Starting A Master Mind Group

Guest Contributor: Kayleen Reusser
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Since starting a Master Mind group, I've learned to appreciate how things work together to accelerate one's career and life. For instance, I first learned about Master Mind groups last fall when I attended a Toastmasters (public speaking) meeting of which I'm a member. I joined Toastmasters because I want to promote myself as a speaker in order to tell more people about my writing career and perhaps to teach people about writing.

At the meeting, I listened to another member give a speech about the book by Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich.

I had heard of the book, but didn't know much about it. The Toastmaster giving the speech was articulate, used visuals, and showed enthusiasm for what the book, written 80 years ago, had done for his life and career.

At the end of the speech, I wanted to read the book and start utilizing its concepts in my own life.

After reading that book, I began to think of starting a Master Mind group. I knew of none in my area and didn’t know how to find one. So I decided to form my own group.

A couple of people in my writing support group came to mind. They were interested once they heard what it was about, and the three of us put the group together in January 2007.

Already, through the encouragement of the members of my Master Mind, I've felt compelled to work on my goals as a freelance writer and set steps of progress in my life that has put me miles ahead of where I was last year.

For example, one of my goals from meeting with my Master Mind group is to send a tithe, or tenth, of my writing income to a children's home in that my church has supported for years. We know the parents in the home are doing an excellent job. The children there are approaching college age.

Having graduated from college and worked in a college for several years, I would like to encourage these students to attend college and reach for careers they could never have otherwise. They just don't have the funds to do so.

In his Laws of Success series Napoleon Hill encourages giving it others without thinking of receipt. I'm following up on this concept and loving it!

In order to send the amount I've privately pledged, I will have to work harder than ever to earn enough dollars from my writing. The motivation of giving to the children's home is paying off with me sending pitches to editors of major magazines for articles, which I’ve never done before, and then receiving the go-aheads from them. The pay is much more than I was earning writing for my local newspapers.

This is exciting and something that is possible for me at this stage of my development as a writer because I’ve got the experience and the skills. I just never felt challenged to use them.

The Master Mind group is challenging me to stretch. That's a good feeling. Last week I made my first payment to the Mexican children's home. I can't wait to make the next one even bigger and to think about what could be around the corner with future meetings of my Master Mind.