How to Create and Run a Mastermind Group for Maximum Profit

How to Create and Run a Mastermind Group

by Karyn Greenstreet (Copyright © 2004, by Karyn Greenstreet. All rights reserved.)

What is a Mastermind Group?

There is synergy of energy, commitment, and excitement that participants bring to a Mastermind Group. The beauty of Mastermind Groups is that participants raise the bar by challenging each other to create and implement goals, brainstorm ideas, and support each other
with total honesty, respect and compassion. Mastermind participants act as catalysts for growth, devil’s advocates and supportive colleagues.

The concept of the Mastermind Group was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill in the early 1900's. In his timeless classic, "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."

He continues ...

"No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind."

In a Mastermind Group, the agenda belongs to the group, and each person’s participation is key. Your peers give you feedback, help you brainstorm new possibilities, and set up accountability structures that keep you focused and on track. You will create a community of supportive colleagues who will brainstorm together to move the group to new heights.

You'll gain tremendous insights, which can improve your business and personal life. Your Mastermind Group is like having a objective board of directors.

What Will You Get From It?

• Experience, skill and confidence
• Real progress in your business and personal life
• An instant and valuable support network
• A sense of shared endeavor - there are others out there!
• Design things to be the way you want them to be, not as you've been told they "should" be

Who Should Attend?

People who:

• have a similar interest (such as a group for self-employed
• people, or a group for spiritual thinkers, or a group for people in a
• certain corporation or industry)
• have a similar skill and/or success level
• have the desire and inspiration to make this year extraordinary
• want a supportive team of Mastermind partners
• want to reach or exceed their goals
• are ready to let their desire to be passionate about their life
• and work overcome their fear of change

How Does It Work?

Mastermind Groups can meet in person, on the telephone, or via online message boards. For those groups that meet in person or on the phone, typically a once-a-month meeting is scheduled. You can find a Mastermind group here, or learn how to start your own Mastermind
group.

Because of the group nature, a commitment is required. Look for highly-motivated people who are willing to ask for -- and give --help and support.

How Do You Screen Applicants?

Before agreeing to let any new applicants into your group, it’s important to screen them to make sure they’ll fit into the existing group and that their commitment level is high. Decide in advance how many people should be in your group (5-8 is recommended), and only allow new members into the group with the unanimous consent of everyone in the group.

• Do you have a personal or business mission or vision statement?
• What are your five-year goals?
• Where will you find time to participate in the Mastermind Group?
• What is your commitment to moving forward in your business and personal life?
• Why should you be chosen to participate in this group?

Even with a screening process your group is likely to run across people who say that they’re committed but then don’t participate, or who say that they’re honest but then fail to keep the trust of the group. Be prepared to ask people to leave the group who are not participating up to the group standard and do it quickly once the poor behavior becomes evident. A "slacking" member will bring down the energy and fun level for the whole group.

Mastermind Groups create a win-win situation for all participants. New friendships develop and everyone grows because of the support and encouragement of the Mastermind Group.

How Pride & Money DON'T Mix

How Pride & Money DON'T Mix

Here's the point of this blog...to help everyone get to their first million. We're not interested 'get rich in 30 days' rubbish. Can it happen? Yes. Does it happen by you signing up for some affiliate program...No, most likely
it won't.

Here's our story...
We once had a large home in a nice neighborhood on the bench. We were making a lot of money, I had my own business, free time, vacations in Greece & Costa Rica. We could afford to do whatever we wanted; we had the best of the American Dream....& then the bottom fell out from under us.
My business partner quit & left me with a ton of debt causing a domino effect.

We burned through our equity, my business went up & down, our investments died, all sources of income stopped.
We were once 'the family' in our ward; we had it all. As it began to unravel, I had to uproot & move my family. With 3 little children & a wife 9 months pregnant, we were forced to sell our dream home and move into a rundown area of town into a home filled with black mold & possibly meth fumes.
After unpacking, we only stayed in the house for one night; the mold & chemicals nearly causing us to black out.
Once again, I packed up my family & had to move into my wifes parents home to sleep on the floor or couch. Our family of 6 crowded into a home with five already there. We only stayed for a month & then moved again into a 70 year old, 1600 square foot rental home owned by one of my wife's high school friends.
There I was, 40 years old, with a dead end job & no prospects; having only made about $3000 dollars in 6 months, a family to support; how in the world had this happened to us?

In a word...PRIDE. Complete, evil Pride.

We had grown prideful of the trappings of our 'success.' It was very intoxicating to realize that I made more in one month than most people made in the entire year. Slowly, with little perception, this pride led to seeing others in a different light. I had the outward appearance of a good person but, deep inside I was prideful.
Pride I found leads to Fear. Fear feeds pride but, pride is a insatiable beast that can never be sated & will eventually will bring about complete failure. I was deeply afraid that the money would run out, and it did. This fear led to our downfall.

