Let’s play a guessing game…
“In the second age of middle earth, the Lords of elves, dwarves, and men are given rings of power. Unbeknownst to them, the dark Lord Sauron forges the one ring in Mount Doom instilling into it a great part of his power to dominate the other rings so he might conquer Middle Earth.”
Which film is described here?
We immediately know right! And for a good reason…
Lord of the rings is a brilliant film that has come to be known as one of the greatest and most influential film series EVER made. The three Hobbit films earned nearly $3 billion globally altogether, essentially doubling the Lord of the Rings’ franchise total to a mind-blowing $5.9 billion. And more than a decade later, it continues to generate A LOT of revenue.
But what’s often left out in this success story is that the films were a result of a Mastermind group in Oxford. The group, called The Inklings, was composed of various great writers and poets like CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Owen Barfield.
These gents would meet thrice a week to share thoughts and insights over tea, pipe smoke, and beer. The meetings would go about as each member of The Inklings read aloud from their recent writings. Then, the other members would give their very frank constructive criticism and commentary on what they heard.
It was at this Mastermind Group that JRR Tolkien wrote and completed The Lord of the Rings.
And truth be told, behind a lot of success stories out there is a mastermind group.
When one mind meets another mind, they form a mastermind.
The idea of a Mastermind group is pretty simple: it’s a concoction of peer group learning, advice, accountability and support. It’s a, democratic growth focussed community with similar goals or aspirations.
In a Ted Talk by Lucas Kollman, he says, “If you think about any opportunity or situation where you had a chance for a career advancement or business growth, it was almost always directly linked to a relationship you built with someone.”
In a mastermind group, you create a common vision that you share, and you specialise and build your expertise.
There’s a lot to gain from being part of a Mastermind group. Your network is your net worth, and through Mastermind groups, you’ll be able to foster accountability, support, brainstorming, resources and connections.
If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together. In a Mastermind group, you’ll gain A LOT more than you would by yourself.
Discussing other business challenges brought to the session by other members, will expand your horizons of business challenges. It will put you in a position where you are trying to overcome them, without the stress of it being part of your day to day. Above all it will push you, and help you question what you are doing within your own business.
When you work on projects by yourself it can be hard to know: Does this idea really work, or is it just something I think is fun and shiny? Are there things about this idea that I am missing?
Within a mastermind group, you get different perspectives, life experiences and ways of thinking about solutions. You have people who can give feedback on your ideas, and you can hear their ideas.
An idea generated in a mastermind group could be the difference between success and failure. It can take your business to the next level.
When other members of the group explain what’s currently working best in their businesses, you can easily apply this to your business with great success.
The best thing about mastermind groups is that the members will almost always have their “own little black book”. Because you’re all focussed on helping each other grow, other masterminders are likely to share their contacts much more readily than in almost any other business relationship.
Many times, you will find other business owners in your mastermind group in complementary businesses that you can work with to collectively grow.
Learning new things by yourself can be overwhelming. In a mastermind group, you’ll learn new things together, or learn from one another. You’ll most likely have something to learn from everyone.
So, since the members of your mastermind group will possess skills and ideas that may have taken them years to develop; and they can often share them with you in a matter of minutes.
It’s easy to fall back on our goals, postpone them to another day, or just completely lose our motivation.
With an accountability group, however, you’re more likely to stay focussed. When you have a group that’s constantly pushing you to do your best and keeping up the pressure, life becomes easier. Because when you know you need to answer to someone, you’ll actually strive to put in the work.
A Mastermind group keeps you grounded, puts your problem into perspective and keeps you hooked on achieving your goals.
Relationships give us access to a myriad of opportunities. And if we tap into these connections through Mastermind groups, we’re placed at a much higher position to succeed in what we do.
Remember that what makes a great mastermind group is the members. The powerful individual traits that come together in a cohesive way.
If you would like to learn more about mastermind groups, you’re more than welcome to join one of our FREE Mastermind taster sessions. Register here.
“The exchange of knowledge is one of the greatest exchanges in the world.” ~Napoleon Hill
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