8 Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Mastermind Experience

A Mastermind Group is a group of people who meet together to help each other with a boost of brain power. It's got the good elements of a committee, without any of the red tape, conflict, or hurdles.

You all put your minds together for brainstorming on each other's goals and challenges. It's a cooperative effort, everyone there to help, to give, and to grow. The people in your mastermind group may come up with ideas to help you succeed in your plans.

Here are some tips to help you get the most from your masterminding experience:

Choose a good group.It should go without saying that the most helpful people will be determined to achieve the same essential goals that you hold dear. Someone who embraces a philosophy that's really different from yours isn't a good match. You're growing in your awareness of the abundant nature of the universe, of the power of the mind, of the unlimited opportunity that stands before you, they're still shackled to a scarcity mindset, pessimistic about life, and disinterested in personal growth. Not a good match. You want people you respect, who treat others well, who live in integrity. You also want people who will commit themselves to the group. It won't work if people are sporadic in their attendance. It requires some level of commitment, and the members need to know that in advance and agree together to hold the group as a high priority. Start forming a list, then start talking to these people to gauge their interest.

Set and hold your first meeting. While some in the group may be familiar with the mastermind concept, others will not be. Explain what you see as the group's goal, how you envision the group functioning, the commitment the group will require.

BNI (Business Networking International) is famous for its saying, "Givers gain." Your mastermind group works the same way. It's not for everyone; and it's not for people who are out there only for themselves. You will spend lots of valuable time and energy helping the other members of the group, and you'll also be the beneficiary of the other members' creative thinking. It simply won't work with people who keep tabs, who want an immediate return on the time they've invested. This group will function more like a team than a swap meet, and each member needs to be able to consider the others to be teammates.

Set some sort of attendance policy. Obviously, things come up, vacations, sick kids, business trips, but without an attendance policy in place, the smallest things will prevent members from attending. Agree on how many meetings members may miss. If someone's unable to keep their attendance commitment, then the group is just not a fit for them at this time.

Organize some form of structure for the meetings. Without structure, the meetings have a tendency to be hijacked by more talkative members. Everyone will soon lose interest if only a few members have a chance to speak. Devise a meeting format and follow it each week. Have a definite ending time, too. These are movers and shakers, busy people, value their time. A lack of organization is the surest way to see your group dissolve.

Be action-minded. Yes, the mastermind group is supportive of each member. But you're not there just to talk. You're there to strategize, to develop tactics and plans. You're there to take the plans you've brainstormed and put them into action. Just like it's easier to pilot a boat that's moving through the water than to turn one around that's anchored, you'll see that getting into massive action beats the heck out of just talking about it. Also, think of it this way, when you take the time to share advice or counsel with someone and they don't do anything about it, how likely are you to want to do it again?

Network for your group. You'll find yourself in a position to help each other with business contacts. You'll know these people really well in a short time, and will be a great advertisement for them. Be generous with your match-making, open your contact list to the group whenever you can.

Keep your lips zipped. This should be obvious, but as part of a mastermind group, you've been given a position of trust and should honor it completely. Loose lips are a horrible way to destroy your credibility and reputation.

Many of the great achievers in history used mastermind groups. Innovators in business, sports, literature, spirituality, all have a history of proving that the sum is greater than its parts. Mastermind groups are worth every minute you invest.