In the TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, when contestants are on the hot seat answering trivia questions for big bucks, one thing they can do when they are stuck is “phone a friend” for help.
And it’s the same when someone is on the hot seat during a mastermind…but you don’t need a phone…and everyone in the room is already a friend…eager to help you…assuming the mastermind is curated with this kind of camaraderie in mind. 😊
The in-person and virtual masterminds I have led (and the ones that I am a member of—where I pay upwards of $25,000 to be a member), all have this expert curation in common.
Even the Breakthrough Advertising Bootcamp (which costs one-tenth of one percent of that)…which I am in the middle of this week…has hot seats built in (more of the “pop-up” variety) where a question about applying a principle from the book turns into an application to one participant’s business…and then we turn that into a universal truth.
It’s magical.
I learned about hot seats from entrepreneurs and marketers (all rock stars) like Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Perry Marshall, Joe Polish, Jeff Walker, Dan Sullivan, Robin Robins, Richard Rossi (and many others) …and then I steal smart from them…and create what I want to create.
Hot seats are an integral part of every mastermind I lead—whether live or virtual—and that was a result of becoming a student of hot seats.
Legendary copywriter John Carlton learned the art and science of hot seats from Gary Halbert…an “Original Gangster”/”O.G.” of the craft…and I experienced the craft at a very high level as a guest at multiple Carlton masterminds.
Carlton is an O.G./hot seat master in his own right.
The first time I hosted hot seats was trial by fire:
I led 26 of them, over 10 hours (at the VIP Day at the “Titans of Direct Response” landmark event in 2014).
That was when I got hooked…because I not only became the friend everyone was “phoning”…but I also became the facilitator of a “conference call” with 40 other experts on the line.
The “wisdom of the crowd” can sometimes be dangerous…when there are people in the crowd who presume to know more than everyone else…or when too much is accepted as fact rather than opinion.
But once you create a controlled hot seat environment with ground rules…which is what I learned to do from the experts mentioned above before venturing into this dynamic way to create a community for collaboration…there is nothing I enjoy more than to ignite actionable results for everyone in the room.
And my education is ongoing.
Taking it up a notch, I had Jay Abraham as my guest at a Titans Mastermind meeting in 2018 leading hot seats …“The Socrates of Marketing”…where he thrilled the crowd (made up of marketers, copywriters and entrepreneurs sharing their biggest business problem, opportunity or challenge)…and during each one of those hot seats they were given concrete and usable strategies (and direction) in real time.
I followed that up in 2019 when I had Dan Kennedy do the same thing.
I was being schooled by the best along with my mastermind members.
It’s a gift to be able to host effective hot seats…and an equally generous gift to be in the room absorbing all that wisdom.
With Jay (or Dan…or even me) as the lead advisor, asking probing questions, there are always epiphanies from every hot seat, even in as little as 20 minutes.
And not just for the person being hot seated.
Everyone else in the room ends up applying the lessons and concepts that would have taken months (if not years) to uncover.
And it’s not only more efficient, but also a lot less expensive…since in Jay’s case, he charges six figures for his ongoing consulting…and people like Tony Robbins and Daymond John go to Jay for the same kinds of insights.
Being a member of a $25,000 mastermind where stuff like this happens might even seem like a bargain. 😊
And it’s definitely a bargain (dare I say a windfall) if you pay less than 10% of that for access to these kinds of insights…see the P.S.
Some interesting (and recurring) themes always emerge…and one that inspired this short, 8-minute video is based on an eternal truth I learned from Jay, before, during and after that day of glorious hot seats…which has at its core the title of one of his books, Getting Everything You Can Out Of All You’ve Got.
Let’s call this video:
“Expired” is not the same thing as “dead.”
OR
“Go inside before you go outside.”
Jay became the friend everyone was phoning during that mastermind…with assistance from other speakers and attendees…and the ideas that were generated have no expiration date among the insiders who were there.
Including the one expressed in this video…so you are now an insider too.
Please hit the play button on my face and watch it…and let me know what you think.
Also, please share with me any lifetime lessons you’ve learned while being on (or observing) a hot seat.
And if you have never had the experience, that’s another reason to check out the P.S.
Just sayin’ 🙂
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. There is nothing better than being in a mastermind with people pulling for each other’s success…and as many of you know, I have run three different groups and been a member of up to six over the years.
It’s never an expense…always an investment in my education…and that investment has exceeded over a million dollars over the past 10 years alone.
I have the receipts…and the wisdom…to back it up. 🙂
I am a mastermind junkie and it’s not just because of the food that is served…the knowledge that is shared…or the star power of the host (although all of those are valid reasons to be a member).
It’s about the people…the community…and the sharing.
And of course the hot seats.
Whether you join my Titans Xcelerator Mastermind or not, I implore you to enter rooms where you are not the smartest person (because then you are in the wrong room).
Strive to be in rooms where everyone is getting smarter.
But also enter those rooms with guns blazing (i.e. sharing what you have to offer), so you can “contribute to connect” … which beats superficial networking, collecting people and having the most Facebook friends. 😊
If you want to check out a Zoom room (at a fraction of the cost of most masterminds) where this happens two to three times a month—LIVE–click here.