ARebelSpy Starts a Mastermind Group

[arebelspy]

Greetings, friends!

I'm looking to start a Mastermind group.

EDIT: I think we're good on members, for now. /END EDIT


Essentially a virtual meetup group of friends to learn from each other and improve each other. Here's some articles about the concept:
http://www.thesuccessalliance.com/what-is-a-mastermind-group/
http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles/mastermind-group.htm
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/how-to-start-and-run-a-mastermind-group.html

Often it's used for business purposes (I've been invited to be a part of a number of Real Estate Mastermind groups, for example), but it doesn't have to be.

The main benefits:
- Support
- Resources/Recommendations
- Accountability
- Friendship

@2Saving4Life and @kudy , on a FIRE'd RVing Facebook group, started one to discuss RVs, life on the road, etc. They hosted their first video Skype call a couple weeks back, and IIRC there were 6 of us. I participated in the first session (as we have an RV, and I like those guys, having met them each multiple times), and it was a lot of fun! However, I realized that while I had fun chatting, the main topic of the group (RVs) isn't something I'm particularly interested in, and due to this, I am unlikely to participate going forward.

It did make me want to start a Mastermind group with a different purpose, however. A Mastermind group about life in general. How to live the good life. Meaning/Purpose. That sort of thing.

I think the group would be somewhere between 5-10 people. Right now I'm thinking we'd do once/month video conference calls that lasted between 1 and 2 hours total, with the structure being (as I'm picturing now, subject to change):
~5 minutes per member updating on their life, any current struggles, etc. (30-60m total), ~20-30 minutes the "main topic" presented, ~20-30 minutes open discussion on that topic.

That "main topic" may vary: Sometimes we might bring in a guest speaker, sometimes we might have someone in the group do a small "presentation" on a topic, sometimes we might have had a book reading for the month that we discuss, etc.

I'm hoping to, also, do a once yearly in person meetup, where we all fly to a chosen location, rent a big house on AirBnB, and hang out for a weekend to chat face-to-face, play games, and bond. I'd estimate the cost of this to be maybe $500.

I'm looking for people who think this idea is interesting, but can seriously commit to this. That is, someone who:
- will prioritize the monthly meeting as an important event in their calendar, only skipping because of an actual emergency
- is willing to do work/homework: read a book we're all reading so you can discuss, learn about new things to present, do a writing after a topic is presented with your thoughts, to be discussed at the next meeting, etc.
- is willing to spend a small, reasonable sum to travel to meet up in person on occasion as mentioned above

Not someone who's like "sounds cool," attends one meeting, skips the next, we rarely hear from, etc., but really want something like this in their life.

If you're interested, PM me, or post thoughts/questions here. :) EDIT: I think we're good on members, for now./END EDIT

If you enjoy thinking about and discussing life, and what constitutes the best life, and want to make friends who will challenge you to be your best, please do so.

I would also appreciate thoughts/things to consider from anyone and everyone, even if you aren't interested in joining said group.

Cheers!

[2Saving4Life]

What an awesome time to post this!  I was thinking of you this morning while I was reading this article.  https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-brutal-mirror   

This piece at the end describes what I believe I'm looking for (also why it made me think of you)  "But there’s something gnawing at me. I want to go back to Costa Rica, and not for the reasons you might expect. Forget about the ayahuasca, forget about the tropical vistas, forget about all that. This experience was possible because a group of people came together with a shared intention. That creates an emotional intensity that’s hard to find elsewhere. Every person looks right at you, and you look right back."

Should we meet in Costa Rica? ;)

Your Mastermind group post fits in with my mindset this morning.  The only thing that I'm not a fan of would be to do a writing after the topic.  Also adding this piece into the next meeting would increase the meeting time by quite a bit. 

As I'm reading this to Adrianne, she says she wants in on this too!

[Another Reader]

Off topic, are there any real estate mastermind groups not run by people trying to sell crap?  Most of the ones I see are run by people with something to sell. 

[G-dog]

A guy at my last job organized a Krypton group a la Seth Godin.  I think there were about 7 of us, with 4-5 attending consistently.  It was exactly the sort of learning and discussion interaction I needed the last 2-3 years of work.  Good discussions are remarkably powerful.

[Moonwaves]

It's like you were seeing inside my mind to describe my exact reaction to how it would probably end up going if I were to join. LOL

Not someone who's like "sounds cool," attends one meeting, skips the next, we rarely hear from, etc., but really want something like this in their life.

You might be interested in the design your life thread happening at the moment, too. There's also a thread in the book club section for people who are working through the actual book.

[YoungGranny]

I am very interested in this! I really like thinking about what consists of a "good-life" not just for myself but society in general. What makes us happy? I've been doing a lot of trial and error in my own life and while I may not have found complete success yet every mistake teaches me something, right? =D

Really love the idea of having a mastermind group to discuss with & meetup with! Sounds like a good time all around.

