Mastermind alliance

“All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea,” states Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. This classic book has inspired millions of readers to pursue their dreams. Finding the book still in print and selling decades after it was first copyrighted in 1927, is proof that Hill’s concepts are timeless.

Napoleon Hill had a life-changing encounter with Andrew Carnegie, at one time the world’s wealthiest person, wherein he was asked by the industrialist to spend the next 20 years of his life discovering and then sharing the concepts responsible for creating incredible wealth. He accepted the challenge with no pay, and only a letter of introduction from Carnegie that allowed Hill to interview some of the most successful people of his day.

One of his key discoveries is that the super rich use a mastermind alliance to gain greater advantage and accelerate the successful implementation of a plan. A mastermind is defined as the “coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.”

There are two major advantages for creating your own mastermind—one being economic and the other psychic. An economic advantage is achieved by surrounding yourself with the advice, counsel, and cooperation of other individuals who are interested in your success. Hill believed this form of cooperative alliance was the basis of almost every great fortune. It allows you to gain from the accumulated experience, education, and contacts of every person in the group. Many times, one or two good ideas or contacts can give you a decided advantage in a competitive arena.

The psychic advantage from this mastermind principle is the synergistic effect achieved from everyone’s minds focused on the attainment of a definite purpose. Synergy is described as the interaction of elements that produce a total effect greater than the sum of the individual parts. Napoleon Hill believed that when two minds come together, it creates the equivalent of a third invisible, intangible force that will contribute to the solution of a challenge or realization of an opportunity.

We have been involved in several mastermind groups and the results obtained can be quite significant for the participants, when done correctly. The reason is because a shared idea inspires more insights that would not have been conceived individually. Here are seven ideas to consider when you create your own mastermind alliance:

1. Before forming the group, decide what advantages and benefits you can offer the other members in return for their cooperation. Everyone must feel like they are an important contributor and beneficiary of the alliance.

2. Choose business owners who are noncompetitive and, if possible, who are complimentary to your business. You may even form an alliance with just individuals within your organization; however, the disadvantage is that you will not have an outside perspective on your situation.

3. Find a time when you can meet together on a regular basis. This can be once a week until you have jointly developed the necessary plans to accomplish your goals. Later, you may decide to meet every two to four weeks.

4. Have someone take minutes at the meeting and distribute them afterwards. This is important because many great ideas can be forgotten if they are not documented.

5. At each meeting, chose one business for a “focus seat” session. The business owner states a challenge or opportunity for the other members to focus their thoughts.

6. Maintain a spirit of harmony between yourself and the rest of the group members. Without this harmony, you will not obtain the advantages a mastermind alliance can offer. The meeting should be positive and upbeat, with no putdowns allowed. No one should play the “devil’s advocate” and create a spirit of contention.

7. Treat the meetings as a high priority. Ensure you make a contribution to others, as well as thank others for their contribution to your success. Also, be sure to keep all of your commitments made to the group and individual members.

With the cooperation of other people, it will be easier for you to reach your highest potential. No one person has the experience, education, ability, and knowledge to know all the answers. A mastermind group makes sense to help you avoid some of the mistakes that would impede your progress, and it will provide a different perspective you may not have considered. With some major advantages and little downside, why would you not want to start your own mastermind alliance immediately?

(Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is the owner of Positively Outrageous Results. They can be contacted at: biz_results@yahoo.com)