I have written a lot in the past about participating in a Mastermind Group. I am now part of a new one that is simply phenomenal - we meet every Friday morning at 5:00 am to get focused on our goals, offer each other support and resources, and keep each other motivated and inspired. Two of the members are realtors who are making more money now than ever before thanks to the fact that they choose their peer groups carefully (yes, they are swamped in November in THIS real estate market!!).

The Productivity Group I’m working on launching at the beginning of the year is based a lot on how we run our Mastermind Group - but if you want to tap the power of the Mastermind, you can start now.

Here’s some of the key things that have made my Mastermind Groups powerful:

1. Keep them small so that conversation can flow. We have 4 people in our group. I don’t think I would want more than 8 total.
2. Include a range of skill levels in your group. You want people that can mentor you as well as people you can mentor - keep in mind the Latin Proverb, “By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn.”
3. Use the power of leverage. If I don’t follow through on my commitments, there is a price to pay. I make it painful enough to ensure I do what I say I will do.

Our meeting structure is simple and efficient:

1. We meet weekly at a certain time - if one of us is late, that person is buying breakfast for everyone.
2. Each person has the floor for a certain period of time - which gives everyone an opportunity to share successes and ask for help or guidance.
3. We sometimes hand out ‘assignments’ to each other. A few months ago, I was knee deep in working on blasting out my limiting beliefs about money. One of my group members suggested that I ask for money from someone every day for a week. Wow, it was hard, but I got SO much out of it.

There are lots of paid Mastermind Groups to join out there - if they offer the right networking and learning opportunities, I think they are quite valuable. Technically, I paid to be in my own group - but it was part of a larger program that included other seminars. I think it was the best investment I have ever made in myself.

If you have the urge to start your own Mastermind Group, feel free to drop me a line, I’m happy to offer tips if you need it. But if you just want to tap the power of a group of amazing individuals, stay tuned for my Productivity Group launching soon to start in early 2007 - it’s going to be an intense 12 weeks that will help you keep and achieve the New Years’ Resolutions you make for your business!!

Tags: Home Based Business, Productivity, Mastermind, Mastermind Group, Work At Home, Achievement, Goals, Pitfalls, Success Thinking, Work Life Balance

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 9th, 2006 at 11:13 am and is filed under Business Tips, Success Thinking, Empowerment, Coaching. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.