mastermind group is key to your success.

I have been fortunate to be part of a Mastermind group for over two years.

We formed based on our experiences in a group coaching cohort with Kary Oberbrunner based on his book The Deeper Path.

Two of us from one of Kary's first coaching cohorts wanted to build on our momentum and continue learning. We soon added two others who had been part of the inaugural cohort. We briefly added a fifth member in late 2015, but due to our new member's scheduling difficulties, he decided to drop out, at least for the time being.

Our first year, we met once a month, but found that to be inadequate, so began meeting every week in early 2015.

What is a Mastermind Group?

A Mastermind group is a meeting of like-minded people that meet regularly to encourage growth and success through mutual support. Members usually have similar goals around family, business, interests, learning opportunities, etc.

Napoleon Hill was an early thought leader and defined a Mastermind as “Two or more people, who work in perfect harmony for the attainment of a definite purpose.” He believed that through a Mastermind that you could accomplish more in one year than you could in a lifetime without it.

A favorite Napoleon Hill quote: “More gold has been mined from the thoughts of men than has been taken from the earth.” underscoring the importance of aligning with thought leaders.

Hill points out that Mastermind members can borrow and use the education, experience, influence and perhaps capital of fellow members.

“As iron sharpens
iron, so one
person sharpens
another”

In our group, we have found this to be true repeatedly. We have encouraged each other as we explore business opportunities, navigate busy lives, write books, parent our kids, develop webinars and create new products. We each bring something unique to our group, and together we are better than if we operated independently.

We named our Mastermind “27:17” after the verse in Proverbs: “As iron sharpens iron,so one person sharpens another.“

Invest a few minutes in watching this video of Napoleon Hill describing the role Masterminds play in success:

12 Ways A Mastermind Is The Foundation of Your Success

Encouragement. Our Mastermind's foundation is encouraging, motivating, challenging, and inspiring each other in a collegial atmosphere.
Friendship. Members of 27:17 are friends, and our friendships have deepened as we continue to meet. Friendship is a key aspect of our group.
Perspective. Each of us brings different backgrounds, knowledge and viewpoints to our meetings. This diversity enriches our discussions and enables us to achieve more than if isolated. We challenge each other by being objective and asking tough questions that lead to new insight
Knowledge. Collectively, our Mastermind is a body of knowledge that extends well beyond each individual. It is all about sharing what we know and helping each other apply new knowledge to move forward. We study books together and frequently share interesting articles.
Resources. We share materials we are developing and bring useful resources & tools to the attention of the group, often with suggestions of how individuals can apply these resources in their lives and businesses.
Collaboration. We collectively move forward. We have proof-read documents, engaged in webinar practice sessions, critiqued presentations, and refined ideas together. We freely give our time and attention to help each other.
Connections. We each have an extensive network of colleagues, friends, mentors, and business partners. We frequently bridge introductions to our best contacts.
Camaraderie. We have enjoyed group outings such as driving high end sports cars like Lamborghinis. We also have attended conferences together. Interesting side note about conferences: we don't sit together to maximize our group's networking capabilities.
Feedback. We will discuss any issue – family, business, personal. Each of us has contributed to solutions that individually we might have missed.
Accountability. Talking through our goals solidifies the need to accomplish them. Members naturally want to help, monitor your progress and celebrate with you.
Honesty. We speak the truth to each other without hesitation. We know that each member has the betterment of the members, the group and themselves in mind when speaking. Such candor is refreshing!
Confidentiality. Trust is crucial in a Mastermind. We have committed ourselves to privacy and completely trust each other, knowing that what we openly discuss will never be known outside our group.

Invest In A Mastermind

Every single leader I have sought out and have come to respect in the entrepreneurial world is part of a Mastermind, sometimes several.

Aaron Walker wrote a great post “6 Reasons Why I LOVE My Mastermind Group”, Dan Miller published an in-depth PDF resource Creating Your Own Mastermind Group; Michael Hyatt has run an Inner Circle Mastermind; Pat Flynn participates in several, and turned one meeting into a great podcast. The list goes on.

If you are in a Mastermind, you are already ahead of the game. If you are not yet participating, find a well organized and purposeful group to join.