You are here: Home » Archives for January 2011

Do you have a “Master Mind” group?

Written by on · 26 Comments

Napoleon_Hill_MastermindIn Napoleon Hill’s book, Think and Grow Rich, the ninth step towards riches is called “Power of the Master Mind”.

If you haven’t read this classic yet, add it to your reading list immediately.

Many of the most influential people in business attribute much of their success to this one book.

I’ve probably read it 8 or 9 times now… and just started reading it again. Because as Jim Rohn says, “Repetition is the mother of skill.”

Let me give you a quick background on the book… then we’ll dive into what is meant by the “Master Mind” principle and why it’s vitally important to your success, and we’ll finish up with steps on forming your own Master Mind alliance group.

Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

In 1908, as part of Napoleon Hill’s work for a magazine, he interviewed Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie’s company, US Steel, was the first billion dollar company in the world…. and he believed that success could be distilled into simple principles  that would make it attainable for anyone to achieve great financial success.

Carnegie commissioned Hill to go on an exhaustive 20 year study of 500 of the most successful people of their time.

Hill interviewed Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt, John D. Rockefeller, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Schwab, Thomas Edison, among many others…

… and in 1937 published, Think and Grow Rich, which would become one of the most influential and best-selling books of all time.

This work is referenced as the “science of personal achievement”. And yes, it’s a science.

The “Master Mind” Principle

Hill says…

“The “Master Mind” may be defined as: Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.

Economic advantages may be created by any person who surrounds himself with the advice, counsel, and personal cooperation of a group of men who are willing to lend him wholehearted aid, in a spirit of perfect harmony. This form of cooperative alliance has been the basis of nearly every great fortune.”

After 20 years of studying the most successful people in the world at his time, he realized that if you analyze the record of anyone who has accumulated a great fortune (even those who accumulated modest fortunes) either consciously or unconsciously employed the Master Mind principle.

So, if you’re not currently in Master Mind group, it’s time to form one… asap!

How to Form Your Master Mind Alliance Group

Here are a few simple steps to form your Master Mind group…

Step 1 – Read Think and Grow Rich

Step 2 – Define your Master Mind group’s purpose

Maybe you decide that your purpose will be to forward your own and other member’s real estate investing businesses.

Step 3 – Set a goal for when your first meeting will be

Step 4 – Invite potential members

If you don’t know who to invite, it’s time to start networking.

If you’re group is going to focus specifically on real estate investing, start by going to your local REIA meetings. Call all the real estate investor marketing in your area… seek out like minded people who want to grow their businesses through cooperation… and invite ‘em to participate in your Master Mind alliance.

Step 5 – Decide when, where, and how often you’ll meet

I’m in a Master Mind group that meets quarterly in person. We have four members (all biz owners) – a publisher, an attorney, a musician, and myself. We rotate where we meet based on where each member lives.

I’m in another that meets monthly by phone.

Alrighty, now get out there and form your Master Mind group.

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, toss ‘em in the comment area.

- Patrick

P.S. – One of my Master Mind groups met recently in Cabo… gotta love “work” when it calls you to a beautiful tropical location :-)

Check out this little video from the weekend…

Pretty cool, eh?

P.S.S. – If you’ve decided to start your own Master Mind group and follow the steps outlined above, tell the world about it in the comment area. Who knows… maybe you’ll connect with someone here who would be perfect for your group.

How to Overcome Distractions & Keep Focused on Your 2011 Goals

Written by on · 2 Comments

In today’s post, Rob Russell of The Real World Investor shares 5 tips to help you stay laser focused on achieving your 2011 goals (and btw… Rob’s one of our PMBP member’s who is kicking some serious butt in today’s market… he’s getting private money and closing deals right and left… go Rob!)…

Rob_Russell_the_real_world_investor_v2Hello fellow Real Estate Investors,

I must admit, with the invention of social media, I-phones, I pods, and who knows what those brilliant marketers are working on next, keeping your focus on your goals in 2011 is going to be a challenge!

I’m speaking from experience.

You see, even after a 10-year stint in the Army where I was hand-picked to be trained as a “sniper” and where I developed incredible mental focus and clarity, I struggled after I got out of the service.

Luckily I had the mental fortitude and discipline to develop my own systems and habits that keep me focused and on track to reach my goals.

As you get to know me more, you will see that one of my passions is to help out my fellow investors and share what I’ve found works best in “THE REAL WORLD”!

With that said, here are my top…

5 Tips & Tricks to Overcome Distractions & Stay Laser Focused on Your Goals

(I’ve spent the last 20 years fine tuning these… enjoy :-)

1) Develop a Weekly “Roadmap” to Follow

What works for me is a template I have developed that I call my “Weekly Performance And Accountability Progress Sheet”. In a nutshell, I break up all the areas of my Real Estate Business, and  put down 1-4 tasks that I want to accomplish in each area for the week.

2) Develop a “Mini Roadmap”

Each day I develop a simple and easy to follow checklist of the 5-10 tasks that are most important for me to get done that day. I draft this up in an e-mail and put it on my clipboard and carry it with me. I review it often, and check off a task when I complete it.

3) Stay FLEXIBLE and ADJUST as you go

You have to realize that we live in an imperfect world, and you are going to have to work around that. If you don’t complete some tasks for that day, carry them over to the next day. Also realize that sometimes your priorities will change and you might just take something off the list as a more important task (higher income producing) comes along.

4) Guard Yourself Against “TIME VAMPIRES!”

Let’s face it, as you go through a typical day you are going to get into situations where you can feel yourself getting sucked into a task, or talking to someone and you get that feeling you are starting to drift off target!

That is where you need to ask yourself “Is what I’m doing right now, the best use of my time, and getting me closer to my goals?”.

Be honest with yourself, and if the answer is NOT EVEN CLOSE, stop doing it immediately. If you’re in a conversation, politely look at your watch and tell that person  “I’m sorry, but I really have to run, I have a few things I still need to get done today”.

5) Keep a Daily Journal of Your Progress Towards Your Goals

I know what you’re thinking right about now… “Man this guy sure likes to write a lot, I’m never going to find the time to do that much writing, I’m way too busy!” Here is my answer to that, MAKE TIME! This will help motivate you to write down your goals:

In 1979, interviewers asked new graduates from the Harvard’s MBA Program and found that :

=> 84% had no specific goals at all

=> 13% had goals but they were not committed to paper

=> 3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them

In 1989, the interviewers again interviewed the graduates of that class.  You can guess the results:

=> The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all.

=> Even more staggering – the three percent who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.

(Source:  “What They Don’t Teach You In The Harvard Business School”, by Mark McCormack)

Pretty darn cool!

Ok, I have to run! I have a few more tasks I want to get done before I wrap up my day!

Talk to you soon,

- Rob Russell

The Real World Investor

P.S. – Here’s a pic of my wife, Kristi, and I hanging out with Patrick in Portland at Ron Mead’s Probate Mastery Conference. Good times!

Rob_Russell_Kristi_Me

________________________________

If you would like a copy of Rob’s “Weekly Performance and Accountability Progress Sheet”, go to The Real World Investor and toss your e-mail in the sign up box on the right hand side just below the video.