Making $10,000 In 3 Days

I came across an interesting blog today called "Life Strategies For Today." Today's post was on "Mastermind Your Way To Success."

In it, the author asks what Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Anthony Robbins, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin have in common - the answer being they all participated in Mastermind Groups.

The author goes on to discuss a Mastermind Group experience and how one particular group works that I thought was worth posting:

In groups of 6-8 we brainstormed how to raise $10,000 in three days. The ideas were mind boggling. As we got more and more excited, our ideas became more and more bold. One group said they weren't stopping at $10,000. They wanted to raise $1,000,000!

I have been in my mastermind for a year now and I couldn't be happier. My business has hit an all-time high. And I credit the habit of masterminding with the lion's share of my success. Here are some of the qualities that work for us.

Keep the number small. My group is 4 people but we could comfortably increase to as many as 6.

Meet regularly. We meet by phone once a week to go over successes and challenges. Plus we put one person on the hot seat for special focus. Then we also meet in person for an all day retreat a minimum of 3-4 times a year.

Don't make anybody wrong. There is no such thing as a bad idea. As soon as you begin attacking the creativity of the mastermind, the ideas will shrivel up. Keep the brainstorm going and you'll be astounded at the new levels of insight you reach.

Treat each meeting as if you paid $100,000 a year to be a member. A mastermind meeting isn't a coffee klatch. The only way it can truly be effective is if everyone takes it seriously and shows up ready to focus.

A word of caution - be very picky about whom you choose to make this commitment with. You will likely be together for a long time. Make it a goal for 2007 to be a part of a mastermind team.