5 Signs That It’s Time to Join a Men’s Mastermind
A men’s mastermind isn’t for everyone, but it might be for you. How do you know if it is right or not? Read on to uncover the signs that it might be time to join a men’s mastermind.
Life is incredibly short and you’re going to die sooner than you think.
Bad news, everyone you love is going to die. Everyone you have ever met or known will die and guess what, so will you. For most, that inevitable dance with death is going to happen sooner than they think and often people will enter the afterlife before they feel ready.
This isn’t meant to make you sad, or to scare you. It is meant to create a sense of urgency within you. If you knew that you only had 5 months left, how would you change your life? How about if you only had 5 years?
The truth is we never know when our opportunity to live is going to be snatched away from us. We must take action and do what matters, inspires us, and impacts the people around us.
If you’re going to live, you might as well be self-aware, impactful, and high-performing.
Chances are you are in one of two places, either you have not realized the scarcity and importance of life and are muttering: “I’ve got lots of time everything is good, just chill Connor.”
Some might call this burying your head in the sand. Everyone has been there, I’ve been there. I was once 19 years old, racing around on a motorbike, flirting with death, and pretending nothing mattered.
Eventually, most of us run into a wall, literally or metaphorically and we decide we don’t want to use our short amount of time to just mess around. We want more. More than just fun. More than just the surface layer. That’s where the other half of you reading this are saying
“Shit I know, I am running out of time but I don’t know what to do.”
Well, I too have been there. I was [literally] living out of the back of my 2007 Pontiac G5, when it became clear that something had to change. There had to be more. Now, many years later I look back on that period of struggling and I hope that I can help you navigate it, and maybe avoid your own backseat Pontiac camping moment.
The single action that had the biggest impact on my turnaround was surrounding myself with quality people. I began surrounding myself with individuals who pushed me towards my highest self. Simply put, there is nothing more powerful than surrounding yourself with a group of passionate people, living their purpose.
It’s no coincidence that successful people surround themselves with other successful people. So ask yourself, are the people in your life helping you become the best version of yourself? Do they support and challenge you? Or are they holding you back?
A number of people I work with are thriving in spite of the people in their life, not because of them. No matter how driven and motivated you are, you will eventually need the help of others. It is impossible to reach your full potential as a lone wolf.
Finding [and befriending] self-aware, impactful, and high-performing men can be hard. The most inspiring people you know aren’t hanging around the bar talking about how overrated LeBron James, Elon Musk, or Vitalik Buterin are. But I bet you know a few guys like that, don’t you? You know deep down that you’re destroying your own soul and playing small when having conversations with men like this. But what do you do about it?
This is often where the search for a mastermind begins.
A great mastermind is designed to call you forward to your highest self. It’s inoculates you against mediocrity by helping your orient yourself towards purpose. It self-selects people who are striving towards bigger goals and helps bring them together. It holds you accountable to delivering in all the areas of life that matter to you — health, wealth, relationships, and mindset.
So how do you know whether its time for you to start looking for the right community or join a men’s mastermind? Here are the top 6 signs that it might be time.
1. You’re ready to live with purpose.
David, a successful entrepreneur, was an early member of our mastermind. He built a multi-million dollar business and by most people’s measures, had it all.
Yet, when David joined the men’s mastermind, the other members challenged him to dig deeper. It soon became self-evident to David that something was missing.
Yes, he’d built a business. But, had he built a life? Everything he built was for himself. In a way, he’d forgotten to include his family. And purpose was a word nowhere to be found on his lips.
To keep growing as an individual he knew he needed to live with a truer purpose. He searched his heart while masterminding and found a heart of gold. He built a valuable business and was ready to leverage that success to serve others. Soon, he began to shift.
His family relationships began to flourish. And he made a business exit plan that would allow him to dedicate much of the second half of his life to giving back.
Purpose. Are you living into yours? A well-crafted men’s mastermind will guide you towards purpose, which encompasses much more than just money or work success.
2. You want deeper levels of self-awareness.
Do you ever catch yourself doing something and have no idea why? Ever look at your job or your relationships and wonder how you got there?
We live our entrenched pattern without even knowing it’s a pattern. It can be difficult to see, especially without an external mirror [others who will challenge us].
The difficulty in identifying ones own thinking faults is made even more difficult by a culture that more concerned with selfies and status updates than happiness and fulfillment.
