Masterminding is an effective tool used throughout the centuries to bring about solutions to challenges, problems, goal-achieving and creative brainstorming. On top of these, Masterminding has also helped many people to create wealth and start new income or business opportunities that on their own seem impossible. In the Money Mastery Community, masterminding is one of the 5 pillars of success and all members are required to be part of at least one mastermind group. So the question you might ask is how Masterminding can help you with your own business and your quest for creating more wealth.

History of Masterminding
Andrew Carnegie had a team around him and built the world’s biggest steel manufacturing company. Carnegie went on to become the first great philanthropist – funding over three thousand public libraries throughout the world. Likewise, Bill Gates masterminds regularly with Warren Buffet and others. They have also done the same with their businesses and other ventures…all with help of forming mastermind teams although they may not call it by that name..
Thomas Edison, the world’s greatest inventor, had many mastermind partners. In fact his most famous mastermind partner was Henry Ford. When Mr. Edison’s New Jersey laboratory burnt to the ground, Mr. Ford arrived the next morning and handed Edison a check for $750,000 and encouraged him to “Start building again.” Ford would not accept interest on his loan; he just wanted his best friend to get back to work. Such relationship does not come overnight but takes efforts and maybe years of masterminding.
Great success is only achieved as the result of great teamwork that comes with good masterminding practice. Walt Disney and his brother, Roy. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen combined, activated and accentuated each others’ talent to create the phenomenally successful Chicken Soup for the Soul series which has sold more than eighty million books worldwide with 29 best selling licensed products including calendars, greeting cards and games.
In my opinion the self-made millionaire simply does not exist….
So what exactly is masterminding?

Masterminding is what happens when several people, in a spirit of harmony, tap into a creative source far more than the collective power of the ones present. Masterminding is the process of individuals connecting with each other in a structured way, united by a common platform and then allowing the interactions to create more solutions than they ever could on their own.
Napoleon Hill coined the concept of the mastermind alliance in his classic book “Think and Grow Rich”. He believed that a group of like-minded, achievement-oriented individuals could dramatically leverage each other’s success.
It is said that “the sum of the whole is greater than its parts” or “two heads are better than one”. You will find that more and more people, in corporations or independent businesses are leveraging and harnessing the power of the mastermind groups to think and achieve bigger.
“One plus one, doesn’t equal two. It becomes the power of eleven.” Mark Victor Hansen
Your greatness lies in your ability to attract to yourself a great team. Unfortunatel;y not every one is capable of starting or sustaining a mastermind team. It needs learning.
With masterminding in practice, you will find yourself on the way to creating more and more streams of income. Remember we need to have MSIs (Multiple Streams/Sources of Income) and not just depend on our PSI (Primary Source of Income).The reason is obvious…in a fast moving market environment you cannot possibly do everything by yourself.

Benefits of Participating in Mastermind

When you mastermind with your team of like-minded people, you are in a safe and non-judgemental environment. Thus you can talk and be listened to safely without worrying about being judged or being exposed. You will have the support and encouragement of a network of successful people to move your business or project forward. This dramatically helps to increase your chances of reaching your financial goals, as this group of people will assist you in the brainstorming process and in finding good solutions and in taking relevant action steps to make it work.

Also when you share your goals and results, you are motivated by accountability. On your own, at times you may let go or slack in the process but when you are with a team, you will take more effort to be responsible for what you have planned to do because if you don’t, the team will make sure you do.

Of course, working in a team will be more fun and when you do get results…there will be more cheers and positive reinforcement towards even greater achievements.

One key benefit of masterminding includes getting helpful feedback & the ability to bounce ideas off the group before you implement action, saving yourself time energy and money. Being in a group with similar objective to succeed, everyone will want the best for the team and you will find solutions to problems from proactive and objective-minded people who want you to succeed at the same time. Synergy of mastermind group lies not in individual success or failures but in the team’s success which means every team member will be successful.

You can then gain increased self-mastery and leadership skills as you support and coach other group members. All these lead you to being a part of something special, a part of something that has continuous growth and long term success. In the long run you will be able to develop meaningful relationships with others. And at times, these relationships may have more impact on your life than any materialistic success.

Getting started
The Mastermind can be directed toward any objective, with one single purpose or each member having different goals. You can start a Mastermind group by having each one discussing their objectives for their business with the group.

Masterminding is how you make more happen in one day than is “realistically possible,” because you’ve got people who have agreed, in the spirit of harmony and good will, to putting focus and energy into the cause.
Have Mastermind groups hold the promise of helping you to deliver on your own commitments to yourself. When everyone puts positive charge in the team, it harnesses an unlimited source of energy and group synergism. You will be building supportive and competent relationships. Masterminding helps you go beyond goal setting to goal GETTING and turns turn stumbling blocks into stepping-stones for success.

In the group, you are tapping the true source of Group Mind Power. With that you are creating strong, healthy self-image that never lets you down, thus helping you to develop an unflappable belief in yourself and your abilities.
Suggested Guidelines
1. Invite ‘givers’ ONLY. In other words, find people who understands the need to give in order to receive. If they don’t have the ‘giving’ nature they will end up destroying the harmony of the group.
2. Coordinate in the spirit of harmony. Complaining or whining, arguing with or negating anyone else’s ideas is not productive. Gently remind people to express positive solutions.
3. Plan a mastermind session bi-weekly or once per month, and make them fun. Try lunches, dinners before or after the weekly conference calls when the energy of the group is naturally high.
4. Start each session with a time “Good News”, Success Stories, or Joke of the day, from the group or even Chicken Soup Books. This generates incredible synergy for the group.
5. Encourage team members to determine their “Top Challenges.” One person can facilitate and lists the challenges out on a board, overhead, or shared electronic media.
6. Keep asking the person ‘what do you need to overcome the challenge?”. Have others contribute ideas as to what he might need.
7. The facilitator can then ask the group, “Who can help him with what he needs?” Then, brainstorm all of the solutions on the overhead/board/media.

One very important fundamental that must be in place in order for mastermind to work is the adoption of the practice of ‘Giving in order to Receive”. The mastermind members must go into every meeting ready and willing to ‘give’ and not focus on their own agenda. The power of this concept is easy to understand when you realise that when everyone gives….every one receives.