YOUR DREAM T.E.A.M.:
TOGETHER EVERYONE
ACHIEVES MIRACLES
Your mind is convinced that you are on the verge of unprecedented prosperity. Your heart is fully engaged. You want it. You’re passionate for it. It feels so right. The final ingredient is to form a mastermind alliance.
What is a mastermind alliance?
We believe it is the way to unlimited results in business and in life.
A mastermind alliance is two or more individuals voluntarily coming together to accomplish more than either could alone.
Masterminding uses blended mind power and action to obtain infinite results in all realms of life. None of us can be totally successful alone; we need other people to energize our outlook and find the best that is in us. We need others to work with us, support us, encourage us, and empower us in ways that we have yet to see for ourselves.
When two individual candles, both lit, are brought together, you get a brighter, more powerful flame. The same is true of a mastermind relationship. As Napoleon Hill taught in his book Think and Grow Rich, two or more individuals come together to create a third more powerful creative, intuitive, and synergetic mind.
No one mind is ever complete until working in harmonic, purposeful relationships with others. It is these relationships that foster growth and opportunity for each individual.
In The One Minute Millionaire, we referred to your mastermind relationships as your Dream Team. We said that instant solutions exist in Dream Teaming. This process helps you to take your ideas and expand them into greatness.
To become a great person, entrepreneur, leader, artist, speaker, or author, you must have a Dream Team. Read any biography or autobiography and you will find examples of these mastermind relationships.
Your capacity to be, do, and have will inevitably increase through your Dream Team and you will become a better individual. Assuming your association is with like-minded people who live in truth, honor, and integrity, the possibilities are endless.
Enlightened millionaires have Dream Teams!
Our friend, our agent, and a contributor to this book, Jillian Manus, has graciously allowed us to share the term she uses for her Dream Team—Broad Squad. This is a title that excites and drives her and articulates the experience for her and her group. We use the terms Mastermind Group, Dream Team, Broad Squad, and Guy Tribe interchangeably, and you will also want to come up with your own term that suits you and your group.
Your Dream Team does not have to be formal. In fact, it may be that you are in such a group and just have not yet given it that type of title.
Are you already participating in a group of some kind where you offer support, talk about ideas, or provide a safe space for sharing? Are you part of a book club at your local library? Perhaps you are a member of a military family support group or a new mothers’ group. All of these preexisting groups may be easily transitioned into something even more powerful if given the right focus and direction.
If you do not see one of these groups as an easy progression into a Dream Team, there may be some members who belong with whom you could team up with outside of this cause.
We always say to start with the obvious and look at whom you know already and where you are spending your time. This way you do not feel overwhelmed by starting from scratch.
If you truly feel that you do not have any people to pull from and bring into this experience, it is even more important to expand your thinking. What about your coworker in the cubicle four spots down? Your accountant? Your pediatrician?
Another area where masterminds are showing up is online, through virtual mastermind groups. Type in “mastermind groups” on Google and see what you find. Try local community websites or even place your own ad!
We are saying that everyone is entitled to and has access to a Dream Team. Right away. Today.
You do not have to have advanced degrees, an executive position at a major corporation, or a network of high-worth investors. All you need to do is start with what you know.
Have you ever felt like the more you learn, the more you realize you do not know?
What we have found is that many of our students have been hesitant to form a Dream Team for fear that they do not have enough knowledge or skill to offer any value to the other members. They set themselves up with a prerequisite to-do list before they will start or join a group.
The idea of a Dream Team is tempting, but the fear of not being or knowing enough overrides the excitement.
It does not have to be that way.
Start with what you have and what you know. Start taking action right now… even though you might feel that you don’t know enough. The truth is you’ll never know enough. You just have to have faith to get started and figure it out as you go.
As we mentioned earlier, Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a Nobel Peace Prize winner for launching the microcredit movement that has gotten over a hundred million people out of poverty in his home country of Bangladesh and throughout the world. When asked what strategy made his bank, Grameen Bank, so successful that the poor pay back 98 percent of their loans, he answered: “Whatever the banks do, I do the opposite. Banks lend to men; I lend to women. Banks are in the cities; I am in the rural areas. Banks require collateral; I require no collateral. Banks are literate-friendly; I am illiterate-friendly. Banks need paperwork; I need verbal agreement.”
Most important, Yunus says, “I do not want you to know more. Go out and do what you know.” You don’t need a new skill; you have all of the skills you need already. Yunus’s program is so successful because instead of wasting time teaching the poor new skills, he helps them maximize their existing skills—anything from weaving to raising cows to peddling a rickshaw. Borrowers also have the opportunity to assist each other and share what they know because they are involved in what he calls solidarity groups—five women in a group that meet once a week.
We in North America should be inspired and motivated by the example of these solidarity groups because they have been so amazingly successful in the lives of the extremely poor. They give proof that Dream Teams do work.
