Masterminds are incredible tools. As with all tools, there is a purpose. A proper tool provides an incredible benefit when used. A screwdriver makes it easier to apply a screw to a board; while a hammer makes it easier to put a nail into a board. Both of these tools have their own distinct advantages. Hammer is faster. Yet a screwdriver will allow for fewer sore thumbs.
Mastermind groups when used properly have different perks and advantages. Not only do the participants get the chance to get their problems solved but, there are other advantages that come with a mastermind group. Some advantages are obvious like accountability and support. Then there are benefits that might surprise you. So let’s dive into these unique benefits of a mastermind
Mastermind Groups Make Friends
When you are in a mastermind, it may be a bit awkward at first. You are trying to figure out how you will fit with the rest of these folks. Many times these guys already know each other. You may know one or two members but not all of them. Eventually, though, you settle in and you are with the rest of the team. These members of your mastermind religiously meet up at the same time. This regularity allows you to get to know these people. You learn about their triumphs and their failures. As time takes its course, you eventually become close friends. They celebrate not only your mastermind wins but your personal wins too.
One big advantage of a mastermind is that you make these close personal friends. These friends also push you to become better. They challenge your thinking and force you out of your comfort zone.
Doing this helps you see and understand different perspectives. Often you will end up in a completely different place all because your mastermind wants you to be the best you possibly can be.
Sometimes you don’t realize it but you might be thinking small. Your mastermind group can see this and head it off at the pass. Therefore, they will make sure that you don’t stay small. They will help you see and think bigger. They want you to reach for the stars. That is because if you reach for the stars you will never come up with a handful of mud.
Then when you are ready to step to the next level your mastermind friends will help make sure that the world knows the success you have achieved. You have your own personal cheerleader group. These people will share with everybody they can find that your new product or idea is available. A group of friends often become a huge and powerful promotional engine. As I mentioned before, they want to make sure you become the best you possibly can be.
Mastermind Groups Provide Accountability
You know how sometimes you just don’t feel like getting something done. Have you ever experience that feeling? You feel great. Therefore, you decide it is time to get to work on a project you have been putting off for a while. You set down at the computer and all of a sudden, you are dead tired. You can’t stop yawning. Your focus flies out the window. You just really want to go take a nap.
Want to a good way to avoid that battle? Tell someone that you are going to get it done and be completed at a certain time. Your mastermind group would be happy to do just that. Let them know what your action plan for the week is. That statement will set at the back of your mind all week. If you know, your mastermind group is going to be waiting for a report on whether or not you have completed your task. You will complete that task. If they are your good friends, you will not want to disappoint them. It doesn’t matter how much resistance tries to wear you down, you will want to get that task completed. That way you can brag to the group you finished your project.
Because of that accountability, you have better follow through on what you are planning on doing. Instead of doing it halfway, the accountability you have with your mastermind group creates the needed drive to complete the task. Yet you don’t want to just, finish it, you also want to make the group proud. Therefore, you will add the extra sprinkles needed for the OH! factor.
Mastermind Groups Provide Support
No man is an island. In other words, we can’t always complete our projects by ourselves. We need support. Not just from our family but from our friends and colleges. We may know a lot, but we don’t know everything. There are times that we stuck. We can’t see the forest for the trees. So, we need the help of other people. When you have a roadblock, it is good to have someone who has gone through that area before. That is most often the case with mastermind groups. More often than not, someone in your group has been in that same or very similar situation. That being so, your mastermind group can give you pointers and suggestions on how to chip away at just enough of that problem to get by.
Your mastermind group is there to help. That is why they come together at regular intervals. They want to be able to help you and each other. They didn’t amass this knowledge just for their own good but for your good too.
So, when you are struggling tell your group your problems or hangups. Remember, you are allowed and need to be vulnerable too. Your personal life affects your business life as well. True, we try to keep the two lives separate but there is always seepage from time to time.
So the guys and gals in your group share their knowledge. Yet don’t forget that Masterminds are two-way streets. So you also have a voice and the opportunity to share what you know. You are able to influence the others in your mastermind group with your experiences and knowledge that is particular to you.
Being venerable is also the cement that holds the group together. That human element is what allows you to feel close to your friends. As you, all struggle to get through the discomfort of your current test of life you share what you are experiencing. Your mastermind group is able to relate to the pain and frustrations you are feeling. Your group also grows when you show your willingness to be vulnerable. The only way your group stays strong is when you talk about the trials and tribulations you are facing each meeting.
