Benjamin Franklin is one of the most well-known historical Americans having invented or having significant influence upon our understanding of such things as electricity, ocean currents, population, and demography and meteorology. He even invented the most popular decision-making tool: the Pro’s and Con’s list.

Back in 1727, when Franklin was just 21, he decided to gather together some of his “most ingenious acquaintances” on a regular basis to have structured talks about matters of the times. His group of 12 called themselves “The Junto.” Made up of members of diverse occupations and interests, they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers, surveyors, a cabinetmaker, a cobbler, a clerk, and a merchant. While Franklin was the youngest member, he was clearly the leader.

The Junto’s Friday evening meetings were organized around a series of questions, covering a range of intellectual, personal, business, and community topics. These questions were used as a springboard for discussion and community action. In fact, through the Junto, Franklin promoted such concepts as volunteer fire-fighting clubs, improved security (night watchmen), and a public hospital.
…And he did this at 21 years old!

Well, for the past many years I’ve had a similar group of people that I get together on a regular basis in a spirit of self-improvement. I don’t have a fancy word for it. I just call it my “Mastermind”. We get together weekly via a video conference to act as both sounding boards and accountability partners for each other…because entrepreneurship is LONELY. The conversation and agenda is simple because we don’t want the structure to get in the way of the magic that is created simply by getting together.

Here’s what we do:

Check In – For about 15 minutes, we go around the group and share our business highs and lows for the past week.
Discussion on a Shared Resource – Each month or so my group will pick a book or video or audio resource to study together. This element of our meetings allows us to have a shared knowledge-base, and something to break the ice and discuss before we get into the nitty gritty next step.
Hot Seat – Each week one person gets the opportunity to share a significant challenge with the group, and the group then asks clarifying questions and presents potential solutions for the member in the hot seat. This is without a doubt my favorite part of the meeting. It’s where the members and I get vulnerable with one another, and it’s where we both learn and contribute the most.
Commitments – At the end of the meeting, we go around the room and each commit to one or more actions that we will take in the next week as a result of our time together. These commitments are documented on a shared Slack account, which we use as an asynchronous communication tool the rest of the week.

Of all of the training that I have paid for, seminars that I’ve taken, books that I’ve read, and mentors that I’ve enlisted, I can honestly say that my mastermind is THE SINGLE GREATEST contributor to my personal success. Here are some of the benefits that I’ve seen of being a part of this group:

Accountability – I can’t make BS promises to this group. They want and expect the best from me – and they make sure that I know it.
Growth – My group has been a source of constant growth for my business and me. Whether it’s learning from the other members, or even doing business with them, I have seen exponential personal growth as a result of being a part of this group.
Specific knowledge – Because my group Is comprised of people from different backgrounds and industries, it has helped me fill gaps in my knowledge and provided very specific assistance for my challenges.
Resources – I have a large personal library of books and resources…and so do my group members. We all share our resources freely with one another.
Support – Our group has formed a very close and common bond, and this is a great place to go to for support when I have a troubling personal or business issue. I often find myself reaching out to members of my mastermind before I go to family and friends for advice.
Energy – Simply having a team that understands my objectives and helps celebrate my wins is SUPER energizing.

So, how do you go about the process of starting your own Junto or Mastermind?Here are the steps that I would take if I was planning to start my group again from scratch:

Make a list of AMAZING people that you know and that you think might be interested in doing something like this. They don’t have to be your close friends, simply people that you know who are out there in the world trying to create something bigger than themselves

Reach out to them using a simple script that goes something like this: “Hey man, I don’t know about you, but I would really love to get together with some other really smart people on a regular basis to talk about business and life. Does this sound like something that might interest you?”

Schedule time to get all of your “yeses” together. I’d recommend that you keep the group to 6-8 people, but bigger or smaller can work, too. My group is five people right now, but it’s been as large as 15.

Create a SIMPLE agenda that you’ll follow each meeting. Don’t get too complicated. Just make sure that the agenda is REPEATABLE each week. It’s the consistency of the agenda that is important. The structure will allow the magic to happen inside of the meeting. Something simple like this would be a good place to start:

Welcome and Check-Ins – Each group member shares highs and lows from the past week. (15 minutes)
Hot Seat – One member shares a significant business challenge and each person in the group provides feedback in a round-robin format. (30 minutes)
Commitments- Each person shares one or more high-impact activities that they plan to do in the following week that they want to be held accountable for.

Meet REGULARLY. I’ve found that weekly meetings work best for masterminds. That way if someone misses one meeting they can catch up again quickly.

Stick with it. It takes awhile for a mastermind group to really start to perform well. But if you stick with it, I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.

You made it! Thanks for reading my letter this month. I really hope you enjoyed it. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you subscribe to my letter and support my mission to help small business owners succeed faster, live better, and create the lives they’ve always imagined. THANK YOU!

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