According to Yunus, in his book Banker to the Poor, “When we discovered that support groups were crucial to the success of our operations, we required that each applicant join a group of like-minded people living in similar economic and social conditions. Convinced that solidarity would be stronger if the groups came into being by themselves, we refrained from managing them, but we did create incentives that encouraged the borrowers to help one another succeed in their businesses. Group membership not only creates support and protection but also smoothes out the erratic behavior patterns of individual members, making each borrower more reliable in the process. Subtle and at times not-so-subtle peer pressure keeps each group member in line with the broader objectives of the credit program. A sense of intergroup and intragroup competition also encourages each member to be an achiever.”
They have even successfully dealt with the challenge of forming the groups. As Yunus explains, “We found that it is not always easy for borrowers to organize themselves into groups. A prospective borrower first has to take the initiative and explain how the bank works to a second person. This can be particularly difficult for a village woman. She often has a difficult time convincing her friends—who are likely to be terrified, skeptical, or forbidden by their husbands to deal with money—but eventually a second person, impressed by what Grameen has done for another household, will take the leap of joining the group. Then the two will go out and seek out a third member, then a fourth, and a fifth.”
If this system works so well for these women, with seemingly limited resources and knowledge, there is no reason why it will not work for you! So start with what you know. Regardless of your economic or social standing, you need to find the common thread that weaves through your group and brings you the outcomes you desire.
If you are doing a formal Dream Team, you definitely want to have a structure, especially for inviting and accepting new members.
Before a Mastermind Group, Broad Squad, or Guy Tribe can grow, each candidate should complete an introductory application or eligibility questionnaire.
A sample of eligibility questions:
Are you willing and able to commit to helping others reach their goals?
Are you committed to yourself and your goals?
What has happened in your life to allow this commitment at this time?
What is your greatest passion?
Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve your ideal life?
Do you have short-and long-term plans or goals?
Will you commit to weekly meetings at the same day and time?
Is recognition important to you?
Are you thankful?
If you had a million dollars, what would you do?
What are your three most important assets, talents, and skill sets?
Who are the ten best make-it-happen people that you know?
What are your three greatest weaknesses? (Someone else in the group may be strong where you feel you are weak.)
What skill have you acquired that will benefit the group?
What skill do you need that someone else may be able to offer?
While you may come up with your own decisions or mandates for your group, there are a few standard guidelines that you will want to follow.
The average group works best with no more than six individuals. Muhammad Yunus limits his microcredit groups to only five. It takes time to share, and keeping the group numbers relatively low allows time for everyone.
You will want to meet each week either live, by phone, or by teleconference. If you are meeting live, find somewhere comfortable, well lit, and spacious enough for everyone to be able to interact with ease.
During the meeting, have each member update the group on what has happened since the last meeting, including any problem or opportunity the member has experienced. Have each member ask for whatever resources he or she may need at this time.
One of the first tasks in forming a group is to come up with guidelines and bylaws. Here are some sample Dream Team ground rules from a sample North American group.
Mission statement: The group must establish a related objective/purpose/goal/ mission—a reason for its existence.
Invitation: To invite a higher source to be a part of the group.
Acceptance: No group member at any time will disrespect or put down another member’s shared ideals, thoughts, or opinions. Members are to be polite and courteous toward each other while sharing their thoughts. No interruptions or other discussions while one member is speaking.
Support: Individual group members are to provide support and encouragement, and lift each other up. They are to be positive with one another, not negative, and provide constructive comments.
Communication: Each member must be open and honest and fully communicate his or her wants, needs, and desires in order for the group to help the member meet his or her goals.
Organization: Establish the following:
Facilitator. The group must designate a group leader whose job is to be the spokesperson for the group, to facilitate the meetings and provide guidance and direction for a set term determined by the group.
Recorder. The group should designate a note taker or secretary who will record notes from each meeting. This person will e-mail them to each member.
Missing-in-action caller. The group should designate a person who will call any missing members on the day of the meeting.
Scheduler. The group should designate a separate person to schedule the weekly conference calls and reminder on the day of the meeting by e-mail or phone.
Closer synergy: In order to create faster bonding, the group may experiment with one-on-one calls with different members and face-to-face group meetings.
Monetary commitment: No significant money is required to join the group. If money or costs are incurred for operating the group, strict, clear guidelines as to the use of the money and who will be accountable will be formed.
What will be the rules that you come up with for your group?
The guiding principle behind any Mastermind Group is that you can believe for others what they cannot fully believe for themselves.
After a meeting the members will feel an elevated sense of well-being, a feeling of being connected to a higher spiritual source. A new energy will flow through their minds and hearts.
Try this virtualization now to get into your heart space and imagine your ideal Dream Team.
I have a dream.
I have attracted my ideal right team.
In my mind, I am attracting always the best and the brightest dream members. Together they make my life and everyone else’s better and better and better.
I have a team.
