In 2016 I wrote a post titled, “Masterminding at the Pentagon…or anywhere” …and in it, I included an article I was interviewed for from Forbes.com, titled, “Here’s The Most Valuable Business Lesson This Marketing Legend Shared With Troops At The Pentagon.”
Outside of the lesson coming from a “marketing legend in his own mind” (I am far from a legend), it was quite valuable…not only for troops who were pivoting from the military to civilian life…but for entrepreneurs and executives everywhere, in every industry.
And like most of my legendary ideas, it was borrowed from others…people wiser and smarter than me…which you know is standard operating procedure for me.
I’m sure if I trace the idea back in time on The Google, I would get to Napoleon Hill…maybe even back further to Confucious…but that doesn’t matter.
I’ll just give credit to Oprah Winfrey since she is alive and did it with global success.
The idea?
“Start a book club.”
But the wrinkle I added:
start or participate in a book club with a mastermind in mind.
I spoke last week about masterminds that have stood the test of time…you can read it here if you missed it.
In it, there is this line regarding my own masterminds, past and present…and future:
I’m far from done as I continue to run “Bootcamps,” “Master Classes,” “Workshops,” “Study Groups”…with everything being some form of “mastermind.”
Now we can add “book clubs” to that list. 🙂
Another excerpt from last week’s post I want to emphasize as it relates to creating a mastermind in the form of a book club:
It’s your group…why not attract people with similar values even though they have different opinions?
Read “Who you are looking for is you” and check out the video inside that post too.
It’s an exercise that will get you clear on who you really want to work with–and work for– the rest of your life. And who you don’t.
And who you want inside the masterminds you create and join.
The same criteria apply to anything you do…even something as simple as a “book club.”
And then this happened last week, after my post was published…
Two of my favorite Titans Xcelerator members (don’t tell the other 250!), LinkedIn savant Ted Prodromou and storytelling copywriter extraordinaire, Tom Ruwitch, have a book club that has been running for over two years.
It’s virtual (on Zoom) …it’s got quite a following…and it’s called, Mastermind Book Club.
No hidden agenda…they are not hiding what it is…nor should they.
While I mentioned earlier that this is an idea that goes way back…even before Oprah…note that the founders got the URL mastermindbookclub.com without paying a squatter thousands of dollars for it.
Maybe this is an idea that many of you have never explored?
Just following the anecdotal evidence.
This book club is free (although they could get a fee for it) …but it’s a total give from Ted and Tom…another reason why they are among my favorite Titans Xcelerator members.
Not because I want them to be poor…but they understand the five ways we get paid with the fifth being cash (a lesson I’ve repeated many times in the past, courtesy of Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish).
And in their book club, you aren’t even required to read the book in advance to participate.
How’s that for no heavy lifting?
Ted and Tom read the chosen book of the month …share their insights…and the folks who tune in get to opine…about the book…or with free associations from the book…which creates discussions going in all kinds of unexpected directions.
And when there is consistent attendance (i.e., people come back regularly with their ongoing journeys), everyone gets to know each other and their businesses…which naturally leads to masterminding.
It can’t be avoided…and in this case, Ted and Tom encourage it.
Using the book as a “suggestion” (kind of like traffic lights in New York City) …and curating the group over time in the image of the hosts, meaningful tangents become the most valuable element…always part of the calls…and always welcome.
That’s probably why they chose me and my book, Overdeliver, because they could get the author to come on the Mastermind Book Club call, which I did, as a “tangent waiting to happen.”
We had a blast. 🙂
Not surprisingly, the first question for me during the book club was an inquiry disguised as a hot seat…which didn’t catch me off guard…I was expecting questions like this.
The member cited a principle from the book and asked how it applied to his specific business.
Ted and Tom have trained their members well.
All of this to say…masterminds are often organic…they can sprout from an idea, a technique, a meal, a passionate and engaged leader…and yes, even a book.
Check out the P.S. for an upcoming “Book Club” you will want to join.
I suggest you consider masterminds a requirement for your business—however you define them—as a host or a member…to become the world’s best at anything.
Why do anything in isolation when there are others willing to share their genius with you when you are willing to share yours?
I’m not the first person who has sung this song…and I won’t be the last.
And it’s never too late to pick up a good book.
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. This Tuesday, November 7th, we begin the fifth “Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp”…a book club, workshop, master class, mastermind like no other.
No food being served, however. 🙂
We will just go deep into the teachings of Gene Schwartz…with meaningful tangents encouraged…with all givers and contributors welcome.
And I can guarantee that this will be the best one ever…because it will have the cumulative knowledge from the first four…what worked best which we will have more of, and what didn’t work as well that we eliminated.
We learn and enhance while we teach.
We value your attendance as much as your input.
Five 90-minute Zoom calls that will change the trajectory of your business.
And after it’s over, you will feel connected to your fellow Bootcampers as if you have been with them for five years, not five days.
That’s the power of a Bootcamp/Book Club becoming a Mastermind.
Hope to see you on Tuesday.