[FiveSigmas]

I'm looking for people who think this idea is interesting, but can seriously commit to this. That is, someone who:
- is willing to do work/homework: read a book we're all reading so you can discuss, learn about new things to present, do a writing after a topic is presented with your thoughts, to be discussed at the next meeting, etc.

A few questions:

• Can you give examples of possible reading material? Ernie Zelinski, Tim Ferris, Peter Singer, something else?
• What sort of write-ups are you envisioning? A few private notes for further discussion, 5 paragraph essays, dissertations?
• Do you have any particular guest speakers in mind?

[arebelspy]

Off topic, are there any real estate mastermind groups not run by people trying to sell crap?  Most of the ones I see are run by people with something to sell.

Those aren't Mastermind groups. But yeah, the majority of groups calling themselves "Mastermind groups" in the RE field are typically trying to sell something.

A guy at my last job organized a Krypton group a la Seth Godin.  I think there were about 7 of us, with 4-5 attending consistently.  It was exactly the sort of learning and discussion interaction I needed the last 2-3 years of work.  Good discussions are remarkably powerful.

That's awesome. And the bolded part... definitely. That's the main thing I've gotten from Camp Mustache events.

It's like you were seeing inside my mind to describe my exact reaction to how it would probably end up going if I were to join. LOL

Not someone who's like "sounds cool," attends one meeting, skips the next, we rarely hear from, etc., but really want something like this in their life.

Hah! Too bad, as having the group all go invade Germany sounds so fun! ;)

You might be interested in the design your life thread happening at the moment, too. There's also a thread in the book club section for people who are working through the actual book.

Definitely, something like that is useful. Thanks for the thread links!  I definitely think that's something the group would explore, but for this in particular, I more like the idea of building close relationships in this group while working to learn and improve each other. More personal than just a forum thread with dozens of strangers.

[arebelspy]

The only thing that I'm not a fan of would be to do a writing after the topic.

A couple people commented on this (in PM/email).

What DON'T mean by this, which I think a lot of people read it as is journaling after the session. What I do mean is writing if there were next steps to the discussion topic, to bring up the next time. Not just writing your thoughts on something in general.

Like, for example, if we did a session on the idea of "bucket lists" maybe everyone would come up with a short list of items that might be on their bucket list.

Or if we did a session on charities, everyone might research a bit and write down 3-5 charities that really speak to their values.

It wouldn't be a general "write down after the session how you feel about what we talked about" or whatever, it'd be a tailored followup specific to that session. And it wouldn't necessarily happen every time. But there might be "homework" sometimes, yeah (researching something, writing something, etc.). Ideally people would be willing to try things, mini-experiments even... keep a gratitude journal for a week, do something kind for a stranger and come back to tell us about it, etc. These are random things off the top of my head, but hopefully that illustrates what I mean.

Does that make more sense?

• Can you give examples of possible reading material? Ernie Zelinski, Tim Ferris, Peter Singer, something else?
• What sort of write-ups are you envisioning? A few private notes for further discussion, 5 paragraph essays, dissertations?
• Do you have any particular guest speakers in mind?

1) Any and all of those. It'll be pretty group-driven. The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau is one on my mind.
2) See above.
3) Nope! I think that would be more rare, but was an idea to toss out there.

[arebelspy]

I think we're good on members, for now.

I will reach back out to everyone who contacted me. I will post again if some drop out/decide they aren't interested and we're looking for others.

Cheers everyone! :)

[FreelanceToFreedom]

Way late to the party but I would be very interested in this if spots open up!

[cloudsail]

When I saw the topic title I thought this was a group about the board game Mastermind and was rather excited. #facepalm#

[arebelspy]

When I saw the topic title I thought this was a group about the board game Mastermind and was rather excited. #facepalm#

That would be fun, too!

[radram]

Please throw my name into the replacement list if people start to drop out.

Thank you.

[BTDretire]

I suggest someone start a second group.
Seems like it has peoples interest.
Install a fly on the wall just to see what topics the other group discusses. :-)

[i_have_so_much_to_learn]

I would be interested if there's a waitlist :)

[SwordGuy]

How is your group doing?

Enquiring minds want to know!

[arebelspy]

Thanks for asking!

We met via video calls a total of 11 times, once/month from March 2019 - Jan 2020. Funny enough, it was right before COVID got us all used to video conferencing anyways.

We discussed a range of topics, most related to FI/life/meaning/purpose.

The conversations were enjoyable but the enthusiasm petered out.

[Dicey]

Thanks for asking!

We met via video calls a total of 11 times, once/month from March 2019 - Jan 2020. Funny enough, it was right before COVID got us all used to video conferencing anyways.

We discussed a range of topics, most related to FI/life/meaning/purpose.

The conversations were enjoyable but the enthusiasm petered out.

I'd blame Covid.