A Rainy Trip To The Zoo- What Did It Teach Me?

OK, the animals seemed fine. The giraffe's were licking the trees, the elephants were playing in the water, and the lions were lounging around. The fish were doing, well, fish stuff! The zebras looked a little irritated, and the rhino's were slopping in the mud. For the most part the animals didn't care one bit that it was raining- then there was us.

This was one off the first field trips I have been able to go on with either of my daughters and wouldn't you know it was lousy weather. Even though I was irritated about the rain, because my shoes and socks were soaked, I watched all the kids run around in awe of loving seeing the animals. I tried to think back to when I was young and if it would have bothered me to be wet. I can honestly say it wouldn't have bothered me at all. My friends and I would have probably jumped in the puddles and loved just being out of school.

It is really amazing how our attitudes change as we become adults. Luckily we were able to get out of the rain on occasion. As I sat on a bench inside one of the zoo's exhibt with my son, Brennen, and nephew, Cody, I watched all the kids run around with eyes wide open. For that small period of time, I felt pretty good about being there because I knew how much the kids were enjoying there field trip.

Then we had to go back outside again and walk in the rain and my feet were getting wetter by the second. So much for thinking like a kid. All I wanted to was to get warm and dry and take my stink's socks off. Hey, but if I were a kid, I would have loved every second! To be honest I did love being their with my daughter on her field trip.

The Mastermind Concept

I have written and spoke frequently about being in a mastermind group and the importance of it for personal and business growth. Over the past month or two I have received many emails with people asking more about them. I can honestly say; not only has my business model grown and taken on a new approach, but my mental approach has become so much stronger and directed. I don't care who you are, you need help and support from one or more people. The mastermind concept is one of the ways to get the support you need to go to the next level.

There are many kinds of masterminds. You can simply form one with other professionals you know. Ideally you want to be involved with people that are successful and will force you to stretch yourself. You can also join coaching mastermind groups which are run by a coach. You will bet taught new information and have access to the coach's knowledge and experience, not to mention the other mastermind members.

You want to be in a mastermind group that is positive and proactive. DON'T ALLOW COMPLAINERS AND NEGATIVE PEOPLE IN YOUR GROUP. This will surely destroy the effectiveness of the mastermind concept.

I personally have been in mastermind groups with people I know and we simple hold an hour long call once per week and discussed our goals and issues we were having. It was pretty good and I received some good ideas.

The most effective mastermind group for me is the one I am in currently. I pay one of the best marketing minds in the business a good sum to participate in his mastermind group. It is definitly worth it. He makes sure i get results. He uses his experience, knowledge, and contacts to give me and the other members huge advantages.

The way I look at things now, compared to a couple years ago, is that I want answers and help from those that have been there and acheived success. I want them to tell me what to avoid and what to attack. I want them to make the mistakes and show me what to avoid.

You see, most people are not willing to spend the money on a coach or Mastermind group because they feel they can do it themselves. This is a big mistake. Like I have said before, even Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have given credit for their success to the coaches that have helped them.

Because you work so close in your own business you can't always see the obvious mistakes you make. While others, who do not have the same personal attachment, can see things that will help you. Don't be foolish and think you don't need help. We all need it.

Here is the difficult part for most people to overcome. They would rather have FREE help then to pay someone for the help. It theory it might make sense. But, when you are paying someone to get you results they are going to work their tail off for you or you will fire them. Many times their business success relies on getting you results- so you bet they will. On the other hand, when you ask a friend or someone you know for help and it is free- there is really no sense of urgency on their part. Not only, might they give you wrong information, certainly not on purpose, but what is their motivation to really delve into your problem when they have issues of their own to deal with.

This is a complete mind set change for most people. It was for me. But once I realized the power of having a coach and/or being in a mastermind I can't imagine going it alone ever again.

The best way to begin is to start small and then increase your trust in a coach and get more involved. This is why I started the http://www.speedinsiders.com/ membership program. I coach people who want help at a low level of entry. They can see the power of having someone else help them, but yet the http://www.speedinsiders.com/ membership is not a big financial commitment at all. Those that want to take it further and increase their knowledge more or grow their business more will go to the next level of personal coaching.

What ever you decide to do, at least start out on a low level where there isn't a big commitment. This will allow you to become comfortablewith coaching and then you will realize the power of using other peoples resources and knowledge to get ahead in life and business.

Hope this blog answered some questions. I will go into Masterminding a little deeper in the future.

Yours in Speed,

Lee

PS: If you want to start out at a lower level of coaching, then join my http://www.speedinsiders.com/ membership for two months FREE. You will see the power of what a coaching program can do for you. Then you can decide to move into more serious coaching to sky rocket your business- It really works!