The mastermind group has no place for the scarcity mindset. If you enter a group with the fixed mindset of no trust, you will not be able to get anything from the group. If you have a scarcity mindset about a project, that mindset will leave when it is placed before the power of a mastermind. The support you get from your mastermind does wonders for making sure your mindset is set to all things possible.
They Help You Focus
Do you ever have what is called shiny object syndrome? I do all the time. Once, I went to Singapore while in the Navy and the guys I was running with ended up dubbing me as Glitter boy because we couldn’t get anywhere in a decent amount of time. That was all because of me. I would be walking down a street and suddenly find some new and interesting trinket that would cause me to disappear into that store. I spent the day running into random stores and see what treasures there were on display. Doing so brought our group to a grinding halt. All because I was squirreling all over the place.
That same problem comes with your personal endeavors. Maybe you are trying to start your own business, and so you are opening up social media platforms and YouTube channels. You are sweating the details of the never important logo when you still don’t really have a product ready. Your mastermind group can direct you. Much as my navy buddies did, and block you from the shiny new idea and keep you focused on the task at hand.
Masterminds also help guild you. They can explain why that logo isn’t important at this time. Yeah it looks cool and you really want to try this new tool out, but it does nothing for the goal you set. Therefore, you get guidance and with that guidance, you get clarity and direction for your momentum.
They Build Confidence
We are always a bit unsure at times. Yet our mastermind group has this great effect on us. They are our cheerleaders. They give us the fist bumps we need when we accomplish a task. These celebrations help us realize that we are making progress in our goals. With each goal, you set there is a bit more confidence added to your success ledger.
Another way you get more confidence is through the explainer effect. The what effect? The explainer effect. Have you ever heard the saying, “if you can’t explain it right then you don’t understand it enough”? Well explaining something completely and repeatedly helps you to understand a problem better.
The more you practice your explanation of a product the more familiar you become with that product. With that, familiarity comes confidence. So yes, your mastermind group has the cool ability to build your confidence because you have to talk about your product, service, or problem repeatedly until you fully understand it.
Mastermind Groups help with Decision Making
How do you make a decision? It is tough to make a confident decision. Many times we spend excessive amounts of time second-guessing ourselves, umm, well at least I do. I will decide on a path and several times question whether that was a good choice.
A mastermind can help you keep on your decided path with their reasons and inside knowledge. Your mastermind will help you stay on the path. Whenever you have doubt trying to worm its way into your head you can remember your group and what will happen if you don’t make the next milestone.
Allow You to be a Part of Something Bigger
When your mind is working with the others in your group, there is a synergy that is created. So much work and progress can be made when you are with your mastermind group. Part of that motivation is because you are part of something bigger.
You and the rest of your friends in the group work as a complete unit helping each other. Therefore, with the sharing of knowledge, you are also given the energy in knowing you are part of something bigger. Your contributions to the group help the rest of the group become a better version of themselves.
Part of a group
We as people want to belong somewhere. It makes us feel good to be welcomed into a group. When you are a part of a mastermind, guess what you are in a group. Shock Gasp! I know mind-boggling. You are welcomed into this group. Your mastermind group is like walking into Cheers.
Everybody knows your name and is glad to have you show up. This group will become lifelong friends as you work together to help each other succeed at each other’s objectives.
The other great part of this is that not just anybody is allowed to join. Not just anybody is allowed in this very exclusive club. Each person is vetted to make sure they are a good fit. Exclusivity is good. Like attracts like, so if someone is on top of their game then you will want to do the same.
Mastermind Groups Help with Purpose
Finally purpose, it is next to impossible to reach your goals without purpose. If you don’t have a sense of purpose, you float and never make it to your port. Your mastermind group ensures that you have a purpose and you keep your purpose. That way you are able to reach your highest aspirations.
Masterminds, there is so much good that happens because you are a part of a group. The men and women in your group will not let you rest on your laurels. You become better not just by association but because they compel you to be better.
You focus on your purpose and why. These friends can make sure you are a part of something bigger, by staying focused on that brass ring., you are trying so hard to grab. To be able to grab that ring you need the confidence, clarity and support a mastermind gives you. So reach out and join a mastermind group if you haven’t yet. If you are looking for one, I have a few that might fit. You can see them on the mastermind’s page. Or maybe you are looking for someone to join your mastermind. If so please share your group in the comments section below.
