Wednesday, January 14, 2009

New Kind of Mastermind Group

I read this morning that only 1% of the population can be defined as positive thinkers. Positive thinkers are not people who live with smiley faces pasted on as they live teflon-coasted existences; they can more accurately be thought of as people who feel the fear and do it anyway, or people who feel the pain and look for the bright side anyway.

It's not that looking for the advantages in any situation prevents you from ever getting sick or experiencing disappointment, being positive means you put a time limit on your well-deserved pity party, and move on. Being positive you resolve not to make bad situations any worse than they have to be.

That said, it helps a lot to hang out with people who share that resolve. Not people who have what seems to be an "easy life," but people who've been knocked around and bounced back from it. People who know there is more to life than paying your bills from your monthly salary.

Napoleon Hill, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale, and many other success teachers and coaches recommend forming a mastermind group that meets once a month to discuss everyone's business ventures. My friend, Mei, has come up with an engaging alternative to a mastermind group.

Mei is an interesting friend. She came to this country in 1985 with only $50 with her and the name of a friend of a friend whom she could contact. She did not speak much English. The funny thing is that she was not worried about about surviving on $50 in this country; she was worried that she might get in trouble with the authorities because the limit of currency she could legally take out of China at the time was $30.

Mei is a violinist and an entrepreneur with a fascinating story. And she is the one who is putting together a group of like-minded ladies to read and discuss books each month. But we're not going to read the latest novels, we're reading books about human potential, achievement, and spirituality.

I'm excited, I'll let you know how it goes.