Humans are inherently social creatures, wired to form close-knit communities that provide support and foster mutual learning. As humans, we also yearn to share our gifts within a tribe.
Masterminds provide a platform for individuals to collaborate, gain support, and collectively enhance their skills within a community, reflecting our innate desire for connection and collaboration.
In this enlightening episode, Dr. Terri Levine defines a mastermind group as a collective of individuals who support and learn from each other. She also explores the key elements that contribute to the effectiveness of these groups and delves into their history, illustrating how they have evolved into essential tools for personal and professional growth.
Tune in and learn about the twelve main advantages of joining a mastermind group, from gaining invaluable advice from respected peers to discovering new business opportunities. Constructive criticism and diverse perspectives from members further highlight the transformative power of masterminds.
For those considering participation in Dr. Terri Levine’s upcoming masterminds, she outlines a structured three-tier commitment framework designed to assist individuals in achieving their goals through focused support and accountability.
Key Highlights From The Episode:
[00:40] What’s in for you in today’s episode; Masterminds
[00:51] What is a mastermind group?
[01:02] Dr. Terri Levine’s upcoming masterminds
[01:08] Key characteristics of the most effective mastermind groups
[02:10] Think and Grow Rich: https://bit.ly/41amTF6
[03:28] Join Dr. Terri Levine’s Mastermind in the Philadelphia area on October 4th
Email: Terri@heartrepreneur.com
[03:51] The history of mastermind groups
[07:55] 12 Main advantages of mastermind groups
[10:30] What you get when you join Dr. Terri Levine’s masterminds
[16:06] Join Dr. Terri Levine’s Mastermind, Email: Terri@heartrepreneur.com
[17:51] The three-tier commitment structure in Dr. Terri Levine’s masterminds
[18:29] Feedback from people who participate in her mastermind groups
[19:43] Join Dr. Terri Levine’s Mastermind in the Philadelphia area on October 4th
Email: Terri@heartrepreneur.com
Golden Nuggets:
- A mastermind group is a group of people who help and learn from each other. [00:51]
- The most effective mastermind groups consist of outstanding and highly motivated leaders who work together to find solutions to issues, provide each other with advice, and hold each other accountable. [01:08]
- A mastermind’s group members play a crucial role in determining its success. [05:27]
- Masterminds offer you the opportunity to receive advice and encouragement from people you hold in high regard. [08:02]
- The way to advance is by reading and by association with smarter people.[15:01]
- Being responsible for your actions is a highly effective approach to motivating yourself to move forward into the future. [17:37]
- The person you spend the majority of your time with determines your typical personality. ~Jim Rohn [19:10]
- The five people that you spend the most of your time with will determine your income. ~Jim Rohn [19:17]
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Full Transcript:
Welcome back to Digital Marketing for Coaches & Consultants. I’m your host, Dr. Terri Levine, it’s great to be with you. And today we’re going to talk about masterminds, and it’s a really, really important topic. I just finished my mastermind in Mexico with amazing people. Amazing. Just a few weeks ago. A mastermind is a group of people that help and that learn from each other. And I wanted to share that because it was such an incredible experience. I’m going to repeat it in the Philadelphia area the weekend of October 4th. And, of course, again in Mexico next year.
The most effective mastermind groups are comprised of outstanding and highly motivated leaders who work together to find solutions to issues, and to provide each other advice, and to hold each other to new levels of achievement. And that’s literally just what’s happening. The most effective mastermind groups have members that act as a personal board of advisors. We are more like peer advisory groups. And I was watching my mastermind group, they’re still working together. Even after the mastermind, they’re going to work together for an entire year.
What I see is they’re assisting each other. They’re making the most of business possibilities. They are doing business together. Some of the folks from my masterminds have written books together, done speaking events together, keeping each other very accountable, reviewing each other’s work. Napoleon Hill, the author of ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ he coined the phrase mastermind to describe steel tycoon, Andrew Carnegie, whose growth he chronicled in his writings. If you haven’t read the book, ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ pick it up. And from very, very humble beginnings, Carnegie became the wealthiest man on earth.