We meet regularly live, by phone, by webinars.
My Dream Team helps me make my dreams come true.
My T.E.A.M. means Together Everyone Achieves Miracles.
We are excited and delighted to get together.
Our every encounter stimulates breakthroughs.
We discuss problems and “plus” them into moneymaking opportunities.
We bolster each other’s spirit with feelings of what’s possible.
No matter what the mountain-like problem is, we feel we can conquer it and make it a molehill.
With my Dream Team’s support, I feel like David fighting my Goliaths. I know I will win when I begin.
Together, we will help make our individual world and the collective world work ever better, now and into the future.
Once you form one successful group you will probably form others.
We both travel extensively and are involved in several Mastermind Groups around the world. As you learn and practice procedures you will form alliances with other successful individuals in specialty fields. They will work with you and together will guarantee future success from the beginning of every one of your endeavors.
Jillian’s Broad Squad is composed of women in various fields across the globe. She has invited women who are in the fields of real estate, law, medicine, education, the arts, politics, finances, philanthropy, fitness, and family, just to name a few.
Her Broad Squad has a mission statement with some very clear guidelines, including a 24/7 rule.
She gives a very personal explanation of the 24/7 rule below:
One night, I was confronted by the rising fever of one of my children. As many of you know, this happens often in small children, so I didn’t really become alarmed until it reached 105 degrees at 2:00 A.M. I couldn’t reach my doctor, the pediatric nurse was not returning my calls, and the ER at our hospital was spilling over with victims from a massive fire. So what’s a mother to do but to call the medical branch of her Broad Squad? One in particular: the pediatrician in New York City.
Out of bed she popped, and had me download the symptoms (which were not only just a fever, but also some other odd things); she then got on the line with her pediatric Broad Squad (as she too had formed her own due to my constant encouragement). Thirty minutes later I had a conference call going with two other pediatricians and two Broad Squad members. You should always set up an outside conference call number regardless of whether you are in business or not. It has become invaluable to me.
After many different theories were batted around, one of the doctors told me to scour my son’s entire body, looking for what might be a tick.
Though I thought this a bit far-fetched, she was right! I found a tick behind Nick’s ear. She then told me to get some toothpaste and suffocate the tick by covering it completely in the goo. It worked. The tick fell off. Within hours Nick was doing better and his own pediatrician put him on some medication early that morning. The good news is that the tick had not been fastened on him for too long, which could have manifested into full-fledged Lyme disease! There’s nothing that a little toothpaste and a handful of some broads can’t fix.
We shared this story with you because it is important to note that your Dream Team, Broad Squad, Guy Tribe, or whatever you end up calling it is crucial to your entire well-being. It is not just about finding funding, closing the next deal, or making your million dollars. There is more at stake. Your Dream Team is the missing link in a life of optimum abundance—mind, body, and heart.
As Jillian’s Broad Squad helped her son avoid severe illness and Yunus’s solidarity groups save the poor, your Dream Team can be the determining factor in matters of life and death.
For Jillian’s complete Broad Squad Mission Statement, visit www.cashinaflashthebook.com.
And one other thing to note: since your Dream Team is about maximizing your relationships and growth, negative, selfish, critical, and demanding attitudes will destroy your Dream Team. Do not settle for less than your highest standard.
We grow from the people and the projects that we encounter. The better and bigger the projects are, the more we transcend ourselves.
There is an old Grimm fairy tale about travelers who arrive at a village and are not well received. They begin to boil a soup in the center of the village with a large stone in the soup kettle and nothing else. When curious villagers pass by and inquire about the soup, the travelers let on that it is not quite ready and could use some more flavor. One by one, the villagers begin to bring different things to season the soup. The end result is an overflowing pot of soup for the travelers and the villagers to share.
We want you to create Money Soup.
Consider your Dream Team as the pot for your Money Soup. Each of you can bring a little something—a skill, talent, resource, credential, or belief—to the soup that, when combined, produces something fabulous.
Before you start dropping ingredients into the pot, invite everyone to put on their Money Soup glasses. These glasses will allow all of you to see things with a different perspective—one of awareness and abundance.
Align yourself with people whom you want to work with to make a profound difference and let them watch the pot boil over with possibility!
Be purposefully on purpose for something greater and grander and more terrific than yourself.
If you want to observe firsthand the dynamics of a successful Dream Team, enjoy watching one of Mark’s early mastermind meetings at www.cashinaflashbook.com/mastermind.
For more tips on developing your own mastermind, download the free e-book Team: Working Together to Get It Done from www.cashinaflashthebook.com/gift.
It is our fervent dream to get every person who wants to be motivated, awake, and fully functioning enrolled in a Dream Team or Broad Squad. It will make the world a better, safer, richer, healthier, happier, and more meaningful place to live.
Here is your wax on/wax off assignment. Make a list of twenty people you know who might be interested in forming a Dream Team with you.