Social Networking-A Virtual Mastermind

Guest Contributor: Janet Napora
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When we think about mastermind groups we generally think about scheduled conference calls or meetings with specific agendas or topics of discussion. The biggest trend being promoted these days are social networking sites.

Social networking itself is nothing new but the proliferation of new networking sites is. There seems to be a new one popping up everyday. There are also established sites being more heavily utilized.

Social networking sites are used to reach potential customers and business contacts. Along the way you're going to meet a diverse group of people and genuine relationships will be built.

These relationships will become your virtual mastermind. When you join or start a mastermind group you have specific goal in mind, you look for people with common goals, ethics, standards and mindset. So, why wouldn't you have the same standards when networking online?

You may be using social networks for business reasons but you're also going to connect with some people on a personal level. Any relationship should be built on a solid foundation. Is this person someone you would want in your mastermind?

Masterminds are a good way to refocus, a way to connect with like minded people but, what about the rest of the time? Who are you surrounding yourself with? Have you ever tried changing something about yourself but continued to surround yourself with people who do Not share the same goals?

Look at people who are trying to quit smoking but surrounded themselves with smokers or people who are trying to improve their health but continue to surround themselves with people whose health is not a priority. In the end change is up to the individual but environment is also a big factor.

Think about your personal goals. Is your virtual mastermind helping you reach them? Are they supporting you? We all have people around us that may not have the same mindset and sometimes there's nothing we can do about them. They're in our lives to stay. You do however have a choice when meeting and connecting with new people.

When you connect with someone it's not important that you have the same goals. When people climb mountains they don't all take the same route but they do have the same goal, to reach the top. It doesn't even have to be the same mountain, who are you surrounding yourself with?