What Is a Mastermind Group?

Follow Jack Canfield’s Advice to Succeed through Group Support

Apr 3, 2009

The idea of the Mastermind Group or Alliance was first introduced by Napoleon Hill in the early 1900's, in his famous book, "Think and Grow Rich."

Napoleon Hill described the model behind the Mastermind Alliance as “two or more minds working actively together in perfect harmony toward a common definite object.” Since then, many other successful business leaders, motivational speakers, coaches, and authors have promoted the idea of being surrounded by a support group in order to achieve success, professionally and personally.

Most recently, Jack Canfield, author of "The Success Principles" and co-author of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul: 101 Stories to Open the Heart and Rekindle the Spirit", has also been an avid advocate of the Mastermind Group principle. He describes it as “one of the most powerful tools ever used by successful people.” A bold statement indeed, but one that is backed by many living examples of highly successful and influential people like John Assaraf, Anthony Robbins, and Mark Victor Hansen, to name just a few.

How to Start a Mastermind Group

Anyone can create a Mastermind Group. Start by inviting people who are successful, positive, determined, have similar interests and goals, and share the same passion for achieving their life purpose. It is also important to emphasize that each member must act as a reliable accountability partner for the other group members.

The ideal size of a Mastermind Group is 5-6 people. By keeping the group within these parameters, the meetings will be dynamic yet focused and specific, and each member will have an opportunity to share their goals, progress to date, challenges, wins, or any other relevant aspects they may want to disclose or may need help with.

The group should ideally meet at least once a month, either face-to-face or over the phone (or alternating between the two). Each meeting should have an agenda that allows participants to share their progress since the last meeting. For example, each participant would get 10 minutes to:

At the end of the meeting, the group would agree on the next meeting time and place. Members should take turns facilitating the meetings, which will allow them to assume different roles within the group. For additional details on how to start a Mastermind Group, see Jack Canfield’s free Mastermind Planning Guide.

While the purpose of the Mastermind Group is to channel the group energy and power to help its members succeed, the members themselves are still responsible for doing the actual work. But together, as a group, they can achieve so much more than they ever could on their own.

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