The Benefits Of Creating A Mastermind Group [BCC 032]

Today I met up with our mastermind group after taking most of the summer off (crazy schedules, kids at home, etc.).

It was a brilliant two-hour session of sharing updates and ideas with each other, which is why I want to talk to you about the benefits of a mastermind group as well as how to set one up.

Let's dive in.

Why a mastermind group?

I just came across this as I was reading Think And Grow Rich the last few weeks. It may be one of the earliest examples of the idea of a mastermind group:

GAINING POWER THROUGH THE "MASTER MIND"
The "Master Mind" may be defined as: "Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose."...Economic advantages may be created by any person who surrounds himself with the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of men who are willing to lend him wholehearted aid, in a spirit of PERFECT HARMONY. This form of cooperative alliance has been the basis of nearly every great fortune. Your understanding of this great truth may definitely determine your financial status.

Earlier this year I felt like I wanted to assemble a "mastermind" and reached out to a few friends with whom I've enjoyed deep conversations. They, too, were excited, and each brought a friend. That made five.

We had our first meeting and I was floored at how much motivation and inspiration came from the insights of others who had a different vantage point of my work and my business.

You create a mastermind because you need the advice, counsel, and motivation from people you trust. It makes you better in so many ways.

How to start a mastermind group

It's...actually pretty simple. Find three to five people that are at a similar stage in the journey as you are, ideally on a similar path.

(If you're a writer, find a few other writers. If you're a musician, find some other musicians and songwriters.)

Our mastermind was centered around people who were building creative businesses, were all making around $100k a year with a desire to increase that, who had a platform of 500-3500 people.

We're all in a similar stage of the journey and on a similar path.

Then, just ask!

"Hey, I was thinking about creating a mastermind group. We'd meet once a month in person, and asynchronously in a slack (or similar) channel."

Then, you start!

How to run a mastermind group

We decided to focus on the things we were struggling with within each meeting. We each come with one thing that we'd like the help of the mastermind with, and each person has 20-30 minutes of feedback from the group.

At times it's more organic and less structured, and each time we've met there is usually someone who gets more attention because there's some innate ability for the group to hone in on the greatest need and want to contribute.

There is no ego, and people are expected to not hold back with their feedback and opinions.

We meet once a month at a member's house for about two hours.

Take action

If you're not currently part of a mastermind group, I urge you to start one. Find a handful of friends and spearhead the idea. Make it a reality.

It costs nothing but a little bit of time and effort, but the upside is that you'll forge deeper relationships, and grow faster from the insights of others.

You'll leave each meeting with a renewed sense of purpose and a greater desire to go do the work you've set out to do.

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I hope you'll let me know how it goes!

Daren

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LINKS

I've been toying with the idea of including links each week, so here's an attempt. Let me know if the links are helpful!

​MOMENTUM BUILDER WORKSHOP (LEAN EDITION) (from Tiny Little Businesses)​

I just signed up for this workshop and didn't want to hold out on you! In the workshop, you create a minimum-viable funnel that includes a long-form Facebook ad, a landing page, a welcome email series, and an email sales sequence.

If you have a product or service that you'd like more people to purchase, this is the workshop that will get you there quickly.

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​LINKEDIN OPERATING SYSTEM by Justin Welsh

My brother and I got this course since his main platform is LinkedIn, and it's got a ton of valuable insights on how to grow an audience through publishing there.

I've really enjoyed how his frameworks can easily be transferred over to other platforms like Twitter, which is where I prefer to spend my time.

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​CREATOR COINS​

This is a space I've been watching for a few months now. I tried setting up a Craftsman Coin but apparently, they've got too many requests and can't set me up yet. (Or maybe I'm just not big enough yet...haha)

Essentially you create your own crypto coin which you can then use to reward your audience and give them an opportunity to buy a stake in your creative business. Here is a good overview for you from Brian Clarke. the founder of Copyblogger (I own about 50 $MOVE coin, FWIW.)