Ready for amazing results in your business and personal life? It’s time to Mastermind!

It’s been almost 10 years since I became part of a mastermind group, and what an amazing 10 years has it been for me both professionally and personally!

For example, in November 2014 we all agreed to do 21 days of meditation. We were accountable to each other about doing our daily meditation. In 2015, I took that habit into the year and meditated daily for the ENTIRE year. I wouldn't have adopted what's turned out to be a really valuable lifestyle practice with the accountability of my Mastermind Group.

If you’re not familiar with the concept of a mastermind group, it dates back to the original personal development guru Napoleon Hill’s 1937 book “Think and Grow Rich.” He wrote that the Mastermind Principle brings together two or more people to work toward a purpose, and thereby create “a third, invisible intangible force.”

That force is the mastermind, and two heads – or three or four or five – are definitely better than one!

My mastermind group is a collection of women business owners, so naturally our focus starts with business, but it’s really become a way to practice excellence in all facets of our life.

We meet monthly to discuss a book we’ve all read and share how we’ve met our business and personal goals since we last met. This accountability is key to our process – knowing we have to report back to the group on our progress means we’re actively striving for our goals!

Our mastermind group focuses on our successes, rather than challenges we may be having in our businesses, but the collection of ladies is a great resource when a challenge arises. I know I can pick up the phone if I need to bounce an idea off of any one of them.

Gather your own mastermind

Ready to start your own mastermind group? Excellent! Here are the nuts and bolts to getting going:

Have a focus. Is this group for growing a current business, starting a business or achieving other personal goals?
Set criteria. Based on your focus, set criteria for group membership. For instance, if the group is for seasoned business owners, you might require each member to have owned their business for at least two or three years.
Gather your group. Look around and find members who will be a good fit for the group based on their goals and personality.
Set a schedule. Determine how often you will meet and the structure of your meeting.
Set the tone. As a group, agree upon the “spirit” of the meetings. Aim for qualities such as judgment free, proactive and accountable.
Pick a leader. Every good meeting needs someone at the helm. The leader can rotate every six or 12 months so that no one person gets burned out.
Be disciplined. Masterminding is a daily/weekly/monthly practice that takes work, effort, energy and discipline. When you put in the time, you'll reap its rewards.