I’ve met legions of men who didn’t even realize the extent of their life dissatisfaction until they finally take a step back to look at their life from a different angle. This realization is sometimes devastating, but journey that follows is always incredible.
A well-designed men’s mastermind will always do two things simultaneously — challenge you and support you. You will be forced to become more self-aware through the process of reviewing your actions, goals, beliefs, and motivations alongside a group of other kick-ass men, then taking action to make positive change.
Are you even self-aware, bro?
Or, better stated, does your community challenge and support your self-awareness, bro? If not, it might be time to join a men’s mastermind.
3. You’re ready to grow your impact.
Ever achieved something for yourself and felt a bit empty afterwards? We’re built to give, too, not just get. In working with hundreds of men I’ve found that we reach deeper levels of fulfillment when positively impacting others alongside our own success.
One of our mastermind members, Danny, came to this realization while diving deep into purpose and fulfillment. He owns a manufacturing business and his peers saw him as a huge success, but deep down he knew that he hadn’t been lit up by his business in a while.
Meanwhile, he knew his heart sang with join whenever worked to guide young people. Danny had a rough time in his teens and early 20s and made some regretful mistakes.
He hoped to one day be able to help other people avoid falling into the same traps, and as he began leaning on the support and encouragement of the mastermind he clarified his vision, which of course was based on his purpose.
Danny made some key realizations and slowly began passing his day-to-day business activities to a trusted manager, using his newly found free time to launch a youth engagement program in his community.
One of the coolest things for me personally was to see him light up as his impact [and fulfillment] grew.
To be effective, a men’s mastermind must be deliberately organized around impact and fulfillment.
Are you surrounded by impactful men? If not, it might be time to join a men’s mastermind.
4. You’re ready to be held accountable by other high-performers.
After reading hundreds of applications to our mastermind and speaking to thousands of men, I’ve noticed some trends. Most modern men love their friends and social circle, but they do not feel challenged or supported by their peer group.
‘Socializing’ as we call it is usually organized around lighthearted fun. The worst faux pas to make is instigating a deep discussion while out for ‘beer with the boys.’
There is nothing wrong with this. We all need fun in our lives.
But then, where do you go to be surrounded by a culture of growth and excellence? Far too often, male relationships lack honesty, openness, and a willingness to challenge each other on a deeper level.
Similarly, most work environments do not foster the values that are important to self-aware, impactful, and high-performing individuals. They are built to stifle creativity and encourage obedience.
This can leave men moving between a day at their unrewarding job to an evening with their complacent friend groups. A well-coordinated men’s mastermind gives high-performers the room and resources to blossom into their fullest potential.
Are you being held accountable to a higher standard? If not, it might be time to join a men’s mastermind.
5. You crave passion in your life.
One of the clearest signals to me that someone is in need of mastermind group support is when they tell me they feel disinterested in life. They watch movies or sports to see other men passionately pursuing their dreams while realizing that same passion is missing from their own life.
Everything feels a bit lackluster.
They are unsure where their curiosity and excitement went and how they can get it back. In some cases the never had it to begin with.
Joining a men’s mastermind can, if the member is committed and the group well organized, provide the spark that was lacking. The positive social support can act as a pressure cooker to force out the goals and dreams that are buried deep within all of us.
Most of the time men have great ideas and passions but lack the commitment and urgency to take action and pursue those goals.
Do you feel a bit dull sometimes? Are you concerned that you’ll never have that lust for life again? If so, it might be time to join a men’s mastermind.
So, What Are You Going To Do About It?
There is an ongoing joke in our community that I’m the ‘Instigator in Chief.’ So, don’t be surprised that I’m going to challenge you right now.
Did any of the above resonate? If so, it might be time for you to build your community of likeminded men. This might mean joining a men’s mastermind.
Reach out and to take action. Whether it’s applying to our mastermind, coordinating your own, or tracking down something on the internet, a well-formulated mastermind will yield exponentially better results than hacking away at the branches on your own.
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Connor Beaton is the founder of ManTalks, an international organization focused on men’s health, wellness, success, and fulfillment. Connor is also an international speaker, podcast host, CEO, and leader of ManTalks mission to build a global brotherhood. Before founding ManTalks, Connor had a brief career as an opera singer and worked at Apple, leading high-performance sales and operations teams. Since founding ManTalks, Connor has spoken on stage at TEDx, taken ManTalks to over a dozen cities internationally and has been featured on platforms like Forbes, Influencive, HeForShe, The Good Men Project, UN Women, CBC, CBS, and the National Post.
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