When you hear the term “mastermind”, what is your immediate reaction? Is it trepidation? Doubt? Fear that you are about to be bamboozled?
Unfortunately, that is a common response for many solitary men who are looking for something to belong to. They are looking to join a group of like-minded people to help them grow and develop themselves toward their own goals in life, but are fearful of being made to look a fool. The age-old adage of “if it seems too good to be true…” is often tied to a mastermind pitch.
While there are charlatans who build a mastermind solely to turn the hopes of others into dollars for themselves, there are more people out there today than ever before, who are looking for a group to join and learn from. With some proper research and an understanding of what you are willing to give to be a part of a substantiated group, you can find a mastermind that does more than make you suspicious.
Do you need a mastermind? Probably not. If you have a single goal and you want to get there fast, you can go alone and get to your desired destination. But you will undoubtedly encounter more obstacles and make more mistakes than you will if you join a group of men who re on the same path as you.
But if you want to go far, go out and find a mastermind that pours into you as much as you pour back into it.
Here are a few ideas for making sure that the mastermind you choose ends up being the community you need.
Killing the Ego
Anytime you join a new group, you are going to step into it with expectations of your own. However, you will also most likely project the expectations that others may have toward you. Why would you join a group and then worry what they might say negatively about you? You need to silence the negativity in your own mind in order to grow, so step one of making sure you become a member of a mastermind, as opposed to only being a subscriber, is to kill your ego.
Most men in the mastermind you join are there for their own reasons and their own purposes. They aren’t judging you or your own desired goals from joining the group. In fact, the more experienced members typically get more joy from helping a new member than they do in reaching their own goals. So make sure that you go in with an open mind and a clear objective so that you can focus on those instead of what others might be saying or not saying, doing or not doing.
Build What You Want
Just because the mastermind has been around longer than you have been a member, doesn’t mean that they are inflexible. While you need to understand the rules and purpose of the group before joining it, ultimately you are looking to meet your own needs by joining. Make sure you speak up and participate.
The key to being someone that people listen to and respond to is doing the extra things that make the experience better for everyone. You know what you want and you know how you can help others. Being quiet and letting others lead isn’t helpful to anyone, especially yourself. By leading as a member, you can gain buy-in and respect for your own thoughts and ideas.
The Right Leverage Can Move the World
“Give me a lever and a place to stand and I will move the earth. Give me a fulcrum, and I shall move the world. Give me a firm spot on which to stand, and I shall move the earth.” - Archimedes
Archimedes knew that with the right tools, you could move anything. If you are looking for movement in your own life, the mastermind is a tool that you can use to create that movement. As a member of a mastermind, you are amongst a group of men who are there for the same reasons. You are a community of like-minded men who are seeking the feeling of fellowship with others. They share common attitudes, interests, and goals with you.
The advantage of this is that, while sharing similar ideas, this group of men is also comprised of members from all walks of life and varying specialties and expertise. You have similar goals but come at them from differing perspectives. The key to any discovery, especially self-discovery, is a change in perspective when you feel like you have hit a wall. Leveraging the experience and viewpoints of others in the group is like having a ready-made consortium of single-person businesses to aid and assist you in your own endeavors.
Ultimately, only you can know if a mastermind meets your needs. If your needs are to find a community of men who will help cheer for your success while also keeping you honest, then the right mastermind could be what gets you to the next level of where you want your life to be.
