I just spent the weekend in Alpena Michigan at a Mastermind meeting. The people in my group are all operating at a very high level and it is great to be around other very successful people.

I have been in some type of mastermind group since the day I opened Gabriele Fitness & Performance.

They are invaluable for business owners because you get to see how others are being successful and learning from their practices.

You also get accountability, motivation and clarification. Sometimes the most effective thing in a mastermind is being able to call another member of your group and bounce an idea off them.

It is important to take advantage of the time outside of the actual meeting. I flew in the Alpena early and spent a ½ day with one of the guys in my group who runs an ultra successful gym in Texas.

That 3 hour talk I had with him standing in front of one the great lakes was some of the best learning I have done in a while. This was before the meeting even started.

It was funny we both kept apologizing when we took out our phones to take a quick note on what we were talking about.

I currently belong to two different masterminds groups. Each of them are very different but are extremely effective.

As business owners sometimes we can feel like we are on an island. Yes we may have other trainers or admin team members but many times the breakthrough innovative brainstorming sessions do not happen simply on your own.

I cannot tell you how many great ideas have been generated over the past 5 years of being in these groups.

I honestly cannot imagine where my business would be without them.

If you have read the book Think and Grow Rich, one of the main principles is masterminding. The book says you enhance all effort through masterminding.

“Happiness is found in doing, not merely possessing.”