To Carnegie, the secret of the company’s success was not his personal intellect, it was the sum of all of these minds. In his words, “The sum of all of these minds that I have gathered around me.” Therefore, the term mastermind was established and Napoleon Hill said that the mastermind principle was the most important thing that helped him succeed. So, again, if you haven’t read ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ run out, pick it up. I encourage you to get it, typically free all over the internet.
There’s so many advantages to being part of a mastermind, and there are ways to determine if a mastermind is a good fit for you. So, I want to go through a couple of highlights today because then, if you think you might want to come to my mastermind the weekend of October 4 in the Philadelphia area, I will invite you. So, after you have watched this very simply, just go over and do an email to Terri, T-E-R-R-I @heartrepreneur.com.
The word heart; R-E-P-R-E-N-E-U-R Terri, T-E-R-R-I@heartrepreneur.com, and just put in the subject line ‘mastermind’ and I’ll personally reach out to you. So again, Andrew Carnegie’s concept was taking as many perspectives in one simple mastermind. It’s not a new concept. Many people think it came from the Bible, the apostles of Jesus Christ showed how a group might use its members’ expertise to accomplish a goal.
There’s a common thread amongst all the established people in history of doing some form of masterminding. As a very young man of 21, I think it was the year 1727, I’ll have to mention Ben Franklin since I live in Philadelphia. Ben Franklin preferred to network with his acquaintances who were in other professions in a group setting rather than meet one-on-one. So, they went to the junto club that he founded, him and 12 other individuals. Over the subsequent 38 years, the group got together on Friday nights, and Franklin volunteered to host the meetings.
First, it was done, I think, at a pub, and later it was moved to his residence. And in order to facilitate those meetings, he compiled a list of thought-provoking questions that would funnel very fruitful discussions. It’s the same thing that I just did here in Mexico. And he reported that, as a team, they were literally top-notch. As a group, the members of this club helped build the Pennsylvania Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania, and the first prestigious library in the United States as well as the volunteer fire department. A big component of the success of club members and what they achieved came from the mutual support that they got from one another.
So, for me, the members of the mastermind are critically important. Going forward in history in masterminding, you’ve got Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison, and Harvey Firestone, John Burroughs. I think in 1944 is when they decided to enhance the quality of travel and to bolster road safety in the United States. So for about a decade, as a group, as a mastermind, they embarked on the tradition of a yearly road excursion each year. And I think they lasted about two weeks each. The group got to learn together, they got to relax, they called themselves the vagabonds. I think that’s pretty cool.
And if we fast forward and we look at Pixar, Pixar had an experiment with reimagining animated films that started in the 1990s. And studio bosses have been sending filmmakers required notes for a very, very long time. And while the notes were certainly there to guarantee some form of success, they kept leading to a kind of lackluster formula. So instead of using antiquated methods, Pixar’s writers and their directors established an internal brain trust, a mastermind. They provide constructive criticism to one another’s work and to progress. And then it was up to the directors to decide which recommendations to implement.
And this brain trust wanted them to refine their storyboards based on the comments and input from the mastermind, and to come back with updated versions to fix the problems they were finding. And the filmmakers at Pixar said they use this method to their advantage. This resulted in groundbreaking, yet universally appealing storytelling. So, according to ‘Think and Grow Rich’ going back, the financial, the psychological benefits of being part of a mastermind of a peer advisory board are huge. This type, this one, Napoleon Hill said, this type of cooperative alliance is the foundation of nearly every great fortune.
The key to your financial success may lie in this simple truth. So, following this, I looked at how to attain the financial, the psychological rewards that Napoleon Hill mentions, and really dissected them. And, for me, there’s 12 main advantages of a mastermind. I’ve been running them for 30 years. One of the first is really important, it’s having the advice and encouragement of people you hold in high regard. So, if you have a challenge, if you have an obstacle, you want to come and bring that to a mastermind group. In addition to sharing your triumphs and with people who really value them, to me, it makes this experience so much sweeter.
We’re social beings, we’re hardwired to form close-knit communities. And this is the heart of a community. This is how we gain support. This is how we learn from one another. As human beings, we yearn to share our gifts in a tribe. And I’m paraphrasing Seth Godin on that. So sharing, to me, is a second huge benefit. It’s where the rewards really start to accrue. In order to make a difference. First, we have to figure out what the things are that we want to fix, then we have to look at the factors affecting these portions, and finally, figure out what the heck to do to make these kinds of changes.
And it might be challenging to find the time to think through complicated topics, especially on your own when you’re in the hustle and bustle of your business. Now, when you’re sharing in a mastermind group, as opposed to one-on-one with a coach, consultant or advisor, it’s so much more beneficial, more beneficial than journaling or talking things out because the superb mastermind, in my experience, is a group of people who will have your back and listen to you even if you have to vent about something. After committing to a plan, let’s say for a year, did you ever discover that there was a much better option sitting there the whole time and you missed it?
Maybe it was a video online, or maybe it was a suggestion to buy a product or service, and you get into it and you go, “Oh, man, this thing just has a lot of flaws.” Well, that’s the kind of problems mastermind solved. Isolation is a big problem for entrepreneurs. We’re the only people who truly care about protecting our business interests and solving any difficulty. When we’re all alone, that comes as a significant price. The opportunity cost is considerably higher. And then if you listen to criticism often, you get to cut down on the amount of work and the amount of waste because you’re working inefficiently.
The mastermind group can give you candid feedback from successful business people in your reputable mastermind group. Our masterminds can assist you in honing your personal and your company strategies over the course of our once or twice-yearly meetings. And we provide you, literally, with our help and support from the mastermind for an entire year. So it’s not just being together for three days, we’re there to help you get better outcomes and continually refine your focus. And one of the things I love is, that way, you make course corrections quickly, when you have well-informed and timely feedback, rather than waiting to do it on your own.
And, I know that sometimes constructive criticism can be challenging, whether it comes from a life partner, a supervisor, a co-worker, a coach, a colleague, the advice can be tainted by bias; excessive pessimism, selfishness, indifference or unwavering backing. And when you consult with your mastermind, your Board of Advisors on the other hand, you’re going to get true counsel on how to advance constructively and favorably towards your objectives. I’m encouraging you to use your intellect to come up with ideas when you’re stuck for inspiration, and simply turn to the mastermind group.
They’re from all different backgrounds and all different points of view, to hold you at a brainstorming session to help you discover new perspectives based on the variety of ideas you get. And you’ll certainly get advice from me because I’m your group leader and facilitator. To get help from the group and me in streamlining your business process, brainstorming ways to increase your income and to improve your leadership skills. This critical feedback, this information is what truly helps you gain the abilities and I can honestly tell you that members of my mastermind group, many of them have acquired this knowledge in a few minutes that it has taken others years to do who are not in a mastermind group.
Being the facilitator, I pair all participants with the right amount of expertise, and I make sure the mastermind flows and that the magic happens. So, right now, I’m picking members and I’m verifying that the members have a wide range of expertise and experience. In times of crucial decision-making, the structure of the mastermind advisory board is invaluable. So, I want you to know that, at each meeting, there’s time for you to discuss anything that you need. The group is there to provide their expertise.
We help you with brand objectives, marketing, programs, pricing, employees, leadership, social media, websites, you name it. And in our groups, we discover how to collaborate and back each other up on our entrepreneurial endeavors. You get to make better use of your skills, your team, their skills. You can discover, from the mastermind, business opportunities, joint ventures, you can reduce expenses. I’ve gotten many people sharing a resource that each person used to individually pay for. You can trade recommendations. It’s like you’re joining forces in business endeavors.
And when you enter the mastermind, you put that word ‘mastermind.’ With the exception of a referral or partnership idea, that is not the advisory board’s purpose. Masterminds means the sum is greater than its parts. It’s an advice exchanging session, helping each other getting to know each other and making a huge difference, and moving forward. I’m the leader, I’m the facilitator, I’ll pair you up with highly supportive people. No one is here to compete. And I actually go to great lengths to assure that my group members are a cultural fit.
And I’m so pleased with the partnerships and strategies that have emerged from all my masterminds over the last 30 or so years. Whether you want to reach a short-term objective, whether you want to expand, scale your business, change your thinking, you will get assistance. You’ll get to keep your eye on the big picture when it comes to your business. And with the outside views of the mastermind, and with me, you will have tremendous advisors at your back. You can take our advice, build a more efficient, lucrative, more valuable company, and a company that you can literally even sell down the road. So, Will Rogers said that the way to advance is by reading and by association with smarter people.
He said that’s how you acquire knowledge. And I actually love that. I found that from our recent mastermind group in Mexico, trends have emerged at the blink of an eye. The mastermind group, my gosh, we talked about everything; from technology, processes. Right now, my mastermind members have a huge advantage over their competitors, they know what’s working, they know what’s not quite right yet, and they’re sharing resources. So, if you want to save yourself the hassle of time and money, that might not give you a significant ROI, it happens in business, you actually want to accept my invitation.
The doors of opportunity I’ve just opened for you. Having myself and other thinkers on your side can open doors you never imagined. I introduced a masterminder to Jack Canfield, someone else to Dr. Joe Vitale, and I could go on and on. So, I’m going to tell you if you want to be considered, very simple, send an email to Terry, T-E-R-R-I @heartrepreneur.com. That’s the word. Heart R-E-P-R-E-N-E-U-R.com. All you need to do is put in the subject ‘mastermind.’ This is not networking, this is looking to create formidable business partners, making contributions, and being very generous with your contact information.
And the members will be generous with you. So, if you’re one who’s willing to reciprocate, you will get a ton from the mastermind. And I know that sometimes little issues in your business can make things you put off. Maybe you’re scared, you feel anxious, and you put it off for later. And then those things are what become the big obstacles, that’s why you need a mastermind. Before these problems cause significant distress for you or your business, you’ll verbalize them. We’ll break them down. We’ll be discussing them with me and the group members.
And when you’re regularly discussing issues that face your company, you’ll find that everything becomes so much easier in business. And that’s my goal. I want you to think right now about the things you want to achieve the rest of this year, including any challenges you want to solve because that’s what I and the mastermind will do for you. We’re here to help you reach your goals, I’ll facilitate that. So, if you have a strong desire to have the success of other ambitious individuals, if you’re open to accountability and support, then just send that email to terry@heartrepreneur.com because being responsible for your actions is a very effective approach to motivate yourself to move into the future, to accomplish, and to acquire new skills, to enhance your professional development.
So, we use the three-tiered commitment structure at our masterminds. Let me go over that. First, we ask that you take a solemn vow with yourself. Then we ask that you make a promise to another person and make that commitment to the mastermind as a whole. This is how we actually get you to follow through on promises. This is how we get you to achieve your goals and not just hope you’ll achieve them. This is how, as contemporaries, we will hold you with love. We will be your advisory board. We will be there with you and for you. And this is going to make all the difference.
The people who participate in my mastermind groups literally show up each week talking about their success and their wins. It makes such a big difference. I already saw one person who just was at the mastermind who has way more confidence. He said he has less anxiety. He has a support system. And he’s moving through what could have been a very tough business challenge with ease and grace. So, I’ve given you quite a bit in this episode about masterminding.
Make sure you subscribe, share this episode. And right now, I’m inviting you to see if you’d be a good fit as a part of this mastermind. Please don’t forget what Jim Rohn said that I agree with so much, “The person you spend the majority of your time with determines your typical personality. And the five people that you spend the most of your time with will determine your income.” I absolutely guarantee that. In fact, if you come to the mastermind, and you don’t feel like you got a lot from it, just come up to me the end of the first day say, “It’s not a good fit.” No questions asked, I’ll refund every dime. This is your direct invitation. I want you to come to the mastermind in Pennsylvania the weekend of October 4th.
So, just send me the email with the word mastermind and then I’ll see if you’re a good fit. And if you are, I’ll embrace you, I’ll nurture you, and my mastermind community will be with you for a full year of support. Go ahead and send that email off to me now and I look forward to getting you into the mastermind. Bye for now.