During the downfall, I found myself sitting in a cubicle surrounded by 90 other salesmen who were 25 years my junior, working 60 hours a week at a commission only job when I had once owned my own company was crushing to my soul but, very, very therapeutic.
I had a lot of time to think & reflect on what had happened in the last 12 months. I did a lot of fasting & repenting; I changed.
At this time (perhaps out of desperation) I began to get into success literature: Anthony Robbins, T. Harv Eker, Napoleon Hill, James Arthur Ray et al & I realized, "I did this to myself!' I'm 100% responsible for my life & no one else." We lost it all because of pride, fear & doubt.

I want others to learn from our mistakes & see us climb back out of this. I have also established a discussion forum where I want everyone to come & discuss how they are working to earn their first million & I want to invite our team to join in the discussion:
http://groups.google.com/group /millionaire-mind-set?hl=en

Our discussion group is dedicated to helping everyone reach their first million but first, everyone needs to change their thinking down to their DNA to get themselves in the mindset to be a millionaire. Having had a lot & lost it all, I can directly testify that you must be able to first be a thousandaire before you can be trusted with a million & be a millionaire.

We want everyone to come & join the discussion. We have a STRICT 'no spam' policy & I moderate all messages to make sure that we're always on task & not discussing ' rubbish.

So, please invite anyone who wants to discuss how we can help one another become successful from the inside out.

Cheers,

Darrell

Wealth Principle: Thoughts lead to Feelings, Feelings lead to actions, Actions lead to results

"Your financial blueprint consists of a combination of your thoughts, feelings, & actions in the area of money." --T. Harv Eker

As a child we were each taught how to feel about money & wealth. You & I were taught a certain mindset about how to either financially create or destroy ourselves. These teachings became our conditioning, which automatically became our responses during our lives when we deal with money.

Here's an interesting question to pose to yourself.....
"Where did my thoughts concerning money & wealth come from? Why do I think differently from the next person, my friends or even, family members?"

My father was raised as one of 14 children of a crop sharer. He & his siblings grew up in the post-Depression era. Due to this national mentality about money they too became scarce in their thinking.
Their scarcity continues to this day both personally & with their children. My cousins live on welfare, church charity & on asking others for help; it's always "The Man's" fault; they are never personally responsible for their situations.
Finally, my father & two other brothers actually broke free of this financial deathgrip.

Your thoughts originate in what's called "hidden programs" that run in your mind sub-consciously; do these thoughts or phrases sound familiar?

"What am I made of money?"
"Do you think money grows on trees?"
'We can't afford that!"
"I can't seem to get a break financially."
Etc., etc., etc.,

I remember hearing that we couldn't afford things, we were strapped financially. Even now you can still hear someone saying, 'Wow, that's expensive!'

All these phrases are negative financial phrases that repel financial success thus, the following model presents itself:

P->T->F->A=R

Programming (good or bad) leads to Thoughts which lead to Feelings that create Actions that equal Results.

How does this manifest in our lives or, in my case in my life?

I was raised with a scarcity mentality; we didn't know anyone in family that had ever been wealthy. I attended a high school in the northwest Houston area that had kids who would drive up in Porches & BMW's & park next to kids who were in beat-up farm trucks or, even worse walked or rode the bus because their families were too poor to afford a car.
We had families in our school district that had 10 to 15 bedroom homes on the Raveneaux Golf Club course & not 10 minute drive from there kids living in corrigated tin shanty hovels with old couches on the porch.

I was the son of a blue collar mechanic who had left school in the 10th grade. I had never heard of entreprenuerism, or the difference between working for a living or creating multiple streams of income.

My programming ran deep & was hard wired into my psyche; we were a middle-class, blue collar family & dad had to work a lot of overtime to make whatever money we had. To my parents credit, we were all told that when we went college not if we went to college things would improve as we learned to help ourselves.

My mothers family was similar. My grandmother was from England but, had been brought over by my grandfather after WWII. He was also was the son of a poor East Texas farmer. My grandfather had a 3rd grade education & drove a fuel truck through the backwoods of East Texas.
Growing up, for a time, my mother & her family lived in a log cabin in the woods. Needless to say, money for them & later, my mother was always a factor.

Fast forward to my life & marriage.

When we married, I lived in an 100 year old home with some buddies, sleeping on the floor with some blankets, two bikes, some books, my computer & I had $500 dolllars in the bank. My wife by contrast, because of my wifes family situation had been supporting herself financially since she was 8 years old by making pies, baby-sitting & cleaning. When we married she had paid cash for all her cars, had traveled & lived in Israel, Mexico & Canada. She had stocks & investments; she had broke out of the grasp of her upbringing but, I was still a slave to the programming of my family.