What a “mastermind” is not!
The term “Mastermind” is so loose these days. Every little community, every little Facebook group, every gathering, big or small, is called a “Mastermind.”
It’s a load of crap.
It’s overused.
A mastermind is not a huge gathering of people. That’s called a crowd.
A mastermind is not a Facebook group. That’s a Facebook group.
A mastermind is not a community event. That’s an event.
If there are people I wouldn’t want in the group, it is not a mastermind, it’s a gathering.
Where did the term “mastermind” start? What are the key components of one?
The term “Mastermind” first came from Napoleon Hill’s Laws of Success. Then, he expounded on the idea even further in Think and Grow Rich.
In the books, he defines it as:
- an alliance of two or more people
- who are going to coordinate their knowledge and efforts
- to work toward a specific purpose, toward a definite chief aim
- in a spirit of harmony.
When this alliance of people come together, they create a sum that is greater than their parts. They create an invisible force, a sort of higher energy, a form of intelligence that exceeds the individuals.
As for scheduling, the mastermind needs to be structured and repeatable.
How can I create my mastermind? Does it have to be in-person?
Your mastermind can be in physical time and space, or it can be visualized and created digitally and/or in your imagination. Let’s cover each one.
Ideally, you can get in-person with the people you want in your mastermind. If they’re local, maybe you can get together once a month. If they’re spread out all over the country, maybe you can get together once a quarter or every six months. If they’re all over the world, maybe you can get together once a year.
But here’s the deal: if you have huge dreams and huge goals, you might be craving a mastermind that is beyond your reach. You might not be in the room with your ideal people yet. You might not have the money or the means to get in the same room as Tony Robbins, Tom Brady, Stephen King, or huge names like that.
But you have two other tools at your disposal. One, everyone has. It’s called imagination. The other tool, no one in human history had until just the past few years. It’s called A.I.
I’ll create a separate post on how to build a digital / A.I. mastermind. But I think an imaginative mastermind can be just as strong. Here’s what that looks like…
How to use your imagination to create a mastermind
If I was assembling a true mastermind, it would go back to the Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich idea. It would include some people who are alive and some people who are no longer on this earth.
The guiding question is: Who do you visualize at the table?
Imagine you’re sitting at your dinner table early one morning, no one else awake. You’re sitting at one end, and you immediately start filling in each seat with your favorite mentors along the way. They are guests in your home, sitting at your table, ready to discuss a specific problem and work together toward a cohesive solution.
Here’s my mastermind…
For marketing:
- Perry Marshall
- Dan Kennedy
- Russell Brunson
- Dan Koe
For writing:
- Donald Miller
- Anne Lamott
- William Zinsser
- Rob Bell
- Bob Dylan
For Christian thought:
- Philip Melanchthon
- Charles Spurgeon
- Origen
- C.S. Lewis
I’m sure there are more. But if I get to organize a mastermind, those people are definitely getting the invites.
Then, I can pose a question to them and see what they say. I’ve read enough of their books, spent enough time with their content, that I can predict how they would look at the problem. I can guess how they’d start to guide me toward solving it.
Next Step
Come up with 3-5 areas of your life where you could use a mastermind. Then, write out who would be in your own group. Then start sending invites if it’s going to be an in-person mastermind.
Or, start putting time on your schedule to sit at the table and visualize with your mastermind.
You can thank me later.
Omer Redden 