Recently I went on a one day business mastermind in San Diego with Pat Flynn, founder of Smart Passive Income and Chris Ducker, best selling author of Virtual Freedom.
They’re two people who I follow and really admire, because they’re doing amazing things and I learn a lot from them, so when I saw that they were hosting a mastermind together I jumped at the chance.
There were only 20 of us attending the mastermind, so I knew we’d all get chance to share what we’re doing, challenges we’re facing and get feedback – and that’s what excited me the most.
You see, no matter if you’ve built a successful business or you’re just starting out there’s something we all suffer from and that is “inside the jar syndrome”.
You may be wondering what on earth this syndrome is (because I just made it up :) ) so let me tell you…
It’s a problem caused when you spend so much time inside of your business, you can’t necessarily see opportunities or problems like outsiders can.
The simple truth is that you can’t read the label from inside the jar. That’s definitely a tweetable!!
That’s why I think going on mastermind days, having business friends you can chat with regularly, being involved in communities where you can get help and feedback from other people are so important. They are so worth the investment.
Because maybe you’re sat on the best opportunity ever, but you just can’t see it.
Or maybe what you’re doing just isn’t working as you’d hoped and you can’t see why, because you’re too involved.
Or maybe what you’re doing is amazing, but you’re charging too little for it… but you didn’t realise you were – it took an outside looking in to tell you (this is one of the things that happened to me – so we’re going to be increasing the price of the Members’ Club soon, so get in soon before the price goes up ;))
This is the power of a mastermind.
So often we work hard to try and figure everything out by ourselves, but we don’t need to and we shouldn’t, because there are people out there who can help us make progress much faster.
Pat Flynn, who was one of the hosts of the mastermind day said he’s in 3 different mastermind groups, that meet virtually every week! That’s 3 hours per week he’s dedicating to getting advice and feedback from other entrepreneurs, learning from his business friends and getting accountability (and also connecting with other people, so building a business isn’t as lonely).
This was the biggest take away I had from the day.
It made me realise that I need to be part of more mastermind groups and you should be too.
Here’s the advice Pat gave on how to do masterminds successfully…
:: Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn’s amazing website ::
:: Virtual Freedom – Chris Ducker’s book ::
:: Chris Ducker’s website ::
:: Link to survey if you’re interested in us creating a mastermind day ::
How to create a successful virtual mastermind group…
4-6 PEOPLE MAX
You only want 4-6 people in your mastermind group. So have a think now of 4-6 people you’d like to chat with once a week. People who you connect and resonate with and who you feel will be a great asset to a mastermind group. You need people who are committed and willing to help others as well as receive help.
SKYPE ONCE A WEEK
Once you’ve got your group sorted, agree to have a group Skype chat once a week for an hour.
Here’s how you should structure your calls:
// Spend the first few minutes talking about wins of the past week.
// Then someone takes the hot seat for 40 minutes (this changes every week, just rotate turns)
// At the end of the call take a few minutes to share what you’re goals are for the next week (this helps you stay accountable)
SET UP A FACEBOOK GROUP
By setting up a private Facebook group, you will all be able to chat throughout the week more easily. It’s a great way to stay connected outside of the calls and ask for help and feedback.
So give it a try – set up your own mastermind groups. I think it’ll help you to make progress soooo much faster!
And set a budget for yourself for investing in paid masterminds, courses and events. It will be worth it. Networking, mingling with like-minded people and learning from others is one of the best ways to grow your business. You’re not alone, so leverage that.
One of the best advantages of going on paid masterminds is that you get to meet really successful people. People who are good to know.
For example, by going on the business mastermind with Chris Ducker and Pat Flynn one guy there ended up doing a deal with Chris to get him to test his software, Pat offered to introduce another guy to someone who could promote his business and Chris said he would introduce me to his literary agent – these are huge opportunities that would never have occurred had we not been there on the mastermind.
Just out of curiosity would you like us to create a mastermind day or help you find a virtual mastermind group to join? I’d love to know – share your thoughts here >>
I hope that me sharing this with you has been valuable! Leave a comment below and let me know :)
Carrie xx
