The Mastermind Principle

To reach the top of the mountain, you need to surround yourself not only with those who have been there, but also those who want to go there.

The Master-Mind Principle

Ask anyone at the highest levels of success, and they’ll tell you they didn’t do it alone. Many top athletes, entertainers and businesspeople had excellent mentors to show them the way

Billionaire steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie credited his entire fortune to his mastermind group – he inspired author Napoleon Hill to create the term in his 1937 book Think and Grow Rich. Hill spent 25 years interviewing 500 of America’s most innovative leaders, including Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, Henry Ford and J. P. Morgan, and many others, to discover their secrets for success. One thing they had in common, Hill discovered, was participation in a peer group.

“No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind [the mastermind," Hill explains.

Hill defined the “Master Mind” as a “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose. ”Participating in this type of “think tank” increases the effectiveness of each of the members.

President Theodore Roosevelt started a mastermind group during his presidency. Roosevelt was only 42 years old when he became president (the youngest age ever for an American president). He needed help working with many of the other politicians who were much older than he, and turned to his mastermind group for this guidance, support and help.

One of the most famous mastermind groups of all time was the Inklings, an authors’ group with members like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Owen Barfield.

My favorite historical mastermind group was called “The Vagabonds.” It included Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, President Warren G. Harding and Harvey Firestone (founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company).I call this group my favorite, since collectively they achieved such amazing things.

What Is A Mastermind Group?

A mastermind group is when multiple business owners regularly meet with the single purpose of helping each other succeed.

They’re made up of a small group of business owners, usually no more than a dozen, sometimes in the same field but oftentimes in non-competing industries. Although every group is unique, they generally involve monthly meetings either in-person or online where members take turns discussing their challenges and receiving advice and accountability.Group members encourage each other to set bold goals, and support them in accomplishing them. While CEOs of large corporations have boards of directors, smaller business owners are often on their own. They may have employees, but it’s inappropriate to lean on them for advice and support about major decisions.

I define a mastermind group as a select group of people who work together to help each member of the group overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Advantage

A mastermind or peer advisory board can serve as a trusted space to receive unbiased feedback on topics like finances, marketing, sales, personnel, or products/service launches.

How Do Mastermind Groups and Advisory Boards Help Your Business Succeed?

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

-Said entrepreneur and motivational speaker Jim Rohn. If this is correct, then mastermind groups (also known as peer-to-peer mentoring) can help business owners dramatically increase their personal and business wins.

The Mastermind Principle