by Jim Palmer

Power is essential for success in the accumulation of money. – Napoleon Hill, author

I want to talk to you about an unbelievable business-building tool – masterminding. Perhaps you’ve heard of Mastermind groups, but aren’t quite sure what they are or if joining one would be right for you. As someone who has been masterminding for years and currently in two Mastermind groups, let me tell you that joining a Mastermind group would be the best decision you ever made for yourself and your business.

Since the last issue of Newsletter Power I’ve attended two meetings (just the way the calendar worked out). In both of these meetings I walked away with confirmations of some product ideas I was mulling over and I was also given two new business-building strategies that I had not thought of.

In Think and Grow Rich (a book you must read), the author, Napoleon Hill, tells us how Henry Ford overcame some big handicaps such as poverty, illiteracy, and ignorance and became one of the richest men in America. Hill notes that Mr. Ford’s outstanding achievements began to take great strides after he started forming alliances with other great businessmen. “People take on the nature and the habits and the POWER OF THOUGHT of those with whom they associate in a sprit of sympathy and harmony,” writes Hill. If you ask the top leaders and CEOs what they attribute their success to, most would credit their Mastermind experiences.

What is a Mastermind group? It can best be described as one part board of directors and one part peer-advisory committee. A Mastermind group is a group of like-minded individuals, typically business owners, who come together to contribute to each other’s success in a spirit of harmony and partnership. The POWER of the Mastermind experience is that it can lift your mind and vision to enable you to see things that you otherwise could not, most likely because you are too close to your business.

Here’s the real secret– great minds don’t always think alike! That’s why the best leaders turn to Mastermind groups. Just imagine sitting around a table with successful people from many different fields and walks of life and having them freely, openly, and confidentially share what they would do to grow your business.

It’s easy to feel isolated as an entrepreneur and it’s difficult to find peers who understand your challenges and issues. As I said, I’m fortunate to be part of two Mastermind groups and I can say unequivocally that they have made me a better businessman, and I have been enriched with ideas and plans that might otherwise have taken me years to finally figure out, if they would have occurred to me at all. Think of your Mastermind group as your own personal dream team!

Finally, let me talk about two reasons why some people hesitate to join a Mastermind group – time and money. It might be hard to envision dedicating the necessary time to meet with your group, and the monthly fees may be the last thing you think you need to take on. However, in both of my Mastermind experiences, I not only benefited enormously from the experience, both in terms of doing more business (reimbursing me many times more than the cost of the fees), but I also started working smarter on my business and, therefore, the time I dedicated to each meeting was also reimbursed!

FYI: I am considering starting a Mastermind group here in the Philadelphia area in the next couple months. In addition to leading the group, I will be including a coaching component where I will be teaching some of the business-building strategies that I have used to build my business. If you have interest in learning more about this group, send an e-mail to ">.

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