Some of you are asking "What is a mastermind?" 

I first learned about the concept of masterminding when I read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. 

Hill spent 20 years studying rich people to see what they had in common. 

He came up with 14 principles that I won't be able to cover here. 

Principle #9 talks about the power of a mastermind. Here's an excerpt from Think and Grow Rich: 

9. Power of the Master Mind: The Driving Force 

The Master Mind is one of the core tenets of Hill's teachings, and it's a powerful one. 

He describes it as: “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” 

Through these groups, Hill suggests that "Men take on the habits and power of thought of those with whom they associate in a spirit of sympathy and harmony." 

One of the original Master Mind groups was formed by Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, John Burroughs and Luther Burbank. 

Things turned out pretty good for those guys, and since then groups of successful people (usually CEOs) get together on a regular basis to help each other solve their biggest challenges. 

No matter where you are in your journey, you should consider joining or forming a group of your own. 

I've been a member of more than one mastermind over the past 15 years. 

Some of my mentors whom I masterminded with include Perry Marshall, Mike Filsaime, Frank Kern, Brian Kurtz, John Carlton and more (I've invested a boatload of cash over the years!). 

I ran my own mastermind group, Freedom Accelerator, for eight years until I shut it down a few months ago. 

The group needed a reboot and upgrade which is why I'm exploring a higher-end version of my mastermind. 

I just signed up for Laura Belgray's Shrimp Club, which will be my first mastermind run by a woman. 

I can't wait to get a completely different perspective!! 

Each mastermind has its own structure and personality. 

Some were online and others were 2-3 day retreats a few times a year. 

Getting out of your environment lets you could focus 100% of your attention on the mastermind meeting. 

The best mastermind groups include a diverse group of motivated entrepreneurs. 

You want to get feedback from a variety of perspectives. 

If you run a marketing agency and you join a mastermind full of marketers, you'll get some good feedback, but it will be limited to one perspective. 

When you join a mastermind with an attorney, a New York Times best-selling author, a 7-figure executive coach, a web agency owner, a brick-and-mortar business owner, a professional speaker and an HR consultant you will get feedback from a variety of perspectives and businesses. 

Great masterminds are full of givers not takers. 

The best masterminds have a "we're all in this together" attitude and everyone wants to help each other succeed. 

They care about you succeeding as much as they want their own business to succeed. 

They don't hold back secrets because you are not competitors, you are colleagues. 

Good mastermind members are not afraid to challenge you and ask the hard questions you've been avoiding. 

Yes, it can get uncomfortable at times because we all need an occasional kick in the ass. 

We all get stuck and it's great to have your own board of advisors supportively pushing you through your fears. 

Mastermind members support each other and keep in touch between meetings. 

They become life-long friends. 

The leader of the mastermind is a facilitator of greatness. 

My job is to bring together a cohesive group of successful business professionals who want to grow their own business and will take pride when they help your business succeed. 

Occasionally, there are members who are not a fit for the mastermind. 

They are self-centered and are only in it for themselves. 

I was in one online mastermind meeting where one member completed his hot seat then left the meeting saying, "I don't have time to hear other people's problems". 

We had to excuse him from the group for obvious reasons. 

Personally, I learn more from helping others with their problems than when I'm in the hot seat for my business. 

As Napoleon Hill said: “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” 

This is what creates the magic in a successful mastermind. 

Ideas appear out of the blue that can change your business forever. 

The synergy between the mastermind members creates life-long relationships. 

Many of the businesses are complimentary so you end up doing business with each other. 

Referrals are plentiful because we all want to help each other succeed. 

Masterminds are a win/win for everyone when you get the right people in the right room at the right time. 

Ready to join us? 

Comment YES and we'll set up a time to talk. 

About the author 

Ted Prodromou

Would you like me to help you?

I'm the #1 best-selling author of Ultimate Guide to LinkedIn for Business and Ultimate Guide to Twitter for Business. People call me America's Leading LinkedIn Coach.

I'm the founder of Search Marketing Simplified, LLC, a full service online marketing agency. The SMS team designs and implements advanced LinkedIn and social media lead-generation strategies for small to medium-sized businesses. SMS will set up and manage your marketing funnels using organic, social and paid traffic.

Did you know I've been working with the internet since 1991, long before Al Gore invented it?

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