by Melanie Benson Strick

"Mastermind” is the one of the greatest “secrets” to success. A mastermind is a group of people who share a common vision and commit to leveraging each other’s brilliance, skills and big thinking to achieve their biggest dreams. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, talked about the power of masterminding almost 100 years ago! When you gather a small group of committed, successful people together and focus on your individual businesses – magic happens. I know – I just spent last weekend with my mastermind for our quarterly in-person meeting and the results were phenomenal.

When I look back at the 18 months our mastermind has been together it’s truly amazing what each of our five members has accomplished.

by Melanie Benson Strick

I was recently speaking at a marketing conference when Janet approached me. Janet, a business coach and author, knew that I was a big promoter of mastermind programs. She had heard me mention my personal mastermind, which has been responsible for helping me position my company for the success I have, launching my self-study program and most recently, creating the ULTIMATE Business Breakthrough Intensive - my live coaching program.

Janet asked me if we could speak privately for a moment. As we walked toward a quiet hallway, I found myself quite intrigued. I've never met Janet before so I'm really curious and I wonder what her question could be.

Once you create your mastermind group, how do you attract new members? Whether you are just looking for some like-minded colleagues to network with, or you are creating a paid mastermind group, here are some free and easy ways to get new members:

1. Craigslist and other free classified websites.
Craigslist is by far the most trafficked and is likely get you more responses than any other free classified site. You can post a free ad in the Community Section under "Groups." Don't post the same ad to more than one city at a time or you will be blocked for spam.

http://www.craigslist.org

2. Flyers.
Depending on where you live, posting flyers in coffee shops and other establishments can be a good way to find members.

by Stephanie Brail

What is a mastermind group? No, we're not talking about a secret cabal of evildoers out to take over the world. A mastermind group is simply an alliance of two or more individuals dedicating themselves to a specific goal.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, first defined the mastermind as a "coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose."

Hill's concept of the "Master Mind" was inspired by Andrew Carnegie, wealthy steel magnate. According to Hill: